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| Bogota, Colombia |  Review on July 26, 2011: |
Rating:  | Review Topic: Other Experience
July 25, 2011
I had an interesting day dealing with Banco Helm in Barranquilla, Colombia, I want to share with all of you so possibly you can avvoid the same experience. If you already know this information then you were better prepared than I was:
1.The Bogota Appointment Package 4 seems to read that for a Finacee Visa (K1) you would need to prepare a 156K. That may be true and we may yet use that form. Not, however, for Banco Helm! What you have to submit to Banco Helm is the 156 for your finacee and each child. Make sure to read the form carefully.
2.On the Colombian passport coverpage there is a red number at the bottom of the page. According to Banco Helm his is the passport number you are supposed to use on the 156 and not the one contained within the passport itself. Very confusing. Apparently the \"passport number\" in the body of the passport (on the page with your ffinacees photo) is the Colombia identification number, not the passport number. Go figure.
3.Proof your form, and proof it again and again. Any mistakes in typing, etc. will send you off to a computer to retype the 156 form and print it out again. Banco Helm would not allow any handwrritten changes. Nor, will they accept a handwritten form!!
4. Banco Helm will accept a 156 answered in either a Spanish or English 156 (we had both).
5. The fee must be paid in cash (pesos) and is charged for the finacee and each child.
6. There was a huge debate with Banco Helm about how to describe what my finacee would be doung in the U.S. She will be a housewife. As I read the 156, that information applied to both 21 (present employer) and 22 (present occupation). The bank was insistant that the answer to these question could not be the same. We ultimately convinced them to allow this to pass but not until I spke with a manager and basically had to become very assertive. I am sure the young lady helping us would have loved to strangle me, oh well.
We finished with Banco Helm and have the reciepts, etc. we need. Tomorrow we head to Bogota for the meds and the labs and an interview at the embassy on Friday. More to follow.
P.S. I am so glad I dealt with Banco Heelm in Barranquilla so that I was not stressed out in Bogota trying to take care of what I though was going to be a \"no-brainer.\"
July 27, 2011 (morning)
Today we went for our lab appointment. We were scheduled between 7-900am. We arrived at 730am. The door is locked and you have to ring the \"door bell\" to get an attendant to open the door. When the door is opened, the attendent wants three things from you: 1. Colombian passport, 2. one (1) passport sized photo, and 3. the money in pesos (exact change!!). Only my finacee was allowed into the building, I was not permitted to accompany her. It was very cold outside and we had to stand around for about an hour before my finacee emerged. There is a small restaurant next door. My finacee said that the visit inside was a very typical lab visit. Nothing exceptional to report there. I know my finacee appreciated me being there, but it was quite chilly and given the choice I might have opted to stay at the hotel! I did nothing and was merely an observer, at best. We have our doctor appointments (fiancee and child) tonight at 500pm. More to follow after that.
July 27, 2011 (afternnon)
We arrived at our doctor’s appointment at 500pm. The process was very efficient. You were given an ID badge (one) and sent to the doctor’s office. Upon arrival we were asked to produce my fitness’s passport and shot records. They had her lab results in hand when we arrived. Typical doctor\'s visit. Lots of waiting. While we waited they prepared an American Immigration form listing all of the vaccinations your spouse (and child or children have). This is in English and was given to us at the end of our appointment. A very helpful thing for when you get back home. We continued to wait for about an hour. We were finally ushered into the doctor\'s office. The doctor spoke a little English and was very nice. He told me that he was the doctor for the embassy and not the patient and was basically making sure that my fiancée did not need additional vaccinations and did not have an STD. He had done post graduate work in Boston. The exam took about 10 minutes and did involve a fully body check. Typical hospital exam type gown all front, no back. The genitals are cheeked relative to STD but for a woman definitely not a well woman gyno exam. Very quick and to the point. Turned out my step-son to be need two more vaccinations. The doctor told me my fiancée and child were in good condition and he saw no issues. G e indicated that we would go get the necessary vaccinations down the hall while they worked on completing our file. The vaccinations were completed in about thirty minutes. We waited for another hour and then were summoned back to the doctor\'s office where we were given two sealed envelopes, one for my fiancée and one for my step-son to be. We also received a copy of my fiancée’s chest x-ray; not necessary for the embassy but nice to have, I guess. We were out of there around 715PM. Thee doctor actually called the next day to check on my step son to be and whether he was having any reaction to the vaccinations. The costs were as specified. The two vaccinations were very reasonable, I don\'t remember what they cost exactly, but they were quite reasonable (no gouging here). Thee visit to the doctor was very pleasant. Other than the wait, it was handled very professionally and the office staff was definitely very knowledgeable and experienced. They had the process down to a science.
