CR-1/IR-1 Colombia Club

[James 2]

i called the nvc today, they confirmed having received the ds230 and they told me that after it has been reviewed, the nvc would be setting up the appointment. two packets will be sent from the nvc, one to bogota who will then send it to my wife and the other to me. i was told that i can check back with them to see if an interview date has been set. well, more waiting, but i hope that the nvc will set something up quickly.

JK

I guess that would be instructions on providing/bringing the remains of packet 4 -- passport, 4 photos, and medical examination (w/2 photos). Everything else should have been sent from NVC.

Hi James,

Thanks for still hangin out with us and giving the info. I for one, appreciate it very much!

Cheers!

George

George, the pleasure is mine. You guys -- you, JK, Diana, Mark, et al. -- are the sharpest crew around here, and the nicest and most helpful yourselves, too. And all married to Colombians to boot. How could I not like hanging with you?

[Mononoke28 135]

Hi James,

Thanks for still hangin out with us and giving the info. I for one, appreciate it very much!

Cheers!

George

Kiss a$$

Just kiddin' Thanks JAMES!!!! and by the way, I'm 100% Colombian so how could you not like me?

[James 2]

Hi James,

Thanks for still hangin out with us and giving the info. I for one, appreciate it very much!

Cheers!

George

Kiss a$$

Just kiddin' Thanks JAMES!!!! and by the way, I'm 100% Colombian so how could you not like me?

Hey, it's called being a master of diplomacy! And I like all Colombians -- incluyendo mi suegra, jajajaja.

[dougyceci 0]

i called the nvc today, they confirmed having received the ds230 and they told me that after it has been reviewed, the nvc would be setting up the appointment. two packets will be sent from the nvc, one to bogota who will then send it to my wife and the other to me. i was told that i can check back with them to see if an interview date has been set. well, more waiting, but i hope that the nvc will set something up quickly.

Hey bro,

Thanks for the update. Sounds like as long as you get your copy of the packet, it does not matter

if the Colombian mail delivers your wife's. You can both use yours. That eliminates some of the

worrying. I hope you get your interview soon!

Cheers!

George

Hey George your packet you get is in Spanish anyway. So yes you can send it to your wife. Sorry for the late post but been a bit tied up. As far as liking all Colombianos, I am with you on that James, I wish my mother was as amable as mi suegra. I also like your disclaimer about being a lawyer. I am not active any longer but still licensed. Never say much about it as most people still ask for my opinion.

Doug

Edited May 10, 2007 by dougyceci

[jediknight 0]

funny you should post that today doug as i called the nvc and asked them the same question. they told me that they'll send me an exact copy of the packet they'll send to the embassy, which will then send it to my wife. he even said i'll probably get it before my wife does so i could fax her the medical form, that way my wife can get her medical exam asap.

JK

Edited May 10, 2007 by jediknight

[jediknight 0]

get this..i called the nvc tonight just for the heck of it and the lady told me that i had called at the right time because our case was just completed, i couldn't believe it.

so then i asked, "now what?" she was very nice and told me that the nvc will be scheduling the interview date and that is done once a month. i said that i had read that they are given by the 15th or the middle of the month for the following month, she said that's right. so since we were just completed, there was very little chance that we would be scheduled for june, but she said more than likely for july.

i hope this is how it unfolds since that's when i'll be flying down. i'll be calling again probably next week and every week until i get the date but it seems that this newer process is about a month faster than the old way of having the packet sent to the embassy and having them schedule the interview. i was looking at the timelines of the couples that recently got their interviews and it took about a month to complete the case from the time they sent the ds-230. i sent mine in and it was completed in 2 weeks. also, if i had sent certain papers in a bit quicker, i would have beat the 15th deadline and would have had an interview for june. but i'm really glad i didn't since i wouldn't have been able to be there, things have a way of working out.

JK

[Mononoke28 135]

Great info JK! and let's hope they schedule you asap so you can start worrying about the interview already.

Thanks!

[cartagena2112 0]

get this..i called the nvc tonight just for the heck of it and the lady told me that i had called at the right time because our case was just completed, i couldn't believe it.

so then i asked, "now what?" she was very nice and told me that the nvc will be scheduling the interview date and that is done once a month. i said that i had read that they are given by the 15th or the middle of the month for the following month, she said that's right. so since we were just completed, there was very little chance that we would be scheduled for june, but she said more than likely for july.

i hope this is how it unfolds since that's when i'll be flying down. i'll be calling again probably next week and every week until i get the date but it seems that this newer process is about a month faster than the old way of having the packet sent to the embassy and having them schedule the interview. i was looking at the timelines of the couples that recently got their interviews and it took about a month to complete the case from the time they sent the ds-230.

Hey Bro!

