We Got the Visa!

giannidellavigne · June 9, 2006

Great news -- I'm back in the USA with the most important thing I was supposed to take home with me --my fiance' Soraya.

Anyways, for anyone interested in the Bogota' embassy, here is my story:

First of all, anyone going to Bogota, DRESS WARMLY. Right now is the rainy season and it's really cold early in the morning and at night--i'm talking heavy jacket here.

So, our interview was scheduled for 7 am. We got there about 6:20 and there were already about 20 people in line. It was cold as hell and we were freezing our butts off. At around 6:30, they divided the line into 3 lines: 1 for K1 visas, another for tourist visas, and a third for I don't know what. There was a bum rush for line 3, which was the K1 visa line and we were like 8th in line or so. At about 7:05am, they started letting people in. Lines 1 and 2 got let in first and we didn't pass thru the security check until abou 7:30am.

Second thing about the Bogota embassy--it's all outside. It's like a giant amphitheatre. No going inside to a nice warm place...you wait outside in these cold metal chairs. So, we got into the main area and were told to sit in a certain section and wait to be called. We were given a folder that said "K1" on it along with instructions about what order we should have our papers in.

All the interviews are conducted in a "box office ticket" type style. You wait on the outside and pick up a phone to talk to the person on the other end of the glass window. Documents are passed under the window. At about 8:15 Soraya got called and she waited in line at what I called the "ticket window." After about another 15 minutes, it was finally her turn. She gave all the documents to the woman on the other side in exactly the order they were supposed to be in--everything from the I34 Affidavit of Support to her Medical Records. The woman was very nice and was pleased that we were organized. She said we had all the necessary documents needed and told us to wait on the other side of the embassy to be called.

So we went over to the other side--this is all outside-- and found two cold metal chairs to sit in. At about 9:15, Soraya was called up but this was just for fingerprinting. Fingerprinting is like step 2 in the process. The next two hours were the most difficult and longest 2 hours in my life. We waited and waited while we froze our butts off. FINALLY, at about 11:30, Soraya gets called to the window. She gets on the phone and the man on the other end asked her some basic questions like how you met, who was the name of the person who introduced her to me, and does she have family in America. Now, the last question--whether she had family in America--prompted some serious grilling from the embassy guy. You see, Soraya's Mother lives in NJ and that is where I live and where we were planning to live as well. When the embassy guy learned her Mother lives in NJ he immediately went on the offensive and said, "So your Mother set this up as a business deal in order to get you to come to America, didn't she? This is a business you're running, isn't it...etc... Soraya was totally not expected to hear this garbage and she explained again how we met thru a mutual friend over the phone one day etc... and her Mother had nothing to do with it. I guess the guy was just doing his job but he was a real jerk about it. He was American but spoke in Spanish to her, even though she speaks fluent English.

Now, we had about 3 inches worth of evidence--everything from pictures to boarding passes. This guy didn't even ask for one shred of evidence. What he wanted was my passport. I was called up and I gave him my passport. He saw that I had visited Soraya 3 times already and after that he finally said she was approved. He didn't even ask for any other evidence.

Bottom line--if I hadn't been there at the interview with my passport, I don't think she would have been approved. She was told to come on Monday at 4pm to pick up her visa since the interview was on a Friday and they process them next biz day. The whole process took about 4 1/2 hours. I dressed in a sports coat and slacks, no tie..but I saw people dressed everything from jeans to a suit. I really don't think how I dressed mattered looking back. There were a lot of women there by themselves and they came back from the windows smiling so it seems that if you have all your docs together you have a good chance at the Bogota' embassy.

Just remember to wear a jacket. Anyone with any questions feel free to email me: giannidellavigne@yahoo.com