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Colombian Family Wins US Embassy Roulette

One of my wife's sisters has been wanting to visit the US with her husband and three kids. They are the ones who are presently living in her apartment in Medellin. They hatched a plan to go to Disney World this summer and see if they could get tourist visas. She also wanted me to write a letter of invitation for them. I told them that the letter of invitation was a really bad idea. The thing to do was not to lie but not to mention the fact that she had family living in the US. So, yesterday, they had their appointment for the tourist visas and lo and behold, they received them. She was so happy she called us last night to tell us that they will be visiting later this summer. I guess even though the odds are stacked in favor of the house, it is possible to spin and win at the embassy's roulette wheel.

By utopiacowboy on Jun 7, 2006, 10:33 in Visa & paperwork.

lpdiver says on Jun 7, 2006, 11:48:

Congratulations Good to hear occaisionally about sucess against tall odds. As I have said before...the odds may be a million to one but in your case the results will be one hundred percent.

Goive me some small hope for our future application for my wifes mom.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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lpdiver says on Jun 7, 2006, 12:32:

strobers... How old is your mother in law? I am curious as I will be travelling down the same path soon.

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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airetuPaL says on Jun 7, 2006, 16:28:

Analogy Well the same can be said of slot machines...you can feed, feed, and feed them countless coins, but eventually somebody is going to claim the prize.

I have much better odds in Vegas than trying to obtain a VISA from the US Embassy in BGTA.

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lpdiver says on Jun 7, 2006, 16:45:

UC would you... Outline the process for me in brief...or in great detail if you wish. I am interested in timelines and costs. I assume a trip to Bogota is required along with application fees. I also assume a fair waiting period for the request.

Angela's mother has 10 other children in Colombia and is in her seventies. We would like my wife's niece to accompany her; but, I fear this may lead to the the grandmothers application being reject with the niece.

What do you think?

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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rjstuff says on Jun 7, 2006, 16:48:

That sucks strobers And I know how mad everyone gets after a denial, but are they willing to try once agin - say next year. Maybe things will be better next time. Good Luck
And Congrats to Utopia - have fun when they visit!

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 7, 2006, 18:00:

A trip to Bogota is required but the wait time is very very short. The embassy has several pages devoted to tourist visa instructions, both in Spanish and English: http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsc006.shtml

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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lpdiver says on Jun 7, 2006, 18:41:

WOW...things have changed It would appear to be more or less a week to get the appointment and 100.00 dollars. Plus appointment fee and travel of course.

Wish us luck.

T

"cook some rice!"

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 7, 2006, 19:48:

I finally got a chance to talk to my wife about it and get more details. Her sister did have to write down on the application that she had family in the US and they did ask about this. They wanted to know where her sister lived and whether she was a legal resident of the US. It makes me wonder whether they checked my wife's immigration status. They asked a lot of questions about their jobs and what type of work they did and what their situation was. They also asked questions about how they intended to pay for the trip.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Miguel_Clavo says on Jun 7, 2006, 21:04:

strobers..that phrase refers to ILLEGAL immigrants, not LEGAL immigrants.....you know, the ones that sneak into the US while all the law-abiding ones wait patiently in line like your family.....just think, if there were not so many ILLEGAL immigrants in the US, there might have been room for all of your in-laws......

Just my opinion...

Miguel_Clavo...faltan 24 días...Colombia es pasión!

"Ignorance is a Weapon of Mass Destruction..."

"I would rather die living life, than to live a dying life."........ Oh, and my PM is always ON. Great Bumper Sticker: "Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"

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lpdiver says on Jun 8, 2006, 04:47:

visa UTC...Yep I visited the site and looked at the form and it asks very specifically about relatives individually; I.E. mother father, brother sister, etc.

I have decided to try for one for the abuela alone first then for a niece to accompany her at a later date.

T

"cook some rice!"

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