chester has left 241 comments

chester comments on k1 visa paperwork

order or make extra copies of everything

chester comments on Is the word "Ahora" only used in Colombia to mean "Later on"

isn't it terrible? you're all ready to go, and then they say 'ahora' and you get all excited since you think you're now going to go ....and then you sit on your ass for hours and hours more. I don't recall other spanish speaking countries using the word in the same manner.

chester comments on Going to Cali first time, what to expect

try wandering around the central business/market district during the daytime. tons and tons of shops and small cafes. pick up a street map of Cali from a corner vendor. they sell all kinds of stuff, food and fruits on all the corners. however, you will stand out as a gringo and there are always street hustlers that will mess with you. of course, that can happen here in the US too. use common street sense. taxis are inexpensive.

chester comments on Colombian Military Tricks FARC into releasing hostages

http://www.cnn.com/video/live/live.html?stream=stream1

chester comments on LIVE ON CNN FROM TOLEMAIDA RIGHT NOW

http://www.cnn.com/video/live/live.html?stream=stream1

chester comments on El Viejo de McCain is going to Colombia

his old lady is into coke now

chester comments on anyone ever experienced baggage theft on an airline

years ago, i sued american airlines in small claims over lost/stolen luggage. they settled to avoid the cost of defending themselves.

chester comments on How long does it take to process a K1 Visa, Fiance I-129F???

all the moyofhuyers in colombia combined cannot produce a fiance visa K-1 for you. read, read and read somemore www.visajourney.com f a lawyer. basically, if you start now, you may get a interview date in bogota in about 6 to 7 months. do not lie about anything on the application. you will be lucky getting away with telling the truth with an extra request for additional evidence.

chester comments on The Old Night Bus Dilema

multiple bus lines run hourly service between bogota and cali. probably at least 30 or more busses a day between the cities. last trip, we were stopped by the police at a checkpoint band all male passengers frisked and id's checked

chester comments on Dollar hits new low against Colombian peso and Brazilian Real, wonderful!!!!

how much is`a gallon of gas now, in pesos?

chester comments on letter to allow children to travel

here is a qoute from above in discussing letters of permission to travel for minors "Good for 90 days if notarized in the United States, good for 60 days if notarized in Colombia" my question, what is it is notorized in another country? for instance, say the minor colombian child's father (he is colombian also) lives in Panama. if the colombian mother of the child (now in the US with green card) goes to Panama and gets the colombian father of the child to sign the permisssion letter and has it notorized at the colombian embassy in Panama, does that letter of permission stay good for 90 days also? does she then have 90 days to re-enter colombia and leave colombia with the minor child within 90 days of the date on the notorized letter? (the child has the appropriate follow to join visa)

chester comments on 2 Years Later .. We finally Made it!

i suggest you try to be there for the interview

chester comments on Spirit Airlines

didn't they tell you that they are also charging for arsh wipe too? i just left a big skid mark on my seat last trip.

chester comments on The depletion of our average looking colombianas

I admit it. I sent for her. I traded in the Calena. Things are rough here in SoFla. I need a tough novia. besides, didn't you see how big her breasteses were?

chester comments on Questions about K1 (fiance) Visa process

sure dude, just go for it. f the uscis, you're in love.....hahahaha don't worry about the paperwork. aos apps, biometrics, possible interviews, ap, ead, etc..... f that. and, besides, your girl sounds like a real dummy, (we all know how easy it is to get approval for graduate studies in foreign countries for colombianas), i'm sure she will enjoy being advised to drop out.....colombianas love being told what to do. yep, a graduate degree ain't worth wiping your ass with (not to mention the f'ing boring experience of living and studying in a foreign country.) multinational companies hate job applicants that have travelled and have knowledge of other countries. christ, just tell the uscis to hurry the f up and send that K1 visa right away, and tell them to include the green card too....you ain't got time for that stuff....remember, you're in love. i forget which part of the federal immigration statutes deal with the "you're in love" category. but, i assure you, uscis will drop everything for you both. and, also, forget my advise about visajourney.com. the best advice for immigration matters can be found here.

chester comments on Questions about K1 (fiance) Visa process

I would wait. seriously, wait until she has finished her studies. also, read, read, read visajourney.com and understand clearly the visa process. and tip, since she may file in the future for a K1 or K3 visa, make sure she gets a official police report of her time in Chile when she leaves Chile at the end of 2009. you will need that official paper for her visa application. she will need police reports of every country she has lived in more than 6 months since age 16 or 18. it will be a pain in the ass to acquire it after she has left Chile. once again, read, read, read visajourney.com ask question there also. there is better advice to be found there, in my opinion.

chester comments on Boycott San Pedro !

