Wife had to show her US passport to leave her home country!

[NickD 202]

Yep to the above.

It also sounds to me like the Op wants to pretend his wife is not from Colombia and somehow lie about it just to avoid keeping up a second passport.

If you don't want to go to Colombia once her son immigrates, then you can let the passport expire and never look back.

We have no choice but to follow the letter of the law. Could money be the reason? Even with the correct paperwork, cannot do this in person, forced to hire what they call a notary. Wife's neighbor was a very good notary for advice, but retired and no longer in practice. He knew my wife since she was born.

It was $1,500 US dollars, they love US dollars down there for the notary, but could have received instant service if I slipped another thousand under the table. This was only for renewing her citizenship that had to be done first.

Probably unwise of us not laying that extra thousand under the table, after we got back, found things wrong, requiring several visits to their Consulate in Chicago that was a 700 mile round trip for us to sign papers in person and getting an apositile. Only reliable way to get these papers down there is FedEX, 80 bucks just to send a piece of paper. And all of this was just for her to get a new ID card she need first. Then two more trips to Chicago to apply for a passport, good for only five years, was around $250.00, always increasing the rates. I did have a certified check with me, but didn't fill out the name yet, we had to walk to a bank about a mile away, there I learned I could have used my debit card. Then another trip to pick up that passports.

Guessing all this cost us well over $3,000.00, also had transportation expenses. Of course my wife was concerned about that solemn oath she took with the USCIS.

While I have known Obey, Feigngold, and Kolh for years, even on a first name basis, hi Nick and all that, absolutely helpless in this matter. We can only visualize our consulates and ambassadors having a super rich drunken blast at one of their many parties coming up with these laws. Congress has nothing to do with these so-called agreements.

This affects all of us who married immigrants that still want to see their families. As far as I am concerned, this is a major crime, but it is the law. No getting around that.

And its not dual naturalization, its dual citizeship, had no problem nor arguments against this statement when speaking on the phone with the DOS.

[NikLR 13,227]

She shouldn't have to renew citizenship. She should only have to renew her passport. Which can certainly be a PITA when you don't live there. It sounds like Columbia really makes a non-resident jump through hoops. I can see why you'll be happy to not return.

[NickD 202]

She shouldn't have to renew citizenship. She should only have to renew her passport. Which can certainly be a PITA when you don't live there. It sounds like Columbia really makes a non-resident jump through hoops. I can see why you'll be happy to not return.

Perhaps renewing her ID card is far more accurate. A bit difficult not to get emotional on this subject. Certainly makes living here in other aspects, my wife and stepdaughter are very much Americans. Stepdaughter required a state ID for domestic air travel. After a five minute drive to the DVM and seven bucks and ten minutes later she had one.

For her, a five minute drive to the clerk of courts office, that took more like twenty minutes and 130 bucks as I recall, plus an eleven day wait to get a ten year US passport. Then she as able to travel all over without getting a visa first, did have a nice tour all over Europe at less than the cost we paid to Colombia. She is happy, but so far, no interest in returning to her home country. Now that would be a major problem. It's also good for ten years.

At first, she was negative about coming here, but not anymore. Her mom was very positive about coming here, but maybe we would have been better off keeping her green card. But then she never felt she was a part of this country until she received her US citizenship, especially with her employer. They can be fined $17,000 by the state if she let her green card expire. It was a great day for her to show them her certificate, was taken off that black list forever.

[FlyingLonghorn 12]

I didn't realize there were only three Colombian consulates in the US. If I left my house early in the morning, I could probably drive to the one in Boston, and then make it to the one in NYC in the same day. But if you live a long way from either, it would be a real hassle to go there for a new passport. She could renew it in Colombia next visit, even if it won't expire for a while, because she's already there

Huh?

http://www.colombiaemb.org/Consular_Directory

There are 11 Consulates of Colombia in the USA (if you count San Juan, 10 if you don't) plus the Embassy in D.C

Atlanta

Boston

Chicago

Houston

Los Angeles

Miami

Newark

New York

Orlando

San Francisco

D.C. (Emb)

and San Juan P.R.

and it was not alwaysthe case about keeping Colombian citizenship: (The new Colombian constitution changed it)

"If you obtained American citizenship before July 4, 1991, under Colombian law you are no longer considered a Colombian national due to the fact that, under the Colombian Constitution of 1886 — which was valid until 1991— holding dual nationality was prohibited. Therefore, you must enter Colombia with your U.S. passport. (In this case, we encourage you carry a copy of your naturalization letter.) Be advised that if you enter Colombia with a U.S. passport you will be subject to Colombian immigration laws.

