Info on K-1 visa

utopiacowboy says on Feb 5, 2005, 15:55:

I would say that if you are reasonably intelligent and can follow instructions and fill out forms, you should be able to do it yourself. There are several web sites, among them www.visajourney.com, that provide a lot of useful information.

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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Gator says on Feb 5, 2005, 19:42:

Listen to Your Tio Utopiacowboy... on this one. Not difficult as long as you follow instructions. Do a Google search uner K-1 Visa-a ton of info,

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

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colombia1963 says on Feb 5, 2005, 21:46:

Here's the link you need I just brought my Colombian wife over here in 2004. Here is the link to the US Citzenship and Immigration Services.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/index.htm.

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Gary Hall says on Feb 6, 2005, 07:57:

colombia1963 What was the time factor in your efforts? The country you live in or problems along the way? I am interested.
I have much of the needed information needed done in advance. Things like police reports, court papers for the child to leave the country, passports etc:. I would just like to know if most of the wait is the government which is usually the issue or what.
Thank for the information and your attention to my request

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colombia1963 says on Feb 6, 2005, 08:19:

K-1 Visa processing times I live in the United States. The processing times are listed on the government website. For my example, I submitted the visa paperwork to the Nebraska Service center in mid January. My wife was approved for her K-1 visa in mid July. When I submitted the paperwork, the area of the country you live in determines what processing center you send it to. The quickest one at the time was the Vermont Service Center.

When I submitted the paperwork and they received it, then they give you a receipt date. Then I had to wait until they processed the petitions for that date.

I was able to get my wife her quicker by just doing it myself. I just sat down and started reading the link that I sent earlier and following the instructions.

Just a side note: My wife is from Bogota and being married to her is like being on a honeymoon every day that we are together.

Another side note: I got the photo that I needed for the petition at JC Penney. Target also did them here.

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Gary Hall says on Feb 6, 2005, 08:23:

Colombia1963 I would like to private mail you if that is OK

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Crazy4Cali says on Feb 6, 2005, 09:29:

JULY!!! Wow, I can only hope for such expeditious processing!!!

I just sent my K-1 packet to Nebraska last week and we have begun counting the the days....

So far, I have gotten the signature receipt from the post-office... (hey, it hasn't even been a week, yet!)

Next steps: Cashing the check...NOA-1 letter, then hoping:

a) I filled everything out right (not much more complicated than an income tax return)

b) the agent reading it happens to be in a good mood that day

In the mean time, I'll be down visiting la familia in a couple of weeks.

Reading other's experiences helps and hurts at the same time... For one, you get a general idea of the overall process (not much different from what the government posts on their site) and the overall time frames...running from 6-9 months, more or less.

Of course there's always someone who sends their case to Vermont and has their fiancé back in the USA 3 months later wondering what all the fuss is about. And then there are those calls from the novia saying her friend's visa only took 5 months so why would ours take any longer...

Bottom line: it takes as long as it takes. Expecting any sooner will just cause unnecessary anxiety.

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Gary Hall says on Feb 6, 2005, 11:18:

UC oh great one, This may be stupid but what would prevent anyone from sending their paperwork to Vermont? Is it strickly where you live or what?

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colombia1963 says on Feb 6, 2005, 16:58:

Gary Hall Feel free to send me an email.

In my opionion, I would not worry so much about where your paperwork is being sent. I think the most important is to get it done correctly and submitted so that you have your receipt date.

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Gary Hall says on Feb 6, 2005, 17:08:

colombia1963 the difference as i am told is in Vermont it is a 2 to 3 month wait as apposed to Texas where it is a 3 to 5 month wait.

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silviat says on Feb 6, 2005, 17:29:

It sounds kind of risky Hello Gary

Well the point is that you would need to have an address in the area corresponding to Vermont.

You could get a PO Box or putting some friends address I guess... but my fiance and I thought about it and then decided than since it was such an important issue we wouldnt want to risk to have the papers lost or have them deliver too later, or they realizing thats not our actual address.

It may sound silly and too paranoic, but maybe its better to wait a couple months more and to make sure your process will done right.

About the lawyer... well we did hire one... mostly because he is very concerned that if he makes a little mistakes, then we will have to be apart for longer. I dont know if it does worth it or not really... I guess I will know at the end.

Good luck and I wish you a short K1 process!

Start putting together the papers soon :)

Hugs

Silvia
ps, I private message you my email... so I didnt have to post my email publlically

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colombia1963 says on Feb 6, 2005, 20:27:

ditto Silvia is right on target Gary.

The time will pass quickly. If you decide to do it yourself....Federal Express can deliver documents to Bogota, not sure about the other cities in Colombia. They were fast to, about 3 days. Good Luck.

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N2Aquatix says on Feb 7, 2005, 10:38:

Good stuff Wow!!! Good stuff. I need to know more also. Any help would be appreciated. I'll be sending mine to the Texas service center. Maybe you could help me out UC. When did you file your paperwork? Were there any problems? I have a friend who just brought his fiancee here from Vietnam. He said it was very difficult for him but that may be because of the nature of the country. ;-)

Jay

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 7, 2005, 11:36:

From everything I have read, the embassy in Vietnam is a very diffcult embassy to deal with. I never thought I would say this but it sounds much worse than Bogota. A real nightmare. We did our paperwork starting with the USCIS in late 2003 and it ended with the embassy in the spring of 2004.

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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N2Aquatix says on Feb 7, 2005, 12:12:

Thanx UC I have a specific question that you may be able to answer regarding Domesa. My novia lives in Barranquilla. I would like to go to the embassy in Bogota with her on the day of her interview. I asked her if she would like to stay in one of the local hotels with me for that week then we could just fly back to the states together when her visa is issued. She excitedly said that she thought that would be a very good idea and made her feel a lot less nervous about everything. My question is this, do you think Domesa would deliver the visa to the hotel room if that was the destination I gave them in the paperwork? Any information would be helpful. ;-)

Jay

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utopiacowboy says on Feb 7, 2005, 12:19:

When you go to the interview and they approve the application, you have to give the address they will use for Domesa. I suppose you could give them any address you wanted.

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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N2Aquatix says on Feb 7, 2005, 12:33:

Pretty country Man, it really helps talking to someone who has been there and done it. Thanx a lot bro. I had to wing it when I went down to visit her last fall. Kind of terrifying even though I speak pretty decent spanish. Nobody I knew had ever been there. I loved it down there. Awesomely pretty country. I like the fact that the burger joints serve beer.

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lpdiver says on Feb 8, 2005, 04:58:

Gary I assume your novia has no negative history with immigrations or any run ins with the law in Colombia. (drugs, prostitution, illegial applications for visas, any police records)

These are not easy questions to ask but I assure you they will be asked and investigated thouroughly. No one will take more interest in your application thatn you and an attorney can only do as good a job as the info that you submit...

Good Luck,

Tony

"cook some rice!"

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