hahaha...first trip to Cali, I had bought a small cup of coffee from a street vendor near the shopping area Galleria, it was about 200 pesos, worth about a dime at the time. and so I figured I now knew the price of a small cup of coffee on the street. anyway, a few days later, I was near the central commercial district with a calena when we stopped in a park. a street vendor was was wheeling about a wagon with cafes and so I ordered a small cup of coffee. since my spanish is limited, when I asked him how much and he replied 3 thousand pesos, I misunderstood and reached into my pocket for 300 pesos and said 'here you go my good man, and a propino for you too"..... he tried to protest but I kept telling him 'you're welcome" and to keep the change . finally he looked at the calena and said "this muyerfuyer doesn't understand spanish does he" she just sadly shook her head and added that I was a cheap b*stard too......hahahahaha oh yeah, I also demanded the peddler tell me a story about the statue in the park, a statue of the patron homeboy of Cali or something.

chester comments on We have are interview date for July at the embassy of Bogota

when in Bogota, another housing option for Visa applicants is a rooming house run by a very nice lady Dona Flor. we found her rates reasonable and the rooms all have private baths with hot water. I know there are other housing options for Visa applicants in bogota. this is just another place to consider. I stayed there with the wife and kids and had a good experience. the address is Carrera 44C Number 22A-16 Quinta Paredes, Bogota, about 3 blocks from the embassy with plenty of nearby cafes and resturants. the phone number is 269 8694 we paid about 90 bucks total a night for two seperate rooms with private baths. breakfast incuded and very good security. nice neighborhood.

chester comments on mapquest in colombia

downtown cali in the centralo market district has street vendors that sell good city maps with all the street and barrios. just wander around and ask. should run around 20k to 30k as i recall. picked up a couple trip last.

chester comments on We have are interview date for July at the embassy of Bogota

my recent experience with vacination shots in Bogota for the embassy interview involved getting shots at the same doctor's office that did the exam. there is also another clinic where they do the blood work and chest xray for everyone over 15 years of age. make sure you call and make an appointment. the clininc opens at about 7 or am. just walk in with the appointment letter. you need the appointment letter to get in the clinic or doctor's offices. they are not located in the same part of Bogota. however, if you have a morning appointment at the clinic, you can make the medical exam office in the afternoon. the doctor's office charged a high price for all of the extra shots now required by the embassy. last year, the list was not so long. hopefully you can get some or all the shots at the Red Cross since their prices are less. your appointment package should list all the newly required shots. but be prepared for the doctor to insist he must give extra shots or he will not sign the medical exam report. what a rip. in any event, I would go two days early and give myself two days in Bogota before the interview date. on the morning of the interview, you will have to get in line very early, like around 7 am. though they do have a seperate line for immigrant applicants, like number 3 or something. do not get in the line for regular tourist visas. there will be colombian aides out front directing you into the correct line. once inside, you will directed to other lines and hand over paperwork for initial inspection before waiting for your name to be called where you will finally get to talk to an american consular officer thru a glass plate ticket window by using a phone. sort of like a visiting window at a prison. you might wait one hour, you might wait 5 hours. AND BRING JACKETS FOR ALL, BOGOTA IS PHUCKIN COLD. also, you may wish to stay at a local boading house within walking distance of the embassy that is run by a very nice lady Dona Flora. price about 40 to 50 bucks a night with breakfast included. the rooms have multiple beds and private baths with hot water. nice neighborhood and safe too. just don't eat at the discount chicken joints along the main drag, man, they serve really, really bad chicken. just make sure you call the clinic and doctor's office for appointments and have the embassy appointment letter. Also, before you go to the interview, you have to go to a local bank near the embassy and pay the interview fee in advance. the bank will want some forms filled out as well. sometimes the tellers can be real pricks, if you end up going there and they give you a hard time, ask to speak with the bank manager. jesus christ, you would think paying a interview fee was rocket science or something. it is a good idea to have them go early and get some of the shots and exams out of the way, but I would still count on going two days early in July with them in case of paperwork jams. good luck, sounds like you have a good plan/idea. ohh, have extra certified copies of your birth certificate. also, if you need too, there are local internet cafes where you can log onto visajourney.com and the USCIS webites and print out extra forms if you need them. I had duplicates and triplicates of a lot of stuff. the extra copies of your birth certificate may be needed later anyway, when you guys file for Adjustment of Status (AOS). I even had some of my documents such as birth certificates and former divorce papers certified with the Gold Apostilate Stamp issued by your states Secretary of State Office. If you send in the documents to the Secratary of State office with the fees, you will usually get them back in about two weeks or less. the colombians love that gold Stamp shit. anyway, go to visajourney.com and ask for tips there too. and read the comments made by others that went thru the same thing as you. one day you will look back fondly on your experiences at the embassy (BS) also, don't forget to check out the holidays in July both in colombia and the usa. the embassy closes for all of them.