July 29, 2011
First and foremost we were approved. We are very, very happy. Now to the details. We took a quick trip to the embassy the day before our interview to scout out the territory. We found the lines and the line numbers so we felt good about that. We arrived on Friday the 29th of July at 645am. There were a handful of people in the number 1 line and none in the number 3 line. We went to the number 3 line. By 615am, we had a few in line 3 and many more in line 1. Line 1 appears to be the general visa line and the number of people in that line dwarfed those in line 3. Around 700am, maybe a little before, am embassy representative comes to line 3 and wants to see your appointment letter and your passport. Have them ready because she will not wait, the representative will go to the next person in line who is ready. Once allowed entrance we entered a small building which is akin to an airport security check point. It was less rigid but basically the same process. They checked my fiancée’s iPhone and allowed us to keep out other cell phone, go figure. There are mailbox slots where thy put checked property and give you a small wooden/plastic ticket to reclaim your property when you exit. I all the excitement, put the claim ticket somewhere safe! We then proceeded into an open area with a number of tent like pavilions. This area is the size of a football field...actually more like half a football filed. There are bathrooms and a couple of snack stands. Plenty of things to choose from if you are so inclined. So, we walked past all of this and ended up near window 1. We had been given Domesa tickets when we entered so we filled those out as we continued to wait. Make sure you put the passport number (that red number on the page prior to the photograph (see my comments above). Also, at this point, let me say. Bring a complete copy of your original I-129F submission. Yes, that\\\'s right, a complete copy. Make an extra copy of the Colombian passport, Domesa will ask for that later and you may not have it. We waited here for less than 20 minutes. There was a table set up near there with files on it. Two stacks, one stack was green the other I can’t remember. Anyway, the embassy representative arrived and explained the process to us in Spanish. I speak a little Spanish. Basically taped to the inside cover of the file is the document list and order they want the documents placed in. After that, she took us in order of our standing in line. We were second in line. We got to the table and she gave us a green file and proceeded to tell us again what to do with it. We left and went to an area with many rows of chairs we proceeded to assemble our package. We had ordered our material as set forth in Packet 4. The order was the same for the file. Make sure to take six photos with you. It seemed like we were asked for photos more than we expected. In the end, I had one left. Once you finish ordering your file, take it back to the attendant who gave it to you. She will take it and tell you to go back and sit down until you are called. We were called around 830aam. The initial discussion was between my fiancée and I and an attendant via telephone through what looks like a teller window complete with tray to pass things back and forth. The attendant had reviewed out file and asked my fiancée a few minor questions and then asked me if I had any questions. After that we were told to go and sit down. One thing to note. It gets noisy in the “yard” so you have to listen carefully for your name to be called. We were the first name called and my fiancée was in the bathroom and I did not recognize the window number they instructed her to go to. By the time we got to the right window we had missed our first call and were delayed about 10 minutes while the next person was called ahead of us (very stressful!!!). So, listen and respond quickly. If you have to go to the bathroom, make it quick! We finished out first interview at 830am. We waited for about an hour until our name was called again. This time we went to a table where the attendant fingerprinted my fiancée. After that we sat back down. I had read that from the end of the first interview until the second it was about two hours. Sure enough right at 1030am we were called back for our formal interview. The consulate officer spoke with me, again by phone, and asked me to go back and sit down while she questioned my fiancée. That lasted for about 5-10 minutes. Then she summoned me back and spoke with me for 5 minutes. During both interview we were asked all of the questions you would expect. Why was I in Colombia, how did we meet, etc. Very little about our families, etc. We had lots of supporting documents, but all the consular officer wanted to see was photos of my fiancée and I together. We had 100+ photos. Some of just the two of us, others of just us and family members, etc. The most important ones are the ones of the two of you together- doing things, not just posing. We had some shots of us in the morning in our pajamas, fooling around while I was shaving in the morning, lying beside one another in the bed. Just waking up in the morning. Lots of hugging and kissing. Really, not anything you probably don’t already have, we did. The consular officer told me we were approved. I asked her to tell my fiancée this as well. She did. We hugged, cried and kissed all at the same time. Wee then went to Domesa, where we found out we needed a copy of the passport. I had the picture page but not the page with the red number (as discussed above). Ultimately, they went with the “passport number” on the picture page and all was well. We paid our fee, reclaimed our iPhone and exited the embassy. We walked out at 1130am. I went to the trouble to provide this importation to help other through the process reading this sort material helped me a lot. I hope it helps you two. My finance’s vises should be delivered in 7-9 days. We plan on her coming to America in about 14 days, if all goes well. Good luck to you in your journey!!
