CR-1/IR-1 Colombia Club

[Looking4Wife 0]

our visa was approved today!!! i'm writing our experience right now, trying not to leave out anything, i'll be posting soon.

JK

Felicidades!

[Mononoke28 134]

Congratulations JK!!!!!!

But your signature timeline says it was scheduled for 07/10 and your timeline says it was for 7/11??

Oh well, I'm waiting for details!!!!!!

Diana

[lucho562 0]

our visa was approved today!!! i'm writing our experience right now, trying not to leave out anything, i'll be posting soon.

JK

Congrats JK

[jediknight 0]

Laboratory

My wife got to the lab early and was the first one in line. At 7am they opened and asked for the passport, appt letter, a picture and the fee. It took about 15 minutes and it was over.

Medical Exam

The appt was in the afternoon with Dr. Roa. We got there on time and my wife was quickly attended to. They asked for the same, appt letter, photo, passport and fee. Please make sure to bring the exact amount as we had to wait for someone to make change. The doctor was kind and quick. My wife was done in 20 minutes. She waited about 10 minutes for the results and was given an x-ray, copy of the vaccination report and the medical report in a sealed envelope for the embassy.

Interview

Since we are staying with family in the north of bogota in an area called Usaquen, we decided to leave early to get to the embassy at a decent time. Our cabbie, who thought he was Montoya, got us to the embassy in 20 minutes. We got to the embassy at 6:10 and noticed that a long line of people had already formed outside along the gate. As mentioned before, this is not where the 3 different lines are formed. We got in line and waited about 5 minutes when they allowed us to go in. There wasn’t a mad rush in, everyone walked calmly along in single file. As we all were walking in we heard a woman making announcements telling everyone which line they needed to line up in. I think that since we were left in a little later than others have been left in, the announcements kicked in as we were walking in and not after everyone had lined up in line 1. Because of this, by the time we made our way over to line 3 there were about 6 people ahead of us. We waited about 10 minutes and then a woman started asking everyone on line what they were there for. Before she got to us she told everyone to have their appt letter and passports in hand. When she got to us we told her that we were there for a resident visa and showed her my passport and my wife’s passport. She immediately told my wife to take her passport out of the plastic cover it was in. She asked me if I was the sponsor and I answered yes. Then she placed a green sticker on my wife’s blouse and one with an “A” on me, we figured it meant “acompañante”. Then we were told to take out our cell phones, turn them off and to take off our jackets and belts. We went through the metal detector and were let into the compounds. After I got my belt on we walked in and on the left was the entrance to where the windows and waiting areas are. The lady that greeted us at the entrance told us to walk over to the far right side near the payphones and line up behind the sign that said 40. We waited about 15 minutes and then another lady came out and told us to gather around her and to listen to her instructions. She then said that we would be given folders and in the folders was a list laminated and taped on the left indicating what documents had to be placed into the folder. These documents had to be placed in the right order or else she said you would be given back your documents, told to reschedule and then sent home. Our folder was green while the people going for K’s were brown. Now, for the things that were listed. The order that was asked for was the passport, birth certificate, baptism certificate, marriage certificate, financial support, certficado judicial, certificado migratorio, medical exam and 2 pictures. The lady said that most likely some of the documents were already sent ahead of time but if you had copies of it you could include it. The worst that would happen is that they would be returned to you. On the back of both pictures you had to write your complete name. Make sure that you don’t open the medical report and the certificado migratorio. After about 15 minutes my wife was called to window 32. I was with her every step of the way at her side and no offcial ever instructed me to wait or sit down. At window 32, the lady asked my wife for her phone number, verified name and who was petitioning her and my name. She checked all of the documents, made sure they were in order, opened the medical envelope and then told my wife to goto window number 2 for the digital fingerprints. We waited for about an hour and 15 minutes before my wife was called to have her fingerprints taken. Then came the longest wait of all. We waited 3 hours until we were called for the interview which was about 11:45. First the CO asked my wife:

1. How did we meet

2. If I was from Colombia or the U.S.

3. If I had family in Colombia

4. When did we get married

Then the CO asked my wife a question about my taxes and then she passed the phone to me to answer the questions. The CO then asked:

1. When and how did we meet.

2. How many times had I visited my wife

3. When did we become engaged

4. If I had family in Colombia

Then I passed the phone back to my wife and the CO told her that she was approved. She then signed the DS230 part II and gave us a slip indicating to come back on Wed. to pick up the visa. We both thanked her and left.

