help and information on getting married in colombia

LilaM says on Dec 26, 2007, 07:00:

You can do that in your church with 2 witness or in a notary and you can send a document to your mom saying that she is entitled to do it.

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don´t try" B. Sills

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Dec 26, 2007, 09:01:

Two people that know you well for say10 years can do this letter. You can also request a records check from the clerk of the court where you lived in the USA showing you have never been married. Yes your mother can do this and she can be one of the individuals who can sign

Since the notaries in Colombia do vary on exactly what is required you can go from notary to notary. When you find one you like ask EXACTLY what they will accept as proof that you have never been married. MOST IMPORTANT ASK IF THE NOTARY WILL ACCEPT THIS WITHOUT HAVING AN APOSTILLE. In Colombia a Certificado de Soltero( A written statement, executed by two family members or close friends who have known the individual for more than ten years, stating that the individual is not married at the moment, This document must be notarized by a Notary Public in the city of issuance, and certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.

Here is the form that is generally accepted (note that there is no exact form but this one should handle it).:

Certificate of Bachelorhood

Nombre / Name:

Fecha de nacimiento / Date of Birth

No. de Pasaporte / Passport No .:

Nacionalidad / Nationality: Los Estados Unidos de América / United States of America


Nosotros los que abajo firmamos, somos amigos de la persona denominada arriba. Nosotros tenemos doce años de conocerle a ___________________.
We that are signed below are friends of the person named above. We have known ____________________ for _____________years.

Nosotros certificamos que tenemos conocimiento directo y personal que la persona mencionada arriba, en la actualidad no es casado.
We do certify that we have direct and personal knowledge that the person named above is not now married.




Nombre / Name: ______________________________________
Relación / Relationship: Amigo/Friend

Firma / Signature: _______________________________ Fecha / Date: ___/___/____

Nombre / Name: ______________________________________
Relación / Relationship: Amigo/Friend

Firma / Signature: _______________________________ Fecha / Date: ___/___/____



Subscribed and sworn to before me on Date: ____/____/_________
Suscrito y jurado ante mí en fecha

________________________________________________
Notary Public / Notario Público

My commission expires on: ____/____/________
Mi comisión expira en

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

omargue says on Dec 26, 2007, 09:17:

thanks for the information, but i have another question on where my mom and lets say my brother to go and do it....they have to go to the Court House to the Cleck of Courts then right? but where i was a resident of last? because i lived the last 4 years in the states in miami but i am originally from philadelphia, can they do it all in philadelphia /(where they live) even though i was last a resident of Florida and not of Pennsylvania?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Dec 26, 2007, 09:32:

I would just do the letter-just copy or retype the above. BUT you need to check you your notary on the apostile.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Dec 26, 2007, 09:33:

they're not gonna hassle you...just fill it out in miami. that'll suffice. if you've never been married and don't need certified copies of divorce papers, you're good to go. you'll have to marry as a colombian, as you're a colombian and an american...that's why they ask for your cedula as you enter the country. no matter who you are, you still have the bullshit of the u.s. embassy to deal with. when we dealt with it--near 20 yrs ago--it was a three day piece of cake. nowdays...from all the stories i read here, it's a long winded nightmare. all i can say on that note is be patient and good luck...to both of you.

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Dec 26, 2007, 09:36:

You da man, Gator!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

omargue says on Dec 26, 2007, 12:43:

hold on.....i have to marry as a Colombian or American??????

i thought i had to marry as an American? i have both full documentation, if i marry as a Colombian i dont need that form, and i do it here, but i assume that i need to marry as an american because im probably going to do the visa paperwork as DCF Direct Consular Filling.....

0 funny, 0 helpful.

lawyer CO says on Dec 26, 2007, 13:51:

Carefully remember ley 43/94, if you are colombian you have to present yourself as colombian, if not a big fine is waiting for you.

HAPPENS EVERYDAY AT AIRPORTS, colombian people come to Colombia with the US passport, DAS let you in but tyring to get out they check and find that you have cedula, so they send you to pay the fine before flying.

Esteban R.
colombian lawyer
email: lawyerscolombia at yahoo.com

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Dec 26, 2007, 16:46:

omargue...you'll do the marriage thing as a colombian. you'll do the embassy thing as an american. don't weigh yourself down with worry. especially at the embassy, the problems are suffeciently a pain in the ass...don't add worry to the issue. just relax, enjoy your nuptial and deal with the embassy and all their time consuming b.s., later. good luck to both of you.

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Robert Jorge says on Dec 26, 2007, 20:07:

dwmte is correct (I think). You can marry in Colombia as a Colombian as far as the Colombian government is concerned. When you DCF or K3, the marriage will be recognized by the US government as legitimate. No worries there.

