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| Bogota, Colombia |  Review on May 7, 2011: |
dtbrooklyn
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
First off, my situation is a bit different than most here because we were applying for a CR1 visa not a K1, and I was doing it through DCF (Direct Country Filing), which meant that I didn't have to deal with USCIS or dropboxes or any of that crap. I filed my 1-130 form at the embassy in Bogotá in February, mailed all the rest of the documents into the embassy and we had our interview May 6.
First off, it was sunny, thank god!
We had our interview on Friday. On Wednesday morning at 6:15 a.m we went to the lab for my wife to get the xrays and other lab tests. Husbands and others are NOT allowed in, so either stay away or plan to grab a bite to eat. We were first in line when the patients were let in at 6:45 (supposedly they open at 7) and my wife was out by 7:45.
Later on Wednesday at 5:00 we had the doctor's appointment with Dr. Roa, way up in the north of town (an hour on the bus!). Husbands and others are allowed to wait there, but we didn't know so I went out and sat in the park in Usaquén (the small town-like neighborhood right by the office). My advice would be to show up early for the doctor's appointment as they let people in early, even if they had later appointments. My wife was in there for 2 hours, including the time waiting to pick up the sealed envelope. Afterwards we had dinner in the Usaquén neighborhood as there a ton of stylish restaraunts within walking distance.
So back to Friday, we had a 7 a.m. appointment. Showed up right at 6 a.m. on the dot, and there were maybe 50 people line up by the fence in line 1. We went straight for line 3 which is for resident visas, and were the first ones there. Right after we got there an old man (not an official, but a seller of something) announced to everyone that immigrant visas were in line 3 and about 15 people joined the line (one family cut in front of us saying they were there first...)
They checked our interview invitation paper and gave us a DOMESA form to fill out to mail the visa, then let us in the embassy at 6:15. They gave us a green sticker.
1) We got in line to have the initial checking of documents. All good (we were a bit worried bc we didn't have a copy of my wife's passport, just the original). She told us to organize all of our documents (without paperclips or anything, in the order listed in the folder, and get into another line with her to have her check it again. We were 2nd to check the folder
2) Sit and wait til 7:45. Called up to turn in the folder. Wife was asked a few basic questions, but nothing big. I didn't go up with her, they asked if i was there, and was told to go up with her the next time.
3) Sit and wait some more. Finally called up at 8:30 to pay. Can pay in pesos, dollars or credit card. I paid with Amex, 404 dollars!
4) Sit and wait some more. Called up at around 9 for my wife to take her fingerprints. Nothing much to that.
At this point they were calling people up to do the actual interviews. My wife was getting nervous and rather impatient. We were the second people through, but others were getting to their interviews first. It's not clear what order they follow. Thankfully it was sunny, and not raining, and we could hear the speakers well enough.
At 9:30 a.m. they called us up for the actual "interview". As soon as we got up there the lady behind the window recognized me from when I dropped off the papers in February. She was super friendly and smiling the whole time. My wife spoke to her, as I stood there on the side somewhat stupidly. She asked my wife if she spoke English which she does fluently, so they did everything in English.
I couldn't hear the questions, just my wife's responses. She asked her, where we had met, when we got married, if we lived together, where my wife had lived before, who had come to the wedding, where we were going to live in the US, what she was going to do in the US, what her job was here in Colombia. All super-basic questions, and done super-friendly, it seemed more like she was just making conversation at the end then taking notes.
They asked to see ZERO of the documentation we had (chats, bills, photos, etc...) I didn't speak to the interviewer at all.
She told my wife good luck and that the visa should be ready in a few days. That was it. She passed us the receipt to take to DOMESA and we had the approval!
After my wife cried a bit, and I phoned her sister (cell phones are allowed in the embassy if they are old and crappy like mine - i.e. they don't have photo or video capabilities). We had forgotten to fill out the DOMESA form, so we had to hop out of that line to fill it out, but that line took no time at all. We paid the 58 thousand pesos to mail the visa - they told us it would arrive in 8 working days - and we were out of the embassy by 9:45 a.m.
Obviously the wait is a pain in the butt, but I can't say anything negative about the two experiences I had at the embassy. Everything was very clear, and the interviewers were fair and friendly. They have a nice little cafe in there, and clean bathrooms as well.
Best of luck to everyone else!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7563