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| Bogota, Colombia |  Review on January 21, 2011: |
Robert de Bonda
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Bogota Embassy K-1 Visa Review
My fiancee Viko and I went for our K-1 visa interview on Wednesday January 19, 2011. As with all immigrant visa applications, we were scheduled for 7:00am. Anxious that we were, we arrived at 5:35am. There were already 2 people on line and we later learned that 3 others had already crossed the "police tape" and were lined up further ahead at the security control booth.
Having read previous Visa Journey reviews, we lined up at Line 3 and waited. At about 6:30am, the women who work at the embassy that were in charge of ensuring that only persons with appointments could enter appeared and took their places at the front of each line. An announcement was made over the PA system that told everyone which line they should be on. We were already in Line 3 and stayed there.
At Line 3, they put green stickers on our clothing and directed us to window 40. We now had to go through the Security Control Point, much like security at an airport. We had to surrender any electronic equipment that was capable of recording sound, images or video; so our cell phones with camara were left at the security control point for later retrieval. We went to Window 40 where they first processed all of the persons who were returning with additional information. When it was finally our turn, they gave us a cafe colored folder that had a list of the items that they required from us. We had to sort the documents in that order and then return the folder. While we were sorting the documents there was a document listed that was neither on the list for the package 4 nor had I ever encountered on any guide or forum. I don't remember the number but it was a certification of singlehood that needed to be in duplicate. I wondered whether they meant the letter of intent so I pulled out the copy from my copy of the I-129f packet and asked Viko to check with the woman while I started pulling out blank pages from the petition packet. She returned with a different folder; they had given us an incorrect folder. After we sorted out the documents that they required us to have, we discovered that we did not bring the pictures. So I asked permission to leave and return and they said OK. In the mean time, Viko submitted the folder and sat down to wait. I returned in about 45 minutes and after going through the security routine they let me back in. From the time that I was gone nothing had happened.
Finally, they called us to Window 23 where a woman went through the documents. She had the petition packet and the cafe colored folder from earlier. She said that she couldn't find the Affidavit of Support so I gave her the copy that I had in my copy of the I-129f packet. She returned to me the copy of the Divorce decree that I had submitted and kept the certified copy. Something else she gave me back but I don't remember what it was. Then she asked us to have a seat again.
Half an hour later, they called Viko to Window 2, where they took her fingerprints. OK. Have a seat. In the mean time, some other applicants that we chatted with during the day had their final interviews. One lady was there with her teenage daughter and son and was told to come back with her fiance. Another gentleman was there with his daughter and was getting his spousal visa and they told him to come back with fotos. We weren't paying attention the whole time but many applicants left without paying the visa delivery fee which meant that they were denied or that they were asked to return with additional information.
We waited almost 45 minutes later when they called her to Window 6. We had all the fotos, emails, phone records, money transfer receipts, luggage tags, boarding passes, receipts from airplane flights, etc. The woman spoke to Victoria through a phone like the ones that they have in jail on TV. She asked her about how we met, when we met, when we got engaged. She asked her whether I was from Colombia or from Puerto Rico. Viko knows that I am from the West Indies and told the lady which island I was from. She also asked her about a Student Visa application that she had filed in December 2009. Viko explained that we were looking into the possibility of opening a hostel in Colombia and we thought that if she attended an intensive language program in the US it would be helpful to the venture. Then she asked Viko to pass me the phone. The Consul asked me about the Student Visa and I told her that I was very interested in moving to Colombia but that at that time filing a K-1 visa for Viko would not make sense as she would most likely have to forfeit her residency when we returned to Colombia. I told her it was more important now that we be together than we start a business in Colombia. She then told me that she was a little confused with the timeline and asked me about my divorce and whether I lived with my ex-wife during the process. Then she asked about my daughters if they were living with their mother and said that it seemed that I live right next door to where I used to live. I told her yes, that my sister and I bought a house for my parents next door to where I used to live and that I have since moved in with them. Then she said there seemed to be an age difference between us and asked if that was a problem. I told her that Viko's family is very good to me and that yes, sometimes my friends tease me about robbing the cradle, but we went into this 3 1/2 years ago knowing what we were doing. Then she asked to speak to Viko again.
I could barely hear her through the glass but she asked her about the trips that we had taken and how many times I had come to Colombia to visit her (according to the Colombian government, this would be the 15th time that I have been to Colombia in 3 1/2 years). Then Viko screamed. The woman had told her that the visa was approved.Bogota Embassy K-1 Visa Review
My fiancee Viko and I went for our K-1 visa interview on Wednesday January 19, 2011. As with all immigrant visa applications, we were scheduled for 7:00am. Anxious that we were, we arrived at 5:35am. There were already 2 people on line and we later learned that 3 others had already crossed the "police tape" and were lined up further ahead at the security control booth.