Please note that those who obtained American citizenship after July 4, 1991 did not lose their Colombian nationality and therefore hold dual nationality."

[grrrrreat 109]

Actually the type of person that looks for parallel solutions to a problem, namely my wife wanting to see her son. I couldn't petition for him because he was barely over 21. Perhaps bad advice on her not petitioning for him when she became a LPR, was strongly advised to wait until she became a US citizen as the wait would have been shorter. This wait is going on for five years now.

I edited out the rest of your message, in which you seem to blame everyone under the sun for what is a crappy situation. The bottom line is you got bad advice, and you acted on it. Assuming that you were not eligible to petition for your own step-son because of his age, your wife should have petitioned for him when she first became an LPR. The difference in wait times for adult sons of LPRs and citizens is relatively small. In any event, once your wife became a USC, she would have been able to upgrade the petition to the higher priority visa category and keep the priority date she had already obtained. Unfortunately, since you didn't do that, you lost out on a few years of priority that could have helped the petition become current sooner.

The bottom line is you should blame the person who gave you bad advice and yourself for taking it. It can't be fixed or changed now, so try to focus on better times to come and making a good home for your son when the visa is granted, instead of blaming innocent children who are in the U.S. without documentation through no fault of their own, and who have nothing to do with your circumstances.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

We have no choice but to follow the letter of the law. Could money be the reason? Even with the correct paperwork, cannot do this in person, forced to hire what they call a notary. Wife's neighbor was a very good notary for advice, but retired and no longer in practice. He knew my wife since she was born.

It was $1,500 US dollars, they love US dollars down there for the notary, but could have received instant service if I slipped another thousand under the table. This was only for renewing her citizenship that had to be done first.

Probably unwise of us not laying that extra thousand under the table, after we got back, found things wrong, requiring several visits to their Consulate in Chicago that was a 700 mile round trip for us to sign papers in person and getting an apositile. Only reliable way to get these papers down there is FedEX, 80 bucks just to send a piece of paper. And all of this was just for her to get a new ID card she need first. Then two more trips to Chicago to apply for a passport, good for only five years, was around $250.00, always increasing the rates. I did have a certified check with me, but didn't fill out the name yet, we had to walk to a bank about a mile away, there I learned I could have used my debit card. Then another trip to pick up that passports.

And its not dual naturalization, its dual citizeship, had no problem nor arguments against this statement when speaking on the phone with the DOS.

A lesson to those with Colombian passports: If you renew them *before* they expire it is a prearranged appointment, a few pictures, and a small fee.. If it expires then it can become a pain.

Sorry for the OPs troubles.. My wife has had not issues entering/leaving Colombia. She used her Colombian ID for getting in, and US/Colombian IDs for leaving.. Never taken more than a minute or two and they were always friendly.

Part of the problem may stem from how the airport exit fees work.. You are exempt from fees if you stayed in the country for less then 60 days which they verify by the passport stamps. Colombian citizens are not exempt and always pay the tax (no passport stamp to verify)...

[NickD 202]

I edited out the rest of your message, in which you seem to blame everyone under the sun for what is a crappy situation. The bottom line is you got bad advice, and you acted on it. Assuming that you were not eligible to petition for your own step-son because of his age, your wife should have petitioned for him when she first became an LPR. The difference in wait times for adult sons of LPRs and citizens is relatively small. In any event, once your wife became a USC, she would have been able to upgrade the petition to the higher priority visa category and keep the priority date she had already obtained. Unfortunately, since you didn't do that, you lost out on a few years of priority that could have helped the petition become current sooner.

The bottom line is you should blame the person who gave you bad advice and yourself for taking it. It can't be fixed or changed now, so try to focus on better times to come and making a good home for your son when the visa is granted, instead of blaming innocent children who are in the U.S. without documentation through no fault of their own, and who have nothing to do with your circumstances.

At the time, this was good advice, petitioning for an unmarried son would have been much shorter even with that three year wait to become a US citizen based on NVC processing times. Ha, just like my son telling me I would be a millionaire today if I had invested in Apple stock at that same time. Crystal ball has a crack in it kind of thing.

Some will say, it's God's will. See Bidden is trying to set up more equal trade agreements with Colombia, maybe that will help, who knows? At the time, my wife could only get a crate and try to sell apples on a street corner, so got out of there.

Do have photos I don't know how to post on this board in that square in Bogota. A rather small building where their congress meets, and a huge one across from that where the notaries hang out. There are the ones running that country charging huge rates to get anything done.