Note: If your American based fiancée is not a U.S. citizen make sure you have all of their paperwork establishing legal U.S residence. Packet 4 does not request that specifically, but there was a woman there who was rejected because her American based resident alien had not provided his immigration paperwork.
P.S. To my fellow American’s. I was very impressed with the American Embassy in Bogota. They were extremely well organized and the process there was very, very smooth. I will say that some of the packet 4 information is a bit confusing and could be rewritten to address certain points I mentioned herein. Having said that kudos to the U.S. State Department!
August 11, 2011
We received my fiancees visa on 8/10/11, and my stepson's today. We were sweating this out as others on the site were saying it took much longer to receive the visa. As it turns out we received both in 11-12 days (9-10 business days). Not too far off from the 8 days the embassy stated. We were able to call Domesa on Saturday 8/6/2011, and were told the visas were in their possession and that they would be delivered the following week. We called again on 8/9/2011 and were told the visas would be delivered the next day. My fiancee’s was and the delivery person told her that her son's would be delivered the following day and it was. If I had it to do over again I might have opted to have Domesa hold the visas in Barranquilla and I would have had my fiancee pick them up at their offices. Not sure it would have made much of a difference, but Domesa is not Fed Ex!!
August 15, 2011
We arrived in Houston and went to the American citizen window (I went down on Friday night to pick them up. I was in Barranquilla a grand total of 12 hours!).- The attending officer was Hispanic and quite nice. He processed us in about 5 minutes and spoke to me in English and my fiancee in Spanish. He was very friendly. He took the visas and the sealed envelopes which were still in the plastic wrapper. He took the sealed envelopes out of the plastic wrapper and did not open the sealed envelopes. He told us we would been sent next to the secondary checkpoint. He handed us and our paperwork off to another attendant. He told that attendant that we were a “soft touch” or something of that nature. I took that to mean that we looked good and our second interview was to be rather easy. I guess if you hear the words “hard..anything,” be vigilant. Not sure what you could do but at least you know there is some issue in the first attendant's mind. We were escorted the the second checkpoint which was in fact an office area with an entrance and waiting area. I was told that due to limited space I would need to wait outside. My fiancee and her son when in by themselves. The second attendant came back out moments later and went about his business. I waited for 30-45 minutes and my fiancee and her son reappeared and she told me they were fine...no problems. We exited the area and were on our way home. My fiancee said the questions were very casual similar to what we experienced in Bogota. The attendant emphasized to my fiancee that she must marry me within 90 days or she would need to leave America as her visa would expire at that time.
This concludes our saga. I hope it helps someone else going through this process. If it help you, it was worth the time and effort. Please take the time to pass along your own story so that other will benefit from your experience. I must tell you that reading these stories was very, very helpful to me and certainly helped me prepare for what was to come. I wish you the best of luck in your journey. This will be my last update. Take care!
(updated on July 27, 2011)
(updated on July 30, 2011)
(updated on July 30, 2011)
(updated on July 30, 2011)
(updated on August 16, 2011)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7994