What we did notice while we were waiting was one couple that had an obvious age difference. The interviewer grilled him at length about pics that were shown. This couple also gave other items for evidence of the relationship like cards and other things which I couldn’t make out. They spent a long time at the window but it seems that in the end they were approved, we’ll see on Wed if they are there to pick up the visa or not. By the way, we weren’t asked for any evidence, no pictures, emails, nothing.

We hope this helps those about to go through this process and wish everyone the best of luck. We also want to thank those that have helped us along the way. I’ll be popping in from time to time but not as frequent as before. Take care all.

JK

[jediknight 0]

diane, i forgot to mention that it is taking 2 days to receive the visa. lucho, thanks for the call today, we appreciate it, too bad there wasn't enough time to get together. I hope you were able to pick up your visa this afternoon. George, i finally posted a couple of pics in my photos, plus the avatar of us, i hope you enjoy them. George, I wish you both the best, any questions just ask. take care all

JK

[Looking4Wife 0]

diane, i forgot to mention that it is taking 2 days to receive the visa. lucho, thanks for the call today, we appreciate it, too bad there wasn't enough time to get together. I hope you were able to pick up your visa this afternoon. George, i finally posted a couple of pics in my photos, plus the avatar of us, i hope you enjoy them. George, I wish you both the best, any questions just ask. take care all

JK

JK:

FINALLY, you post some pictures of you and your lovely wife. You guys look great together! Of course I can't post a pick on VJ because I can't reveal Captain America's secret identity

... or was it that I never could get the avatar upload to work after several attempts... who's to say?

[cartagena2112 0]

diane, i forgot to mention that it is taking 2 days to receive the visa. lucho, thanks for the call today, we appreciate it, too bad there wasn't enough time to get together. I hope you were able to pick up your visa this afternoon. George, i finally posted a couple of pics in my photos, plus the avatar of us, i hope you enjoy them. George, I wish you both the best, any questions just ask. take care all

JK

Hi Steve,

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!1

Leydi and I are so happy for the two of you.!

I know you waited a long time for the I-130 approval, so you both must be very very happy.

Thanks for posting the detailed report, I will make sure I have all my papers in the green folder in the correct order,

I don't want to get sent home early!

Your avitar photo is great, you two make an excellent couple.

I hope you get the visa on the 11th, promptly.

Our interview is on the 12th, we fly to Bogota tomorrow. See ya!

Best Regards,

George & Leydi

[jediknight 0]

george, don't be surprised if the doctor doesn't ask you for the DS230. actually it worked out in our favor because we forgot to take it. the doctors office was only a few minutes from where we are staying so it wouldn't have been a big deal to have gone back home for it but we were surprised that they didn't ask for it. we didn't mention it or offer it either. if i think of anything else i'll post it as they pop into my head.

later

JK

[Mononoke28 134]

Thanks JK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Loved the details! I just sent all that info to my husband so he's ready for the interview.

And the pictures are great too. For some reason I thought you were older but now I see that you're a young stud.

Tell your wife congratulations once again!!!!

Diana

George,

You're next!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe my VJ buddies are going through this already. Woohooooo!!!

[cartagena2112 0]

george, don't be surprised if the doctor doesn't ask you for the DS230. actually it worked out in our favor because we forgot to take it. the doctors office was only a few minutes from where we are staying so it wouldn't have been a big deal to have gone back home for it but we were surprised that they didn't ask for it. we didn't mention it or offer it either.

Hi Steve,

We just got the laptop working on the internet here at the apartment in Bogota...

Yeah, I noticed you didn't say that the doctor asked for the DS-230... I printed 2 extra copies, before I got here!

It is amazing everybody seems to have a different experience. I am just hoping they don't ask me for my wife's

parent's marriage certificate, like it sez on the US Gov't list...

Congrats again for the both of you.

