Colombia Club Part IV

[aws&ndd 103]

I just wore something nice, a little less casual than business casual I guess. I wore nice jeans and a nice shirt. My fiancee wore something a little nicer than me but still about business casual. Definitely not formal. It's funny because as we were both walking to the embassy she yelled at me for not wearing something a little more formal haha. In the end what matters the most is the content of the interview.

And you should dress accordingly. The entire waiting area, even the interview, is outside. I was under the impression at first that you had to wait outside, and THEN you went inside the embassy building, but it's not the case. The entire area is outside, when you get called to the interview it's like going up to a drive thru window, and your fiancee will have to pick up the phone to talk to the officer. Hope this helps!

[Rig 0]

Thank you all for the replies!

[Ken y Leidys 20]

The couple that my Wife and I saw that were both wearing business attire had an obvious age difference and they claimed to be from a religious background of some type. Everyone seemed to look at them more for the clothing than anything else. Most of the people you will see at the Embassy will be Colombians applying for visas, wearing dressy casual clothes.

I think it might raise some attention (and eyebrows) if you walk into the Embassy wearing a suit/tie/trench coat, hat, etc. Conversely, I met a couple at the Embassy - the beneficiary wore skin-tight jeans, top, and some sneakers while her Fiance wore faded jeans, t-shirt, motocross sweatshirt, was 1 week unshaved, looking like he went camping in the desert with his buddies. In the end, I believe they were approved, as it fell mainly on the paperwork they had to provide more than dressing like they were applying for a job.

Just be sure you have all of your paperwork in place. The motocross desert guy and his Medellin Fiancee complained about having to return to Medellin after not having an original birth certificate to provide the CO. We met another beneficiary who was turned down for her K-1 because she didn't have all of the paperwork required for her Visa. She had to make another appointment 1 month out in order to obtain the paperwork. The sad part was she wanted to explain this to her Fiance, but their language barrier was so bad that he couldn't understand anything she told him about why their K-1 was being temporarily denied.

[Rig 0]

Thanks for the tips!

[Mononoke28 135]

Just wanted to wish everybody a Happy New Year and wish good luck to those still waiting for an interview.

Also, I wanted to share my food blog with you which has several Colombian recipes in both, English and Spanish, along with the videos for you to follow. Enjoy!

Blog: http://www.sweetysalado.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sweetysalado

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sweetysalado?feature=mhee

Diana

Edited January 3, 2013 by Mononoke28

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Just wanted to wish everybody a Happy New Year and wish good luck to those still waiting for an interview.

Also, I wanted to share my food blog with you which has several Colombian recipes in both, English and Spanish, along with the videos for you to follow. Enjoy!

Blog: http://www.sweetysalado.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sweetysalado

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sweetysalado?feature=mhee

Diana

Diana,

Your Facebook food blog looks very professional and complete with lots of great recipes. I signed up right away! Have a Happy 2013!

-Ken

[aws&ndd 103]

Just wanted to wish everybody a Happy New Year and wish good luck to those still waiting for an interview.

Also, I wanted to share my food blog with you which has several Colombian recipes in both, English and Spanish, along with the videos for you to follow. Enjoy!

Blog: http://www.sweetysalado.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sweetysalado

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/Sweetysalado?feature=mhee

Diana

OMG I have been wanting to learn how to make good Colombian food!!! Thanks so much for sharing!

[gstrength 20]

Is it normal that they never asked for the DS230 form? Or will it cause problems later on? They approved her visa without even asking for it. I'm not even sure at what point in the process will she need it.

hi there, ds-230 is an immigrant visa form not required for K-1 filers

[Mononoke28 135]

Thanks for the kind words you guys!

Diana

[2013immigrant 0]

Hi all,

I'm new around here. My AOS is pending (Employment Based), and I will be traveling on AP soon. I wanted to know if anyone has had any problems with the Airline in Bogotá, or with Migración Colombia, with the new combo EAD/AP card (as I have no visa on my passport).

Thanks!

