Club Colombia AOS!

[buck501 0]

A little off the AOS subject but this is where the "salts of the sea" are so I thought I would post here. If you think it would be better to post in another section let me know.

Paola and I did the K1 visa. So I am not real informed on getting married in Colombia.

A friend of mine is getting married to a gal in Panama. She is a Panamamainan citizen. I know the requirements may be a little different but, for those of you that were married in Colombia, what all was required? I went to the Panama Embassy site, they have a list of requirements that does not seem complete. No mention of divorce docs from past marraiges. Some medical stuff required and proof of identity but that is about it. Seems to easy. Thanks for your help.

Buck,

Each country is different so he needs to check with local authorities to see what is needed to get married in Panama. As far as getting married in Colombia this is what they need:

- Photocopy of birth certificate issued in the last 3 months.

- Photocopy of passport

- Declaration of bachelorhood

- Marriage certificate of any previous marriages

- Sworn affidavit specifying if any children were born during previous marriage(s)

- Divorce decree or death certificate if previously married.

All documents or copies need to be either original or certified copies, translated and apostilled.

If he wants to get married in a Catholic church other documents will be needed.

Diana

Thanks Diana.

[HAL 9000 96]

bump

[paisita411 0]

Andrea,

I was wondering what has been going on with your husband's case. Any good news?

Diana

No news. We set up an InfoPass appointment for next week to check things out. We're also filing to renew Oscar's EAD. Has Tony S checked in lately? I know he and his wife waited over a year for thier appointment also. I wonder if they forgot about us?

Thanks for checking up on us Diana. I haven't been in here for a while in order to keep my mind busy on other things.

On the positive note.... Oscar is 1 course away from completeing his ESL/Tofel prep course at our local university. He is speaking almost PERFECT English...guys, I'm so amazed! He's also working at a grocery store that is very classy and has very little, to no contact with Spanish speakers and they just adore him. He's finally adjusted to being here and is happy...and so am I. Truthfully, the immigration part is easy in comparison to the asimilation into our culture. Even though I'm Colombian by birth, having him here reminds me of how different we are culturally and I've come to understand how difficult it is for all of us to go through this 'journey'. This is trully a test of love for all of us.

Well....I'll let you all know what they tell me next week.

Take care.

Andrea

[Mononoke28 135]

Well said Andrea, the adjustment period is really hard not only for them but for us as well is. The visa process? CAKE!

I'm glad to hear he's doing well here and it sounds like he gave it his best which is key. It's all in the mind, that's what I say.

Good luck with your Infopass appointment and let us know how it went.

Diana

[paisita411 0]

Well said Andrea, the adjustment period is really hard not only for them but for us as well is. The visa process? CAKE!

I'm glad to hear he's doing well here and it sounds like he gave it his best which is key. It's all in the mind, that's what I say.

Good luck with your Infopass appointment and let us know how it went.

Diana

Wish me luck.

[parkpapa 0]

Hi gang! Long time no see (or post).

I have been away from VJ for some time - dealing with family issues and continuing the adjustment (both mine and that of Lorena and the boys). It's not always easy, but it's all necessary.

Anyway, I'm starting to think about our next step. Someone refresh my memory on things with the AOS. Lorena was given a 'green card' for two years, since we were approved two weeks BEFORE our two year wedding anniversary. That means in about a year and a half, we will need to pay the government even more money. :-(

Am I correct in thinking that we have to wait until we are within 90 days of her green card expiring before applying for the 10 year version of 'permanent residency'? Is it essentially a repeat of the first AOS go-around? Same paperwork and proof? I really don't want to go through all that again, but it's better to be prepared.

Hope everyone is doing well. :-)

And what happened with the original Colombia Club?

Charles

[Mononoke28 135]

Hey Charles, nice to see you're still around.

Yes, you're correct, you will have to file form I-751 to remove conditions within 90 days of her conditional card expiration date, that way you will have an NOA1 in hand once the card expires. The process is a lot easier than anything else and you can find it in the Guide to Remove Conditions here on VJ. You will need to send a lot of evidence to show you still have a bona fide marriage. And that's it, send it and wait for an answer.

They had to close the original Colombia Club thread due to its size, but a new one was created and a link to the older thread can be found in the first two pages of it.

Diana

[parkpapa 0]

Hey Charles, nice to see you're still around.

Yes, you're correct, you will have to file form I-751 to remove conditions within 90 days of her conditional card expiration date, that way you will have an NOA1 in hand once the card expires. The process is a lot easier than anything else and you can find it in the Guide to Remove Conditions here on VJ. You will need to send a lot of evidence to show you still have a bona fide marriage. And that's it, send it and wait for an answer.

They had to close the original Colombia Club thread due to its size, but a new one was created and a link to the older thread can be found in the first two pages of it.

Diana

Thanks, Diana. Good to still be around! haha

I appreciate the info and the link. I'm not surprised about the size of the original club thread. There is lots of precious (and hard won) information there!

