HOW DO I OBTAIN A VISA FOR A NEW WIFE IN COLUMBIA

rjstuff says on Jun 8, 2005, 09:36:

Read through on Visa journey Bob:
First of all Congratulations! And then, go to Visa Journey http://www.visajourney.com/ and read the faq's on Cr1 and K3 (check it all out but I think those 2 may apply in your scenario.) Also, go to the forums and read people's posts, comments and check out their timelines. I am doing a K-1 (it is a fiance visa) and I felt it was the faster of the two choices; but each case is different and your circumstances should dictate what you choose. My basic guess is each of these processes takes approx. 6 months - some longer, some shorter. I felt that K3s were taking much longer when I considered them in February. Good luck!
Forgot to add - Yes you have to go through Bogota for the interview etc. and for the CR1 filing if allowed (i don't know.)

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Caballista says on Jun 8, 2005, 10:08:

O not U Hi, No need to apologize for it, but please remember that the name of the Country is COLOMBIA, not COLUMBIA.

Yes you have Columbia in the Carolinas, and Columbia University, but Colombia es COLOMBIA.

Thank you,

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Dan says on Jun 8, 2005, 10:16:

as for applying for the visa, you won't be able to in Colombia, unless you are a resident of the country. In order to start the paperwork, you would have to return to the US and send the neccessary documents to immigration the the appropriate office. you can go to USCIS.gov website for more info too. Whenever they get to approving the documents, they will send it to a National office that will then send it to the Embassy overseas. They will send out other requirements that will need to be fullfilled along with an appointment date. This whole proccess takes some time too.

I applied for my wife about a month ago and still waiting for any progress.

God Bless America!

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rjstuff says on Jun 8, 2005, 10:40:

Colombia and Columbia Bob and dan
Don't worry about this you will eventually correct it yourself. I was quite ignorant also (most Americans are about this and many other things.) I always thought that it was spelled 'Columbia'. After 4 or 5 months, it finally sank in (thick skull here!)
Bob, be sure to check out visa journey - it is a very helpful site for doing the process on your own without paying an attorney. Good luck
Hurra para Colombia .... y ... Hurra para Aguila

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gstern says on Jun 9, 2005, 09:11:

3 months? Hi-

It would take an act of God to get a spousal visa processed in 3 months. You can't even get a tourist visa processed in Colombia in 3 months. Spousal visas seem to vary widely depending on where YOU live as the processing centers in the US (where you must make the petition) vary in their backlogs. These backlogs shift and change all the time, so there is no way to say definitively.

A good rule of thumb would be 6-12 months, with 9 months being about average. The best site that I have found which includes a lot of people with Colombian fiancees and spouses is visajourney.com.

Good luck!

Greg

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rharley says on Jun 9, 2005, 13:09:

don't marry in colombia panama n colombia are different don't marry her in colombia go the route of fiance visa its quicker. due to the 9/11 attacks the system is all messed up i met my wife last august applied for k-1 visa in sept dec she was granted permmission for us embassy to come to usa. had i married her there she would of had to wait up to 1 yr. a couple we met at the embassy were married in jan of 2004 and she obtained her visa the same time my wife did. 1 yr waitnig the guy spent a fortune on phone cards and plane trips. go the rout of fiance visa K1 visa if you don't you'll regret it iam gla i did or my wife would still be in colombia right now. trust me K1visa called immagration n find out. it took me three months indtead of 1 yr


richard uribe

ct,usa

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rharley says on Jun 9, 2005, 13:18:

its possible was reading other comments one said it wold take act of god to bring wife to usa in 3 months tru but a fianceee YES THE EMBASSY AND IMMAGRATION ARE ALL MEESED UPmy first wife in 1985 was here in 2 months after we were married in medellin but like i said due to 9/11 things are backwards now. my family is from colombai but i'm a us born colombian. my uncle is frm cali colombia lived there for 8 months inm 1981 he owns a school there Colegio caldas is the name right near Edeficio Imbanoco. good luck K-1 visa the ticket don't listend to anyone else.

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 9, 2005, 15:45:

If all you care about is speed then yes, the K-1 visa is the way to go. Of course most gringos don't give a rat's tushie whether their bride's family can come to her wedding or not - they just want to get her here as quick as possible. There are many good reasons to get married in Colombia. I did and my wife was here 6 months after our wedding.

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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Dan says on Jun 9, 2005, 16:50:

I had read a lot of stuff saying that the K1's, even though approved in the US, were denied by the Embassy. When I got married, my wife wanted her family and friends at the wedding so it was done in Colombia. As soon as I sent the papers to immigration, she asks just about every other day if I've heard anything new. I'm sure that everything will work out well.

God Bless America!

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rjstuff says on Jun 9, 2005, 18:35:

I have heard otherwise I have been following some of the member's postings on visa journey and I have not seen a single one denied yet! All K1s and K3s seem to be going along fine. My fiancee has friends and acquaintences in Barranquilla who have received it recently also. She is actually quite relaxed about it because of all the people she has heard from that have received it fairly easily!
Yes there is a delay for name check for one person's fiancee, but I have not heard of a denial for any of them - there are a lot of problems getting the petition approved and I see posts every day about one problem or the other. Colombian visas for K1 and K3 seems to be going along pretty nicely though. Best of luck to all of us

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 9, 2005, 21:09:

If you have never heard of a denial, then you haven't been following this very closely. The people on Visa Journey are extremely unlikely to be denied because they are the type of person who documents everything and is well-prepared. If you are this type of person, I agree, it is unlikely that your case will be denied. However, this doesn't mean that there are not plenty of denials - you only have to make one trip to the embassy to learn that.