[Mononoke28 135]

Hi all,

I'm new around here. My AOS is pending (Employment Based), and I will be traveling on AP soon. I wanted to know if anyone has had any problems with the Airline in Bogotá, or with Migración Colombia, with the new combo EAD/AP card (as I have no visa on my passport).

Thanks!

I replied in the Colombians in the US Spanish thread.

Diana

[Rig 0]

Hi everyone. I just want to let you all know that my Colombian fiancee´s K1 visa was approved yesterday at the embassy. The interview process went smooth, except for a fluke of miscommunication by a young lady at the entrance to the waiting area for visas. She told us to organize the documents and then sit and wait to get her name called. We waited for about an hour and her name was called to approach a window. The person there asked my fiancee why she is late! My fiance told her that she was instructed to wait for her name to be called out. The person at the window told her that was wrong and that she should have come forward to submit the documents. My fiancee experienced some anxiety. She was then told to wait till her name gets called out again. The second time she was called was the interview and everything went smooth after that. A few questions, asked if I spoke Spanish and that was it.

I stayed in Hotel Dona Flor and had a very enjoyable time there. She is a lovely person who has a heart of gold. The hotel was a few minutes walk to the embassy, situated in a quiet neighborhood. I found some great tasting Colombian vegetarian restaurants in the city (I am a veggie). Overall, we had a great experience of Bogata and am always impressed by the big hearts of the Colombian people.

Edited January 10, 2013 by Rig

[Mononoke28 135]

Hi everyone. I just want to let you all know that my Colombian fiancee´s K1 visa was approved yesterday at the embassy. The interview process went smooth, except for a fluke of miscommunication by a young lady at the entrance to the waiting area for visas. She told us to organize the documents and then sit and wait to get her name called. We waited for about an hour and her name was called to approach a window. The person there asked my fiancee why she is late! My fiance told her that she was instructed to wait for her name to be called out. The person at the window told her that was wrong and that she should have come forward to submit the documents. My fiancee experienced some anxiety. She was then told to wait till her name gets called out again. The second time she was called was the interview and everything went smooth after that. A few questions, asked if I spoke Spanish and that was it.

I stayed in Hotel Dona Flor and had a very enjoyable time there. She is a lovely person who has a heart of gold. The hotel was a few minutes walk to the embassy, situated in a quiet neighborhood. I found some great tasting Colombian vegetarian restaurants in the city (I am a veggie). Overall, we had a great experience of Bogata and am always impressed by the big hearts of the Colombian people.

Congratulations on your approval! And oh yes, love how the witches at the window treat everyone there as if they were the stupidest people on the planet. And by the way, I call them "witches" to be nice even though I call them something else in the privacy of my own home.

Congrats once again!

Diana

[jpcanon 0]

I am starting this new thread as a continuation to the previous Colombia Club threads that are located in the US Embassy and Consulate Discussion Forum. It seems that most new members end up in the Latin & South America forum to look for answers anyway, so it makes more sense to keep the threads here. Remember, this thread is mainly for English speakers since there are separate Spanish Colombian threads already.

Here are the links to the previous Colombia Club threads. Feel free to browse through them to get more information regarding all kinds of things such as USCIS, NVC, embassy, lodging, air ticket fares, etc.

Colombia Club Part I

Colombia Club Part II

Colombia Club Part III

Diana

Diana,

Long time no talk to! You are still helping the Colombianas y Colombianos thru the "journey" - very cool!

Joe

[Ken y Leidys 20]

Thanks again Colombia Club, Diana and VJ. We received our letter today congratulating Leidys and I for her complete removal of conditions - paving the way for her 10 yr. Green Card! These threads helped me from the assembling of Packets to the Embassy Interview process, even through the Adjustment of Status process. Now, we just have to wait a week or two for the Green Card to arrive, and this Spring, drive to Mexico for $1 Mahi Mahi Tacos and $3 Margaritas! Yippee!

Straddling San Diego, CA and Tijuana, Mexico