Charles

[margara&john 0]

Hi everyone,

I got an email today from CRIS stating, "The I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS was transferred and is now pending standard processing at a USCIS office. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you." I'm not sure if that means that it got sent to Milwaukee, my local office. I think this means that an interview is not likely. I'll post again next time I hear from them.

Last week we went to Chicago for a mini vacation. We did the Sears Tower and Museum of Science and Industry Friday. Saturday was the Aquarium (dolphin exhibit closed fro renovation ) and the Field Museum. With Hal's help we were able to find some Colombian grocery products at La Unica that we can't find here in Milwaukee. Thanks Hal! We went to Colombian restaurants Friday and Saturday night. Friday night was the first time ever that I have not had to help Daniela clear her plate. It was nice to see her so excited about dinner. For those of you familiar with Chicago, we went to El Llano Friday night, and Sabor Saturday night. The food was great at both places, but the service was much better at Sabor.

Have a great weekend

John

[margara&john 0]

Hi everyone,

I got a letter from USCIS yesterday. They transfered Margarita and Daniela's cases to the California service center. We're excited that things are moving along.

Happy Valentines Day

John

[TonyS 0]

Andrea,

I was wondering what has been going on with your husband's case. Any good news?

Diana

No news. We set up an InfoPass appointment for next week to check things out. We're also filing to renew Oscar's EAD. Has Tony S checked in lately? I know he and his wife waited over a year for thier appointment also. I wonder if they forgot about us?

Thanks for checking up on us Diana. I haven't been in here for a while in order to keep my mind busy on other things.

On the positive note.... Oscar is 1 course away from completeing his ESL/Tofel prep course at our local university. He is speaking almost PERFECT English...guys, I'm so amazed! He's also working at a grocery store that is very classy and has very little, to no contact with Spanish speakers and they just adore him. He's finally adjusted to being here and is happy...and so am I. Truthfully, the immigration part is easy in comparison to the asimilation into our culture. Even though I'm Colombian by birth, having him here reminds me of how different we are culturally and I've come to understand how difficult it is for all of us to go through this 'journey'. This is trully a test of love for all of us.

Well....I'll let you all know what they tell me next week.

Take care.

Andrea

Hello Andrea

No i haven't forgot about y'all. I have just been very busy. I do wonder how things are going with you and I check in occasionally. I'm sad to see that you are still waiting. We have the green cards now and it all just seems like it was a bad dream. I glad to see that you and Oscar are doing well and he is adjusting fine. The assimilation process is very difficult and a test of the relationship. It is very challenging and for those who survive, very rewarding. My wife is doing very well. She has a degree from Colombia, but is know a full time college student. She works very hard and is a good student. My stepdaughter is now bilingual and is the smartest girl I have ever met, I am very proud of both of them. Feel free to contact us anytime. I love having many friends.

TonyS

[paisita411 0]

Tony, thanks for your post. Its good to hear that your family is adjusting well. Its amazing how kids just soak up the language and culture. I think of you often these days and realize how anxious you were last year. We're actually not as anxious now as we were over the summer, but we do want to close this chapter of our 'journey'. One thing that sets me at ease is knowing that once we get through this step...we're DONE!

The latest is that I called immigration last week and they've opened up a 'case' for us to track our paperwork and give us a status update. We have an InfoPass appt on Friday and we're going in hopes that our inquiry has been looked into over this week and we can get some answers.

Other than that...Life is Good.

I'll definitly keep you all posted on what we hear.

Andrea

[Mononoke28 135]

That's good news Andrea. I'm a very positive person and I can only see good things from this, one that Oscar will get his green card eventually, and two that it will be good for 10 years. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that.

Diana

[Juan Carlos 0]

Hello, guys and gals! I hope everyone is doing great.

I just have a question on Diana's comment: "and it will be good for 10 years" (the green card). I was under the imprssion that once someone became US citizen that was a lifelong deal, provided that individual met the requirements (continous presence, not leaving the US for more than 6 months, etc). I thought the 10 year expiration was for the card itself, not for the residence. Meaning after 10 years yes, you would have to maybe fill out a form and pay certain fees to renew your card, but your residence was good for your lifetime.

Was someone else under the same impression?

Juan Carlos

P.S. Andrea, I hope you had a good, productive appointment.

Hey... made a mistake on my previous post:

Wrote: " I was under the imprssion that once someone became US citizen ..."

Should've written " I was under the imprssion that once someone became US RESIDENT ..."

Sorry about that.

Juan Carlos.

[Andres and Diana 0]

Hi Guys!

Andres and I had his appointment yesterday and he was approved! The official took Andres' EAD and his I-94. Is that normal?

Anyways...She stated that he would be getting his green card in two weeks.

The appointment was relatively easy. She just asked how we met and requested our joint financial info. I gave her our 08 returns, joint bank accounts and joint credit cards. Thats it.

Relatively easy and quick. the appointment was at 8:20 we went in at 8:40 and were out by 9:10.

Andrea I hope you had good news yesterday! Please tell us you did!