Best,

George

[jediknight 0]

we weren't asked for the parents marriage certificate. we had it, just like everything else, just in case. we also noticed that the certificado migratorio wasn't even opened or looked at, just tossed to the side.

something else that i forgot to mention for those going through this. in our area of waiting there were people waiting for CR1, K's and family visas. the rest of the place was full of people asking for student, working, tourist, etc visas and there were hundreds of them. when they started calling us they first went through the family visas. in other words sons, daughters parents being petitioned for by family in the united states. then once they were done came the CR1's. there were only 3 couples as i mentioned before. once we left i assume that the K's were interviewed. i would suggest to stay close to windows 3-7 because this is where the interviews are done. each CO calls out the name of the beneficiary but not all speak in a loud voice so please be aware of the names called. our CO was an older woman, in her 50's, slim, short hair with glasses. she was smiling and we felt comfortable with her. she was however very efficient unlike the male CO's we saw. she was cranking them out while her male co workers would do one, take a long time with each and then dissppear. my wife and i joked that they would take a break to justify the long interview they gave each of their victims. the woman CO was very quick, unlike the male interviewers that seemed to asked lots of questions. now, i don't know if it was because of the cases in front of them that needed more time or if they were just more difficult, i don't know, but the woman was cranking them out at a rate of 2-3 times faster. also, before you name is called, you can see the CO reviewing the folders and can see the documents and pictures of the beneficiary. we saw our file when the CO was reviewing it and knew we would be next. oh, so the point of all of this is that our CO's voice was very loud on the loudspeaker and we heard our name called but the male CO's voice was very low and couldn't be heard if you were in the bathroom or somewhere else so stay close to the windows 3-7.

JK

JK

[Mononoke28 134]

Ok, 3-7, 3-7, 3-7... got it.

[cartagena2112 0]

My wife did the lab and the doctor appointment today.

Just FYI,

The Lab: No big deal. We arived at 7am and there were 7 peeps ahead of us.

I was not allowed to enter, the wife was done by 8:45am. She told me the people

in the lab were very rude to her.

Doctor Roe:

Appointment went fine, though the doctor did not say a word to my wife if the result

was good or bad. In the end the nurse gave her the package, one hour later and said

she was "ok". Though on the vaccination sheet, there were 2 marks for "insufficient

time interval".

We had a problem was with an A-hole security woman at the entry of the building,

upon entry, she immediately told me that I could not accompany my wife to the 3rd floor

doctor suites, where there was an enormous waiting area. After much discussion and

getting nowhere with this security person, my wife went to the 3rd floor medical area and

asked them if I can go with her, they said of course, as there were already dozens of

Colombian family members who came with their applicants, husbands, children, parents,

everybody. So I went up in the elevator against the objections of the security person in

the lobby. Nobody at the medical offices at the 3rd floor could explain this.

We have our interview tomorrow and I am ready for anything after what JK has observed

and told me.

Best,

George

[jediknight 0]

got the visa today, too tired to post the dirt behind what happened to the others but will try tomorrow. spoke to george and leidy, nice couple, good luck to both of you tomorrow!!

[cartagena2112 0]

It's 11:00am. We had our interview and my wife's visa was approved.

We arrived around 6:30am and there were 25 people or so in the line 3, 100 or more in line 1.

They gave us a green sticky to wear and let us in at 7am. They told us to go to line 44 and wait.

In 15 minutes a lady helped us with the green folders, one interesting item, the official list on the

wall says to include only the papers that you did NOT send to the NVC before, we submitted

all the dupes that we brought along anyway...

At about 8:15 they called my wife to window 32 and the lady processor was very professional,

and thorough and in 10 minutes all the papers were in order. We were told to cross the compound

and wait at the green windows 1 thru 6. We did not have a baptism cert and it was not asked for.

Even though it is on the official list at the embassy.

We went to the other side of the large complex to get fingerprinted and at 9am they called her

for that.

We received our interview at 10:10, we were maybe the 4th party called up, most people were

still waiting.

The oficer asked my wife the usual questions and then grilled me for 5 minutes, he was certainly

thorough. He asked my wife more questions after me After he gave my wife the DS-230 to sign

and said we were approved!

JK has broke the story here that visas now take two days to process, so yes we were told

to come back Monday at 4pm for the visa. We received a white piece of paper with blue ink,

not a pink slip.

Hopefully on Monday the visa wil be ready. JK has reported on some big-time troubles with

people geting their visas AFTER approval.

Best,

George