Backlog in Bogota Embassy

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

A rant...

 

I am feeling so stressed out and overwhelmed tonight. My fiancé and I have been trying to find a way to meet in Bogota next month. This will require him to travel from Caracas, Venezuela. I figured this would also be a good chance for us to determine what the process will be like when it is time for him to go to Bogota for his interview. Turns out, it is not so easy. Flights seem to be few and far between. I can purchase a flight with Wingo, but I can find no evidence that those flights are actually happening. Our alternative option is for him to take a bus and cross over in Cúcuta, but I have no idea what the situation is there. I read two articles today about how Venezuelans are being held up at the border for days or weeks. My fiancé tells me it isn't a problem and he will simply leave days earlier, which does not make me feel better, lol. To top it off, we have realized that his passport expired in November. Colombia and US are accepting expired Venezuelan passports, but he told me he may have trouble leaving Venezuela. We tried to get his passport extended last year and paid the fee, but then they shut down due to covid. Now, they want us to pay again and claim he will have it in 3 weeks but...it is Venezuela, after all, who knows what could happen.

 

I feel like we are getting every hurdle thrown at us. I would love to see him, since I have not seen him since Sept 2019, but the logistics are overwhelming. And I am worried about simply getting him to Bogota when the time comes for our interview. Sometimes I feel like he is trapped in Venezuela. I'm sorry, I know this is just me rambling, I guess I needed an outlet to vent. We will get through it one way or another, as we always have. I suspect our trip in March will not happen, so we will have to continue being patient.

[Dave_VE 5]

6 hours ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

A rant...

 

I am feeling so stressed out and overwhelmed tonight. My fiancé and I have been trying to find a way to meet in Bogota next month. This will require him to travel from Caracas, Venezuela. I figured this would also be a good chance for us to determine what the process will be like when it is time for him to go to Bogota for his interview. Turns out, it is not so easy. Flights seem to be few and far between. I can purchase a flight with Wingo, but I can find no evidence that those flights are actually happening. Our alternative option is for him to take a bus and cross over in Cúcuta, but I have no idea what the situation is there. I read two articles today about how Venezuelans are being held up at the border for days or weeks. My fiancé tells me it isn't a problem and he will simply leave days earlier, which does not make me feel better, lol. To top it off, we have realized that his passport expired in November. Colombia and US are accepting expired Venezuelan passports, but he told me he may have trouble leaving Venezuela. We tried to get his passport extended last year and paid the fee, but then they shut down due to covid. Now, they want us to pay again and claim he will have it in 3 weeks but...it is Venezuela, after all, who knows what could happen.

 

I feel like we are getting every hurdle thrown at us. I would love to see him, since I have not seen him since Sept 2019, but the logistics are overwhelming. And I am worried about simply getting him to Bogota when the time comes for our interview. Sometimes I feel like he is trapped in Venezuela. I'm sorry, I know this is just me rambling, I guess I needed an outlet to vent. We will get through it one way or another, as we always have. I suspect our trip in March will not happen, so we will have to continue being patient.

Hey...

 

I am in Venezuela as well, waiting for my interview in Bogota, my category is F2B. Luckly my passport expires next year. I just received NVC approval of my documents. I know what your're going through, to get a passport in Venezuela is almost impossible. I just want you to share with you a possibility to leave Venezuela. I'm planning to travel to Cancum, Mexico (Yes, there are flights) and to take a flight to Colombia from there. It's the only way I see possible. I don't recommend you to cross over the border, it's dangerous, and it's closed by now. Try to get the extension and take a flight to Mexico and then to Colombia. I hope I have helped you! 

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

31 minutes ago, Dave_VE said:

Hey...

 

I am in Venezuela as well, waiting for my interview in Bogota, my category is F2B. Luckly my passport expires next year. I just received NVC approval of my documents. I know what your're going through, to get a passport in Venezuela is almost impossible. I just want you to share with you a possibility to leave Venezuela. I'm planning to travel to Cancum, Mexico (Yes, there are flights) and to take a flight to Colombia from there. It's the only way I see possible. I don't recommend you to cross over the border, it's dangerous, and it's closed by now. Try to get the extension and take a flight to Mexico and then to Colombia. I hope I have helped you! 

Oh, yikes. I had read back in August that it opened up, but you are certain it is closed again? My fiancé felt really confident that he could pass through and said it has been operating but he must have been misinformed. 
 