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 10, 2005, 04:00:

Bob The problem with trying to answer your question is that in order to answer in intelligently one needs to ask between 50-100 questions. There are so many individual situations and circumstances that a good reply is impossible to formulate without an interview.

The replies you have gotten probably cover 90 percent of cases; but, if you are in the 10 percent that it doesn't cover you are screwed.

In my case if I had it to do again...I'd move to Colombia long enough to meet the residency requirements to do Direct Consular Filing (DCF). You probably cannot do that. Who knows? There are at least five or six other scenarios that I can think of where the "normal" paths that people take to bring a wife or future wife could take.

Good Luck,

Antony

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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Brians says on Jun 10, 2005, 05:53:

K1 is much faster and it seem that she wants to get it quickly. Have you even met her. It did not say in your post. Get together all the evidence and go to Visa Journey. UC my fiancee was down there for her interview last Wednesday and said no K1s were denied. I also know three others in the last month who said on there dates there were no K1s denied. You are right though in being prepared. They will deny if you don't have everything in order but if you are doing it yourself I think 99% of the people will make sure they have everything completed correctly. As far as getting married in Colombia this is something we discussed often. She felt that she did not want to be separated that long. We decided to go the K1 and then go back after her AOS and have a Colombian weding. That is planned with all our friends from US and Colombia. I don't think it is selfish as much as this is how we have to deal with it.

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 10, 2005, 08:22:

When we were there I observed several denials. There is even another thread in this forum where the poster's spouse was denied on the basis of the I-864 (they were going for an immigrant visa).

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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rjstuff says on Jun 10, 2005, 09:18:

you are right utopia I thought of that one after I posted. So I know of 2 so far recently - or realistically 'a few'; what I found encouraging is that my fiacee has met a few women who have received thir k1 (or K3) quite easily and some of them are going through the process currently along with her - and her being tranquil about it makes me feel even better about the process. So, instead of getting worked up about it as many people are on visa journey (and maybe on this site also), we are able to carry on 'normally' kidding around and having fun online till we can be together. I am waiting to hear what happens to the next batch - the June interviews!
Good luck to everyone

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bsterling says on Jun 11, 2005, 14:39:

Bob I can't believe that you can't start your k3/k4 visa work at the us embassy in Bogota. Is this a sometimes you can and sometimes you can't deal. My plan at this 5 minutes is to go down to Cali, get married then go with my wife to US Embassy in Bogota and start the k3/k4 process. Then I would stay in Cali for 60 days, take my return trip back to Georgia, stay there for 30 days, then repeat the process i.e. 60 days in Cali, 30 days in Georgia etc. until the k3/k4 visas are granted. I am retired so I have time for this plan. Bob

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utopiacowboy says on Jun 11, 2005, 21:46:

No, it's not a sometimes you can, sometimes you can't deal. You can't apply directly through the US embassy in Colombia unless you are a resident of Colombia, i.e. you are a US citizen with a Colombian cedula.

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 12, 2005, 02:49:

Bob If it were me and I had the same situation as you...I would stay in Colombia long enough to qualify for Direct Consular Filing...four months last time last time I checked. Research it you will be very pleasantly surprized...I do believe.

Tony

Remember what the monkey says, "Fuck money it's free"

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bsterling says on Jun 12, 2005, 07:09:

Bob Thanks to everyone for advice. It sounds like the Direct Consular Filing is the way to go for me. From what I read on site for US Embassy in Bogota it looks like you have to stay 6 months to be considered a resident. Bob

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norman says on Jun 17, 2005, 02:43:

WIFE´s VISA Norman A Verbel
Technical Support Representative
4000 Metropolitan Dr.
Orange, CA 92868

I´ve been going trough the whole process for almost a year now. You must submit your paperwork in the U.S. BUT, be prepared to travel to the Colombian embassy in Bogota when you receive a notice to do so by mail, stating time and date.
make sure you have all the paperwork organized and in the order the want it to be.
I went with my wife, and we were coming and going for a whole week. I had to return to the US, and my wife ended up staying a total of 20 days in Bogota. Untill finally they got all the paperwork exactly how the wanted to see it. They are real ass... there.
And most of the staff that barely speak any english are Colombian. Nothing against them; all my imediate family are Colombian´s. But like I said before they are real ASS wipes. Excuse my french. There just no help what so ever, and have an attitude problem.

Norman A Verbel Technical Support Representative 4000 Metropolitan Dr. Orange, CA 92868

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norman says on Jun 17, 2005, 02:49:

United States Customer Inmigration Services Norman A Verbel
Technical Support Representative
4000 Metropolitan Dr.
Orange, CA 92868
norman.verbel at att.net

Also all of you interested check this site for additional information.
http://uscis.gov/graphics/services/NCSC.htm

Norman A Verbel Technical Support Representative 4000 Metropolitan Dr. Orange, CA 92868

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