chester comments on Visa time table from PBH members..

the embassy will not schedule an interview until packet three is returned. then, generally, it must be returned before the 15th of the month, to be scheduled for the following month. so, i would say you will not get a june interview, probably in july. checkout the embassy website for the list of scheduled interviews. look for your case number and see if it is scheduled. also, the embassy no longer hands out visas the following day of the interview. you have to pay Domesa service (they have a desk/office in the embassy) and wait about two weeks for the visa to be delivered. the delivery may be faster if the home address is in Bogota. give yourselves two weeks minimum from the interview date to schedule a flight. even then, the interview may go bad and you will have to return to the embassy for further interview/paperwork. Also, go to visajourney.com there is better info at visajourney.com

chester comments on Adjustment of Staus (AOS) and Green Card timelines

looks like AOS/Green Card timelines for apps forwarded to CSC are taking about 6 months, extra month or two if Requests for Evidence (RFE's) are made. good news is that no interviews are generally required.

chester comments on haircut in London

some of the best stylists in south miami are colombianas, especially the calenas. Panama is full of them too.

chester comments on Question about K-1 Visa

get plenty of copies of things like birth certificates, any former divorce records, tax records. you will need these extra copies later in the adjustment of status application after you guys get married. and yes, go to visajourney.com and read the guidelines. and make copies of everything you send to the USCIS. make copies of all letters they send you.

chester comments on Selling a house in USA to move to Colombia...

tell me what neighborhood (barrio) he lives in, what size house, and i will tell you the price to set. you're welcome.

chester comments on Buddies concerned over my 3 hour stop in Bogota

dude, don't you remember about the f'ing maletas? on the way in, they are filled with everything, including the kitchen sink, for the colombiana's family back home. you can find stuff here dumped on the street that sells for 200K pesos in any ferreteria back home. and on the way back, all 15 maletas are filled with HER crap bought in colombia since there are no decent clothes and stuff to be found stateside. i might add, if you see a pasty ash gringo accompianing said colombiana, he has 5 extra maletas too, but only 1 pair of drawers and 2 socks are his. the rest is HER stuff too. she will probably also bring back about 50 pounds of bowls of that caramel with raisins stuff that only a colombian can eat without a gun to their head. this, even though this slow poison is sold in very corner bodega from south florida to boston. got to bring back the real deal.

chester comments on Here is what happened last night

one day, this old gringo and a calena went to the bogota terminal and bought tickets to cali. they made their way to the waiting area after getting some snacks and stuff for the ride and settled into some chairs next to the door. there, they encountered a young, scared girl begging for busfare back to cali. the suspicious old gringo asked the calena to check out the girl's story and id. the girl had been working as a domestic in bogota and was homesick for cali and also, about 6 months knocked up. she was all of 15 years old. so, the old gringo ended up springing for the bus ticket back to cali, food along the way, and after arrival in cali early in the morning hours, even taxi fare for the girl to get back to her barrio up on the hillsides of cali. sometimes it's just someone in need of a little help.

chester comments on Are we screwed or what?

go to visajourney.com

chester comments on Buddies concerned over my 3 hour stop in Bogota

i rented a nice stall in the airport mens room once for like 500 pesos for 3 hours. paper was extra.

chester comments on Passport for the I-129F

I would get multiple copies of my birth certificate and get them with that gold stamp thing also. you will need them later anyway in bogota. wait until you deal with the colombian staff at the us embassy in bogota. i don't care what the uscis, nva or other us department says, you will be asked for everything but the kitchen sink by those einsteins. and don't even get me going about the colombiana tellers that work at the bank in bogota where you pay your inteview fee. and it is also a good idea to get a new passport as well. wait until you guys deal with das, the colombian notary sytem, police reports, ingress/egress records and my all time favorite, the catholic church for baptismal records. read visjourney website like it is a novel you cannot put down. then read it again.

chester comments on Bogota or Cali?

cali es cali, lo demas es loma

chester comments on Cargo Container from northern California to Cartagena….(No.PBH.PH.A)

in cali, at the homecenter type stores, everything was way, way more expensive than here in the states

chester comments on Uribe OUT as Colombian President; Who's Next?

i'm just making the observation that he is the mayor of thge largest city, and yes, while he is the opposite of uribe, he managed to get elected even in the face of strong oppositon from uribe. never said i liked the guy, just said he might be a strong favorite.

chester comments on Uribe OUT as Colombian President; Who's Next?

if uribe does not find a way to run again, i would give the nod to the present mayor of bogota.

chester comments on Toilet Etiquette in Colombia

throw the 100 square inches or so of asz wipe (if any) in the wastecan and leave the floater for the next victim. crimestopper tip - wipe with your left

chester comments on Could you recommend a colombian city to visit?