Thanks for the tip on Mexico. Sounds like we will need to look into that. 

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

Hello all,

 

I was able to find a group on Facebook for K1 filers in Colombia (the group is "Visa K1 Colombia y Ajuste de estatus"), thanks to another post here on VJ. There are many posts in the group which mirror what has already been said - that the embassy is still working through their current cancelled appointments for January-April 2020 and there are quite a few people who have had their interview or have had it scheduled. There was at least one person who reported having their interview scheduled who was NOA2 in February 2020. 

 

Just wanted to post this here hoping it will bring hope to you all. As we all know, the embassy is still not receiving petitions from the NVC. When they will begin to accept those is completely unknown, but I continue to hope that it will be soon. The NVC confirmed with me that my petition will be sent with the rest which were approved March 2020, so I hope we will be towards the front of the line. 

 

So far the FB group has been pretty active, so I hope it will be a good source to find out who is getting interviews.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Bri&Alejandro

[Removed20210801 22]

18 hours ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

Hello all,

 

I was able to find a group on Facebook for K1 filers in Colombia (the group is "Visa K1 Colombia y Ajuste de estatus"), thanks to another post here on VJ. There are many posts in the group which mirror what has already been said - that the embassy is still working through their current cancelled appointments for January-April 2020 and there are quite a few people who have had their interview or have had it scheduled. There was at least one person who reported having their interview scheduled who was NOA2 in February 2020. 

 

Just wanted to post this here hoping it will bring hope to you all. As we all know, the embassy is still not receiving petitions from the NVC. When they will begin to accept those is completely unknown, but I continue to hope that it will be soon. The NVC confirmed with me that my petition will be sent with the rest which were approved March 2020, so I hope we will be towards the front of the line. 

 

So far the FB group has been pretty active, so I hope it will be a good source to find out who is getting interviews.

I just wanted to thank you for your updates. I just got to NOA2 in early January and am going to be stuck at NVC for a while I imagine.

 

i did just read that pico de cédula is going away in bogota which I think has caused a lot of the slowness with the US embassy so I’m hopefully that they will really start to pick up soon.

 

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

4 hours ago, alexatexas said:

I just wanted to thank you for your updates. I just got to NOA2 in early January and am going to be stuck at NVC for a while I imagine.

 

i did just read that pico de cédula is going away in bogota which I think has caused a lot of the slowness with the US embassy so I’m hopefully that they will really start to pick up soon.

 

You’re welcome! I spend a lot of time these days looking for any information I can find. I know we are all anxious to be back with our loved ones. 
 

You are correct, you may have a bit of a wait ahead of you. I do hope they will start picking up the pace soon. The embassy’s automatic email response does state that their top priorities right now are emergency cases, spouses, children, and fiancé’s. Hopefully, when they are back up and running at a more normal pace, they will really start chugging through those K1 visas and you will hear something as quickly as possible!

[Tacos 69]

So I also decided to email my congressman, I know a little lengthy, but I need some context. 

 

Dear Congressman __________:

 

My name is __________ and am a resident of __________. As one of your constituents, I am respectfully requesting your help (if possible) with the immigration situation for my family. My fiancé and son (a dual US-Colombian citizen) live abroad in Colombia. 

 

My family and I have personally benefited from the generous immigration policy of the United States. My father served in the military, stationed in Europe, where he met my mother; she has been a U.S. resident for nearly thirty years. I still remember the first time I was on American soil after my mother, brother and I, emigrated to the U.S. 

 

Currently, I am employed as a __________, working in Anchorage, Alaska. When I have days off, I chose to make the long commute to Colombia, where my family is. As a father and future husband, I do not want absent so absent from their daily lives, so in November 2019, I filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (U.S.C.I.S.) to bring my fiance and son to the U.S. through the K1 Visa process; so we can be together as a family. 

 

The petition was approved May 12th, 2020, and has since been with the National Visa Center while she and I wait for the embassy to resume routine services. My fiance and I, along with many others in a similar situation, are becoming increasingly frustrated. Instead of focusing on family issues for U.S. Citizens, such as spousal and fiancé services, the embassy is oddly instead dealing with student visa applicants. The frustration also stems from knowing the embassies in neighboring countries, such as Bolivia, have fully resumed routine services. At the same time, we continue to wait with little to no information from the embassy. 

