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| Bogota, Colombia |  Review on October 28, 2007: |
progers001
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
We had a hectic couple days prior to the interview. It was worthwhile arriving in Bogota with my fiance two days prior to the interview. We had to trek around the city for the medical exams and some additional passport photos which we felt were needed just in case.
While in the hurry to get those things done we completely overlooked submitting the payment for the actual interview the day prior at a local bank. We didn't realize our error (one of two) until the morning we arrived for the interview. Thankfully it proved to be an error we were able to work out with the embassy staff...we ended up having to leave the embassy for about an 40 mins to go a short distance down the street to a bank to make the payment (in cash). I guess the embassy is a bit leary of accepting credit card payments (I suppose b/c the charges are reversible).
In any event, we arrived plenty early the morning of the interview. We were the first ones at the guard shack/entrance to the embassy when we arrived there at about 4:30 AM. But within a few minutes another person arrived. And not long after that some street vendors showed up hawking hot coffee/chocolate, umbrellas (there was a light drizzle) etc. By around 600/615am there was a line about 200-300 people long. In retrospect it wasn't hugely critical to arrive too early because once inside we still had to wait amongst others (I might suggest 515/530am as a decent arrival time), although you won't be first in line (just slightly more rested).
At around 615am we were permitted to walk up a bit further towards the actual visitor entry/exit gate of the embassy (don't expect to bump into any high ranking embassy officials during your visit, as there is a sealed separation between you and them, their entrance is on the opposite side of the embassy from where you'll be).
Then we were given instructions (all in Spanish) as to which lines we needed to queue into based on the visa type (given we were K1 we needed to be in line 3...kind of off the concrete walkway in the dirt). Various staffers were there confirming which lines to be in based on the visa type.
Once permitted, we then passed through security. You will need to leave behind any cameras and cell phones with cameras at the security checkpoint(don't worry, they'll give you a tag for retrieval upon your exit).
Once through security you then pass through a small "courtyard" area before you get into the main embassy/visa processing area. You will then enter the main area through a relatively small doorway, which is yet another checkpoint. The person there will direct you to where you need to go first.
By my rudimentary guesswork, the main area is large (probably about 150-200 ft square) and while it is more or less open to the outdoor elements it does have a roof (over most of it anyway) to keep the rain away from the main area. One really annoying thing was that the men's bathroom was out of order. Another review mentioned this same problem. Hopefully it's not a problem that will continue (lots of guys were struggling to break in to the locked bathroom and were futily looking around for another alternative). You may want to hold back from drinking the morning of the interview (perhaps somone here can confirm the bathroom's reopening???). On a positive note, there is a small eatery inside the visa processing area where you can purchase drinks and food (as you'll be there for a few hours, it's nearly required).
As a K1 visa applicant we first went over to the far side of the processing area...we all sat on a long bench awaiting further instruction. That's when we inquired about the issue of the payment and were told it wouldn't be a problem. At this first station we were asked a couple brief questions to make sure we were in the right spot, I guess. Then we were seated in some folding chairs awaiting more instruction. Once we were all there a female staffer gave us booklets in which to keep all of our documentation/paperwork. The folder also contained a quick checklist sheet covering the docs we would need to present.
Waiting around a bit longer we were told to go wait in line at one of the sets of windows (I believe this set was numbered 31-40??? though I can't remember exactly).
This first station was to verify we had all of the relevant paperwork filled out correctly. Amongst all the papers, we only overlooked one and the grinch at the window yelled at us over it (she seemed the type who hadn't smiled in the past 30 years). It wasn't a hugely critical document...took about 2 minutes to fill out (name/address sort of form) but it delayed us about 30 minutes because we then had to wait behind two other people in that particular line (we had to go to the back of that line).
It's funny, because the "windows" are kind of a combination concert ticket window/prison visitor window...the person is behind thick glass (i guess to prevent us from shooting them ;-) and you have to talk to them via a phone on the wall.
OK...so we corrected our error and the woman gave us instructions that we now needed to go and wait some more in order to make the payment, at the payment window (back left corner of visa area)...well, at least get the ball rolling to make the payment. We finally got called up and the friendlier man at the widnow gave us instructions as to how to make the payment (leave embassy to go to bank). So we took a short taxi ride to the bank, made the payment and came back. We returned to the payment window, showed the man proof of payment then were sent to wait for actual interview.
More waiting and waiting. This wait took quite some time but from where we were sitting we were able to guess which window/guy would be interviewing us...an actual gringo, the first and only encounter with one at the embassy. From where we were sitting we could see couple's (and women alone) walking away from their interviews either happy or glum-faced (i guess either because they were rejected or needed more paperwork or the like).
After about an hour or so, we were finally called up for my fiance's interview (by this time it was probably about 1230/100pm).
The interviewer spoke with my fiance first (in Spanish). The interview would last about 20-25 minutes, very thorough. Keep in mind his/her goal is to find a reason NOT to give her the visa. Admittedly, he was very adept to perform a quick, in-depth, on-the-spot investigation, asking all the right probing questions. Of course, all of the usual about family, how we met, what she planned to do in the US, kids, religion, friends, work (always answer that she has no intention of working). Then he interviewed me as well. He caught me a bit off guard when he asked for my passport, and asked about my prior visits to Colombia. He then spoke with my fiance to corroborate things that I said. I was a little concerned because I wasn't sure how much she had understood about what I was saying in English (at the time she spoke little to no English).
We showed him a photo album we had brought along. He quickly scanned it as we flipped through some of the pages.
After speaking with my fiance, he then asked to speak with me again. So she handed me the phone and I was expecting more grilling. He continued to flip through the paperwork as I took the phone. Shortly after skimming through the docs, he announced "I've found no reason to deny your fiance the visa. She is approved." He then let me know that we could pick up the passport with her visa the following Monday afternoon, after 4PM (the interview was on a Thursday (in July/2007) which meant we'd have to stay in Bogota for another few days). I did find it a bit strange that he announced her visa approval to me and not her. Oh well.
We had planned on being able to get the visa the following day from other entries I had read here in VJ, but that definitely wasn't the case when we had our case reviewed. So we had to change our flights back to Cartagena where my fiance is from, which, given the hourly flights from Bogota, proved to be fairly easy.
We came back Monday afternoon to the embassy at about 3:30pm and she was let in shortly thereafter. They didn't permit me to go in with her this time around. A number of others were there waiting including a few other American guys also there waiting for their fiance's at the gate/security checkpoint. They'd also had their interviews on Thursday but had to wait until Monday for the actual pickup.
After only about 10-15 minutes she returned with passport and visa in hand! Needless to say we were both quite happy. We immediately left there straight to the airport for Cartagena to celebrate with her family. We then left Cartagena to the US two days later. The arrival and processing in Miami proved to be slow and tedious. It could have just been the time we arrived but it took about 2 hours to get processed through there, causing us to miss our connecting flight.
Overall the US Embassy in Bogota operated pretty smoothly given the amount of bureaucracy we had to go through. Most of the staff was friendly and helpful (even if busy handling a lot of people), in fact there was only one exception. Just be prepared for unexpected hurdles you may have to jump. We probably got delayed about an hour or so due to the mixup with the payment but otherwise we could probably have been done by about noontime. You'll see that most of the time is of course spent just waiting around.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #2137