don't miss ibague and the fine, fine cuisine found at the central bus terminal. well worth the 25 dollar round trip bus ride from bogota. as an added bonus, the cops may even pull you guys over a couple of times and feel you up under pretense of 'looking' for someone.

chester comments on De Regreso a Colombia!!

arepas are 5 big ones for 2000 pesos

chester comments on

and speaking of miami colombianas with bmw's, i ran into a couple of calenas today stopped in a shopping center lot with their 4 way blinker lights stuck on... looked all over the steering column for the switch until i moved a envelope full of snow from the center console and discovered the big red blinker switch. i asked them for their phone number and one of them rattled off a number real quick like. it was only after they roared away in a cloud of smoke and spitting gravel, that i realized the number was for the dollar store behind me. crimestopper tip - wipe with your left

chester comments on

on second thought, maybe that should read 'patsy white aszz.'

chester comments on

you are too modest. try jackson heights (under the elevated tracks) for some action. and that 'run off' scenario doesn't always work. i left the calena in queens last thanksgiving with some colombianos and damn if she didn't find her way back to my pasty white aszz by christmas.

chester comments on Hotel for my middle age family coming to Bogota and Santa Marta

when in Bogota, another housing option for Visa applicantsand others is a rooming house run by a very nice lady Dona Flor. we found her rates reasonable and the rooms all have private baths with hot water. I know there are other housing options in bogota. this is just another place to consider. I stayed there with the wife and kids and had a good experience. the address is Carrera 44C Number 22A-16 Quinta Paredes, Bogota, about 3 blocks from the embassy with plenty of nearby cafes and resturants. the phone number is 269 8694 we paid about 90 bucks total a night for two seperate rooms with private baths. breakfast incuded and very good security. nice neighborhood.

chester comments on Does K1 Fiance Visa include children?

yes, include the kids on the original ki-1 paperwork. then, they have one year to apply for Follow to Join visas. when they receive their Follow to Join visas, they will have six months to use them. this is what my now wife and i did. the kids, now with family in cali, will follow after they finish this school year. make sure you include the kids on the original paperwork. they do not have to travel on the original visa, but will have follow to join rights.

chester comments on k1 or k3 visa? please help.

just make sure you show up at the embassy with her for the interview whichever way you go. i went the k-1 route and basically just filled out the paperwork, a couple of photos and went to the interview with her. oh, did i mention?...go to the interview with her. also, visit visajourney.com website for good, goodtips and guidelines fro either visa.

chester comments on moving to colombia

not enough info, however you may want to consider medellin for the weather.

chester comments on Colombians in south Florida

u can tell which of the beaners in florida are colombian by listening to which ones can't speak english, even after 20 years....and dude, u were here in florida...?...my terlet needs cleaning, even if it is not as 'distiguished' as your new home town models. besides, my calena refuses to do anything connected to housework. my spanish is not that good...something about "mama mi" whenever i suggest she clean up. thinking about driving up to Jackson Heights, Queens, and putting her picky calena ass out on the corner. just waiting for the snow to melt up there...how deep is it now....?...about asshole high to a 10 foot injun?

chester comments on Best way to married in Colombia..San Andres Island ONLY PASSPORT REQUIRED

we tried to get married in Cali year last, but the paperwork requirements and stamped dates within the last 90 day stuff killed that idea. we did not now then about San Andreas. ended up going with K1 visa and getting married in the US.

chester comments on Peru to Colombia on Bus

you may consider a bus from colombia to ecuador first, then a bus from ecuador to peru.

chester comments on Ecuador to defend itself if no Colombia apology

Ecuador announced today that all exports of bananas and poor quality apperal will be immediately suspended. Futures Markets and world stock indexes reacted nervously sending ass wipe stocks plumeting. Also, in the port of Guayaquil, fat girls (you don't know fat girls until you've been to guayaquil) announce a boycott of services for all colombian and gringo mariners. Coast Guard officials report an upsurge in search and rescue missions for despondent sailors throwing themselves overboard.

chester comments on What will be the solution to this conflict?

breaking news - Nicaruagan President Ortega has offered the services of a 'crack' battalion of Nicas. He is proposing the battalion of volunteer Nicas be sent to the homelands of all participants where they will steal everything, and I do mean everything, (including drawers) not nailed down. Once the populaces finds themselves bereft of all earthly belongings, said Nicas will then tell such wondrous lies and stories in explaination of their actions as to cause everyone to swoon. OAS officials are mulling his offer while the US has pledged bus fare.

chester comments on Latest Colombian crisis news

oh yeah, chavez is later found dead in bogota when he freezes to death standing in line waiting for a f'ng visa interview at the US embassy and having had to breath the polluted air. (the autopsy is inconclusive as to to whether the tears found in his eyes are from the pollution or disapointment in his own judgement) services are later held in san andres where all is needed is a valid passport. if he had only known.