 

With the C.D.C. Level 4 and the U.S. State Department's Level 3 due to COVID (https://co.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/), I have attempted twice to no avail, a request for an expedited case. The first attempt was because my son was facing surgery for a severe issue, which now is no longer needed, but I wanted him to have access to the best healthcare. 

 

My fiance and I would be grateful for any assistance that you can offer. If you can't, perhaps you can shed some light on what is going on with the embassy in Bogota and when things will resume. Many frustrated U.S. Citizens, myself included, wanting to be reunited with their loved ones, would also appreciate any information. We once again want to feel optimistic and hopeful to be with our families shortly.

 

Thank you for your time; I look forward to any response from you or your office. 

 

Sincerely,

__________

[carva26 8]

Good news, I have check on their website and this was changed to: (https://co.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/)

 

 

 

 

Resumption of Limited, Routine Immigrant Visa Processing
Beginning March 1, 2021, we have increased the range of immigrant visa services available and resumed limited, routine immigrant visa interviews.  Among immigrant visa applications, we will prioritize emergency cases and then Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications. 

As we increase the range of our immigrant services available, we’ll be processing cases in the order that the National Visa Center determined the case to be “documentarily qualified.”  When a case becomes documentarily qualified, the National Visa Center sends an email to notify you that it is complete and pending scheduling at the Embassy, so please review your past emails from the National Visa Center to determine what date your case became documentarily qualified. You may also check your CEAC account to find this date.

 

 

 

 

we will probably get out appointment soon  guys!!!

 

 

Christian

[Tacos 69]

1 hour ago, carva26 said:

Good news, I have check on their website and this was changed to: (https://co.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/)

 

 

 

 

Resumption of Limited, Routine Immigrant Visa Processing
Beginning March 1, 2021, we have increased the range of immigrant visa services available and resumed limited, routine immigrant visa interviews.  Among immigrant visa applications, we will prioritize emergency cases and then Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications. 

As we increase the range of our immigrant services available, we’ll be processing cases in the order that the National Visa Center determined the case to be “documentarily qualified.”  When a case becomes documentarily qualified, the National Visa Center sends an email to notify you that it is complete and pending scheduling at the Embassy, so please review your past emails from the National Visa Center to determine what date your case became documentarily qualified. You may also check your CEAC account to find this date.

 

 

 

 

we will probably get out appointment soon  guys!!!

 

 

Christian

You beat me to it, fantastic news. 

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

2 hours ago, Tacos said:

You beat me to it, fantastic news. 

Just came to post the news as well 😂

 

I hope we all start getting movement soon!! I’ll be keeping a very close eye on my case as my fiancé and I had began planning a visit in April. The Airbnb is booked but if we might have an interview in the next few months then we will wait until then. 

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

Does anyone else have a date on their CEAC when they check the status, though?? I never received an email from the NVC, and when I check the status on CEAC there is no date, it just says “At NVC”. 
 

I did confirm with the NVC about a month ago that our petition would be sent based on its approval date of March 30th, so I guess I am sticking with that. Have any of you already done the DS 260? I guess it is time for us to get the ball rolling and get ready. 

[Bri&Alejandro 82]

49 minutes ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

Does anyone else have a date on their CEAC when they check the status, though?? I never received an email from the NVC, and when I check the status on CEAC there is no date, it just says “At NVC”. 
 

I did confirm with the NVC about a month ago that our petition would be sent based on its approval date of March 30th, so I guess I am sticking with that. Have any of you already done the DS 260? I guess it is time for us to get the ball rolling and get ready. 

I think I meant DS 160...right? Lmao now I am getting myself confused

[ambarpatt1 5]

El 22/12/2020 a las 18:54, Louis61404 dijo:

Antes de Covid-19, Bogotá no era una gran espera para obtener la entrevista (al menos para IR1/CR1) - tal vez unos 60 días. Para que ese retraso no sea demasiado largo. Las personas con entrevistas canceladas fueron como DQ'ed a mediados/finales de diciembre hasta mediados de enero. Así que en ese sentido, el retraso no debería ser demasiado para compensar. Antes de Covid-19 México tenía aproximadamente un año de espera para la entrevista después de DQ, y la mayoría de las embajadas se encuentran entre eso.