BEWARE of gold diggers.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gator says on Dec 26, 2007, 20:45:

Best you travel as a Colombian

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

0 funny, 0 helpful.

omargue says on Dec 27, 2007, 09:11:

i heard differently, i thought i had to marry as an American because of all the americans that come here to marry their colombian girlfriends and bring them to the US marry as American. and also the lawyer in the notary said that i shoulod marry as an American to travel to the US....

the last year i traveled to miami and they told me that the next time i travel i must use my Colombian passport and not american passport but that i have to present it, i guess to pay the fee right?

but my big question is.....

DO I MARRY AS A COLOMBIAN OR AMERICAN??? and WHY???


i feel more confused because i dont want to make a mistake in regards of the way i marry as Colombian or American. i just want to do this process as fast as possible with anymore hassel than it is.

Whats the difference if i marry as Colombian or American with regards to the visa process DCF???

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ColombianoGringo says on Dec 27, 2007, 09:18:

I don't think it matters to the US government. I spoke to a few immigration attorneys before getting married and they said that the US will recognize it either way. I had originally planned to marry as Colombian, but ended up marrying as a US citizen in San Andres because it was easier. I was told that I only HAD to marry as a Colombian if I was born in Colombia which is not the case.

Since you are planning on doing DCF, be prepared to prove to the US embassy that you are a resident in Colombia. I think you have to have lived there for at least a year. You should look at the DCF forum on VisaJourney.com.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dan says on Dec 27, 2007, 10:11:

I'm not Colombian but the process I had to go through (to me) seemed to be a pain in the butt. There's a lot of stuff to do for just the marriage that would be considerably simplified as a Colombian citizen.

God Bless America!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Dec 28, 2007, 07:43:

it really is simple...if your native born colombian--regardless what other citizenship you hold--you marry as a colombian. when you go to the u.s.embassy, you simply show up as a citizen. it works out that you're a colombian first (if that's the case) and a u.s. citizen second. there are no problems. once i got married in iran to an iranian and in colombia to a colombian. the one in iran was without complication nor paperwork at all. in colombia, you have tons of documents to get. church/baptismal, birth ricords for her/him, his or her parents and their baptismal cirtificates, etc. etc. etc. plus, if applicable, divorce documents. in iran, it was merely a matter of making 'ashad' (testimony) in front of a mullah and listo, you and she are not we, but one. then the formalities were dealt with in the usa...back in them days, there was no homeland security, terrorists, weighty bullshit like that and any friend of the shaw was a friend of the u.s. kinda like an open door policy. now, if you're from canada, i'll bet they put you through a world of hurt. ???

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Robert Jorge says on Dec 29, 2007, 02:49:

To DCF, you have to live in Colombia for 6 months. And be able to prove it. Fact. (It's not a year - but you basically have to have a proven residency in Colombia for a minimum of 6 months ... unless things changed)

If you want to have something for her family, pay off a priest to have an unrecorded church wedding. In the mean time, go through a K1 visa process. Keep your damn mouth shut about the wedding though at the K1 interview. Or, accomplish the K1, get married civilly in the US, and later go back for a Colombian wedding.

BEWARE of gold diggers.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sdalla1 says on Dec 30, 2007, 15:40:

get her to the usa on a fiance visa then get married. If you marry then try to get to the usa it will take twice as long if you are already married . Me and my colombian wife did it that way.It was the quickest good luck

0 funny, 0 helpful.

john_stark says on Dec 30, 2007, 16:32:

We got married in Colombia. Took us six months from the date of the wedding to arrival in the US. Now the same service center handles both the K-1 (fiancee) and K-3 (spouse) petitions. They are in the same queue and have the same current processing date.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

GregYohn says on Sep 9, 2008, 17:04:

Hola!

Did the paperwork for marriage in Cali this week at Notario 18! Other notarios wanted things not needed. Notario 18 gave us a printed sheet to make it easy. I might scan it when back in the USA.

NO PAPER OF SINGLEHOOD NEEDED FOR MY PREVIOUSLY UNMARRIED COLOMBIAN GF.

You need an Apostille for your Birth Certificate and Divorce less than 90 days old. Call your State Office or check online how to do it. They need to be translated. My cost was 72,000 pesos in Cali. The notario charges 170,000 and the translator at the service costs 50,000. Add money to go around town by bus or taxi, 7000 RT by bus when she escorts you.

The price beats the 300,000 charged by the San Andres Notario, but you need to wait 10 days to marry, unlike San Andres!

We found where they manufacture custom made wedding rings in Cali, so we saved over 250,000 pesos over Mall prices and 100,000 from small center city jewelers in shop booths.

12VOIP.com gives free calls to Colombia.Greg

0 funny, 0 helpful.