Having read previous Visa Journey reviews, we lined up at Line 3 and waited. At about 6:30am, the women who work at the embassy that were in charge of ensuring that only persons with appointments could enter appeared and took their places at the front of each line. An announcement was made over the PA system that told everyone which line they should be on. We were already in Line 3 and stayed there.
At Line 3, they put green stickers on our clothing and directed us to window 40. We now had to go through the Security Control Point, much like security at an airport. We had to surrender any electronic equipment that was capable of recording sound, images or video; so our cell phones with camara were left at the security control point for later retrieval. We went to Window 40 where they first processed all of the persons who were returning with additional information. When it was finally our turn, they gave us a cafe colored folder that had a list of the items that they required from us. We had to sort the documents in that order and then return the folder. While we were sorting the documents there was a document listed that was neither on the list for the package 4 nor had I ever encountered on any guide or forum. I don't remember the number but it was a certification of singlehood that needed to be in duplicate. I wondered whether they meant the letter of intent so I pulled out the copy from my copy of the I-129f packet and asked Viko to check with the woman while I started pulling out blank pages from the petition packet. She returned with a different folder; they had given us an incorrect folder. After we sorted out the documents that they required us to have, we discovered that we did not bring the pictures. So I asked permission to leave and return and they said OK. In the mean time, Viko submitted the folder and sat down to wait. I returned in about 45 minutes and after going through the security routine they let me back in. From the time that I was gone nothing had happened.
Finally, they called us to Window 23 where a woman went through the documents. She had the petition packet and the cafe colored folder from earlier. She said that she couldn't find the Affidavit of Support so I gave her the copy that I had in my copy of the I-129f packet. She returned to me the copy of the Divorce decree that I had submitted and kept the certified copy. Something else she gave me back but I don't remember what it was. Then she asked us to have a seat again.
Half an hour later, they called Viko to Window 2, where they took her fingerprints. OK. Have a seat. In the mean time, some other applicants that we chatted with during the day had their final interviews. One lady was there with her teenage daughter and son and was told to come back with her fiance. Another gentleman was there with his daughter and was getting his spousal visa and they told him to come back with fotos. We weren't paying attention the whole time but many applicants left without paying the visa delivery fee which meant that they were denied or that they were asked to return with additional information.
We waited almost 45 minutes later when they called her to Window 6. We had all the fotos, emails, phone records, money transfer receipts, luggage tags, boarding passes, receipts from airplane flights, etc. The woman spoke to Victoria through a phone like the ones that they have in jail on TV. She asked her about how we met, when we met, when we got engaged. She asked her whether I was from Colombia or from Puerto Rico. Viko knows that I am from the West Indies and told the lady which island I was from. She also asked her about a Student Visa application that she had filed in December 2009. Viko explained that we were looking into the possibility of opening a hostel in Colombia and we thought that if she attended an intensive language program in the US it would be helpful to the venture. Then she asked Viko to pass me the phone. The Consul asked me about the Student Visa and I told her that I was very interested in moving to Colombia but that at that time filing a K-1 visa for Viko would not make sense as she would most likely have to forfeit her residency when we returned to Colombia. I told her it was more important now that we be together than we start a business in Colombia. She then told me that she was a little confused with the timeline and asked me about my divorce and whether I lived with my ex-wife during the process. Then she asked about my daughters if they were living with their mother and said that it seemed that I live right next door to where I used to live. I told her yes, that my sister and I bought a house for my parents next door to where I used to live and that I have since moved in with them. Then she said there seemed to be an age difference between us and asked if that was a problem. I told her that Viko's family is very good to me and that yes, sometimes my friends tease me about robbing the cradle, but we went into this 3 1/2 years ago knowing what we were doing. Then she asked to speak to Viko again.
I could barely hear her through the glass but she asked her about the trips that we had taken and how many times I had come to Colombia to visit her (according to the Colombian government, this would be the 15th time that I have been to Colombia in 3 1/2 years). Then Viko screamed. The woman had told her that the visa was approved. Silly me asked if the woman wanted to see the fotos or any of the proof that we had. She politely declined saying that it was not necessary. We thanked her and left to pay for the visa delivery charge.
It's important to note that the only problem we encountered was with DOMESA the vasa delivery company. Viko had been robbed of her documents in December, so she still had a replacement contrasena instead of the cedula. They would not accept this for sending the documents to her.It had to be sent to someone else who had a cedula. She had to go to the security control point to get her cell phone to call a friend to get the friends cedula number so that they could send it to her friend.
The times above may not be right, but we left the embassy at about 12:30pm.
All in all, everyone on staff at the Embassy were very professional. I have read about rude persons there and I did not encounter any. The first woman who reviewed all of the documents together with the I-129f packet was curt but professionally so in that I did not detect rudeness on her behalf but a desire to get the final packet available for the Consul who would interview us.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7078