Congratulations! That is GREAT NEWS!

The NVC is still very busy so I think it was that "NYC Mojo" you have workin... well done!

The NVC got my DS-230 on Monday, so yeah I will call them and tell that you are my kid brother

so we can get interviews on the same day! Hahahaha.

Congrats to you and your wife!

George & Leydi

P.S. A few days ago I received a letter from the NVC saying that my I-129F had been completed and is being

transferred to the Embassy in Bogota, now that confuses me totally, I thought that the NVC was smart enough

to know what to do with simultaneous approved I-129F and I-130 petitions. Looks like I will get TWO interviews, hahahaha!

See ya in Bogota

[jediknight 0]

i called the automated system and the information was updated to indicate that our case was completed, so those that have a difficult time getting through to speak to an operator after sending the ds-230 can find out this way also.

JK

[Mononoke28 135]

George,

Did you send your DS-230 to NVC before receiving the form from them or did you wait to get it?

Diana

[cartagena2112 0]

Did you send your DS-230 to NVC before receiving the form from them or did you wait to get it?

Diana

Hi Diana,

I sent in a form I made based on James new template. Me wait??? Are you kidding?

I will let you all know if the form is accepted or if they put it in the shredder!

Cheers!

George

Edited May 16, 2007 by cartagena2112

[Mononoke28 135]

Hi Diana,

I sent in a form I made based on James new template. Me wait??? Are you kidding?

I will let you all know if the form is accepted or if they put it in the shredder!

Cheers!

George

That's exactly what I was thinking about. I hope things go as smoothly as possible with the new template because I don't want to wait neiiiifer.

THANKS GEORGE!!!

Diana

[Mike and Adriana 0]

From what I can tell (based on the policy change last fall), if the I-129F beats the I-130 to approval, the I-130 is held up at NVC and the I-129F is sent to Bogota. On the other hand, if the I-130 beats the I-129F (which seems like your situation), then both are still on the active path. The embassy in Bogota will eventually send your wife an packet 3, but you'll only get an interview if she responds with the necessary materials. If not, then the I-129F will die a slow death.

Mike

P.S. A few days ago I received a letter from the NVC saying that my I-129F had been completed and is being

transferred to the Embassy in Bogota, now that confuses me totally, I thought that the NVC was smart enough

to know what to do with simultaneous approved I-129F and I-130 petitions. Looks like I will get TWO interviews, hahahaha!

See ya in Bogota

[Looking4Wife 0]

Embassy Review

I have just posted my embassy review which can be read here:

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/index.p...nty=&page=1

[Looking4Wife 0]

My wife has been with me about 1 month, now and everything is going great!

However, as my duty to my fellow VJers, I will be posting several posts here to summarize the closing days of our CR-1 Visa experience, in addition to the Embassy Review which I have posted under the "Embassy/USCIS Reviews" section of the VJ website.

Weather and Accommodations in Bogotá

I was shocked by the weather in Bogotá. The entire time we were there, the weather was overcast, cloudy, and rainy. It was also cold. The first cab we got into, the driver drove with his window down. We asked him to their windows down, and we asked him to put his window up. He refused. All the taxi drivers drove with their windows down, and they insisted the weather was nice.

I am from Ohio, and am no stranger to cold. It gets much colder in Ohio than the people in Bogotá will ever relate to. After several days and nights of this weather, one night I noticed I was going to bed fully clothed in my street clothes. The next day I realized that I was suffering from hypothermia... my body temperature had dropped to an unhealthy level. Why? How could a guy from Ohio, be suffering when these people who had never seen snow were so comfortable? Because there was no furnace in the B&B where we were staying. I told my wife this was unacceptable and asked her to call around to find a hotel with a furnace.

NONE of the places she called had a furnace. They all insisted that they had “plenty of blankets on the beds”. Fortunately the lady who ran the B&B where we were staying came up with the idea of boiling water, putting it in a rubber hot water bottle, and we began sleeping with that under our covers. That was a lifesaver.

I highly recommend the B&B where we stayed. The owner, Señora Doña Flor, is a sweet, motherly lady and kind of adopted us like her own kids. The food in Bogotá (in general) leaves a lot to be desired, but this place is very nicely furnished and is very homey. Her son is an artist so there are paint fumes from time to time. However, it is very close to the embassy and the price is reasonable, competitive, and quite possibly negotiable. We paid $80,000 pesos per night. Although the word “Hotel” is in the name, it is really a Bed and Breakfast.

The website is www.viva2100.com

Hotel Doña Flor

Carrera 44C #22A-16

Barrio Quinta Paredes

Bogotá, Colombia

011-57-1-269-8694 or 011-57-1-269-7436

TeleFax 011-57-1-269-3926