 

Pero parece que nunca volverán a abrir en Bogotá. Ese es el verdadero problema.

Resumption of Limited, Routine Immigrant Visa Processing
Beginning March 1, 2021, we have increased the range of immigrant visa services available and resumed limited, routine immigrant visa interviews.  Among immigrant visa applications, we will prioritize emergency cases and then Immediate Relative family members of U.S. citizens including intercountry adoptions, fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens, and certain Special Immigrant Visa applications. 

As we increase the range of our immigrant services available, we’ll be processing cases in the order that the National Visa Center determined the case to be “documentarily qualified.”  When a case becomes documentarily qualified, the National Visa Center sends an email to notify you that it is complete and pending scheduling at the Embassy, so please review your past emails from the National Visa Center to determine what date your case became documentarily qualified. You may also check your CEAC account to find this date.

Rescission of Presidential Proclamation 10014

Presidential Proclamation (P.P.) 10014, entitled “Suspension of Entry of Immigrants Who Present a Risk to the United States Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Outbreak,” was rescinded on February 24, 2021.  Please read further for details.

Immigrant visa applicants whose petitions remain valid and who were previously interviewed but refused visas due to P.P. 10014 should wait for instructions.  The Department of State will reconsider cases that were previously refused because of P.P. 10014 and will inform applicants if additional information is needed.  We are currently reviewing those cases and will contact applicants directly. 

Immigrant visas to the United States are processed for citizens and residents of Colombia at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota.

To apply for an immigrant visa, a foreign citizen seeking to immigrate generally must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident immediate relative(s), or prospective U.S. employer, and have an approved petition before applying for an immigrant visa.  The sponsor begins the process by filing a petition on the foreign citizen’s behalf with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).  You may wish to review our Directory of Visa Categories on usvisas.state.gov to learn about the different types of immigrant visas to the United States, including our Diversity Visa Program.  Then, follow the steps on the Immigrant Visa Process, or on the Diversity Visa Process, on usvisas.state.gov to begin applying for an immigrant visa.

Once USCIS has approved your petition and you have completed pre-processing  with the National Visa Center (NVC), or if you have been selected in the Diversity Visa Lottery and completed processing with the Kentucky Consular Center (KCC), review the instructions given to you by the NVC or the KCC, along with the information presented on this website, for further guidance and instructions.

Regarding Future Updates

As soon as we are able to resume visa services, updates will be announced via our website https://co.usembassy.gov/ and social media.  Please follow these communication outlets for regular updates regarding our operating status.  We will resume routine visa services as soon as possible but are unable to provide a specific date.  If you have an urgent matter and need to travel immediately, please follow the link (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-co/iv) to request an emergency appointment. If your expedited appointment request is approved, but you are experiencing flu-like symptoms or believe you may have been exposed to the novel coronavirus, we encourage you to postpone your appointment by at least 14 days.

Important Information for All Visa Applicants

Due to a variety of factors, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates are unable to guarantee the issuance of a U.S. visa before a fixed travel date. Do not make final travel plans or buy tickets until you have a visa.

 

[James & Helga 15]

10 hours ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

Does anyone else have a date on their CEAC when they check the status, though?? I never received an email from the NVC, and when I check the status on CEAC there is no date, it just says “At NVC”. 
 

I did confirm with the NVC about a month ago that our petition would be sent based on its approval date of March 30th, so I guess I am sticking with that. Have any of you already done the DS 260? I guess it is time for us to get the ball rolling and get ready. 

That is wonderful news!  Finally!!
 

 So, when I check my CEAC status it says, “Ready”.  The dates listed are:

Created:  22 October 2019

Last Updated: 10 March 2020

 

I believe the 10 March 2020 date is the date we became DQ’d.  And we did have an interview appointment scheduled for 06 April 2020.  So I’m hopeful we’ll hear soon.

 

Bri, thanks for keeping us updated on here throughout all of this.  I always check this thread every day to see if there is any news.  This thread is the most reliable information out there in my opinion.  

[EA and MK 48]

9 hours ago, Bri&Alejandro said:

I think I meant DS 160...right? Lmao now I am getting myself confused

You should check your messages in CEAC and see when the NVC sent you a note that you were documentarily qualified. Not sure if they do K1s the same way they do CR1/IR1s, but if so then this is how you check the DQ date. You can also find when the NVC sent your DQ notice.