Location of Lab and Dra. Consuelo?

silviat says on Nov 26, 2005, 12:54:

They are very close to each other When do you have your interview?

The lab and the doctors office are withing walking distance of each other (maybe ten blocks or so).

If she is going by herself I've heard dona flor's house (in front of the embassy or very close to it) can be a very good option since other people who is doing visa process stays there, so they sort of help and support each other. Do a google search in the site for dona flor.

Silvia

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JT says on Nov 26, 2005, 14:56:

Are the Lab and Dra. Consuelos office close to Embassy? Thanks silvia for letting me know that the lab and the Dra. Consuelos office are close to eachother. But are they near the Embassy as well? Thanks! -jt

JT

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rmorgan3 says on Nov 26, 2005, 16:50:

address Instituto y Laboratorio Clinico
Calle 38 # 8-28, Local 1
Bogota
Phone: 232-7272

Dr. Maria Consuelo Gonzalez
Cra 8 # 49-25 Of. 302
Bogota
Phone: 288-7629, 245-929
dont know if they are close to the embassy or not

rus

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silviat says on Nov 26, 2005, 17:08:

Calle 22D-Bis # 47-51 it isnt very far in bogota standarts, probably a taxi wouldnt be more than 8000 pesos.

and I think if she doesnt know the city that is a good area to stay.

good luck with the interview :)

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cam0940 says on Nov 26, 2005, 20:02:

I really went back and forth on whether to check in, because I don't like to contradict Silvia. She's so great with her info. But the poster's wife is from Cartagena, which is much smaller than Bogota. Bogota will be new to both of them. As such, I gotta tell you, the lab isn't all that close to Consuelo, and neither of them are that close to the embassy. The only two "stops" that are really close to each other are Banco Union Colombiano where you'll pay your DS-156 fee and the embassy itself.

Consuelo's office is a little bit of a haul, but it's not bad in a taxi. The lab is a little bit of a haul, but not bad in a taxi. Silvia's budget of 8000 pesos is probably a pretty good estimate, but an 8000 peso taxi ride is not a stroll in the park. It's a road march. You're wife will be disgruntled and have an attitude by the time you get there on foot.

I have an extremely helpful tool for you. Go to www.mapred.com. They have a street map of Bogota. You can plot the embassy, the lab, and Consuelo's. My recommendation, go see Bob at Salitre Plaza. On Mapred, you'll see Salitre Plaza maybe 2 or 3 blocks from the embassy. It's a safe and central location.

The lab, Consuelo's, and the embassy are going to be a big triangle when you plot them on the map. You want to be closer to the embassy than anything else, which is why I recommend you talk to Bob at www.bogotacolombialodging.com.

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flaleo says on Nov 28, 2005, 06:41:

I found all three to be far from the embassy - over 8k pesos and plan for at least 30 minutes in a taxi.

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silviat says on Nov 28, 2005, 10:14:

Oh you didnt! You contradict me? Now you are in trouble ;)

Well the day I had the exam we got out of the lab, had breakfast in the EXTREMELY DELICIOUS panaderia san marcos (right of 49th with 10th so a half block from the lab), and then we walked to through the 10th... it wasnt that long I think around 15 to 20 minutes... its 13 blocks or so...

If she doesnt feel safe doing it then she should just go back to the hotel and come back to the area in the afternoon, but we didnt wanted to do that so we burned sometime while having the breakfast, walking and seeing the area, etc.

Its a safe walk.

I just feel that staying closer to the embassy is the best bet if you arent familiar with the city at all... she'll have to use cabs anyway to all of the other stuff anyway.

I dont know where closer to the labs would be good... is she doing her interview in that same trip?

Silvia

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JT says on Nov 29, 2005, 12:24:

this trip just for Med exam/Lab My Cartagenera wife doesn't know her way around Bogota. I hope that there wont be any trouble with the Taxi drivers finding the addresses of Dra. Consuelo's and the Lab. I will check out that site with the maps. I have been looking for a mapquest.com like site for Bogota for a long time. Even though the interview isnt until late December, I thought that staying near the embassy wouldn't be a bad idea. I have a question about the FEE that needs to be paid at the Bank? That is for the embassy interview right? At what point do you pay exactly? Thanks! -jt

JT

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cam0940 says on Nov 29, 2005, 13:27:

The taxi situation is like here. The driver may not know the exact building, but if you tell him the address, he can find the block. It's like if we said So and So's office is on the 7000 block of Main Street. The taxi's will get you there fine. Just so you know, the lab is on the first floor of a 10 or 12 story white marble building. There are steps leading up to the entrance, and a big plant box next to the steps. There's bronze lettering (I forget the name of the building) on the white marble in front.

Consuelos is in a 5 story red brick corner building, one block off the main thoroughfare (I think it's 7th). There's usuually a guy out front with a burro selling juice and fruit. There's a small convenience store on the ground floor. It is the only building on that corner that fits this description.

Staying near the embassy is an excellent idea.

The fee that you pay at the bank was (a/o September) 230,000 pesos, roughly the equivalent of $100 USD. You pay it at the Banco Union Colombiano across the street from the embassy, behind the embassy. There will be a line, get there early (like 7:15 AM). In fact, there will be a line at the lab too. Get there around the same time (because of this, you'll obviously have to do them on separate days). When you pay the DS-156 fee at the bank (make sure you've filled it out ahead of time and affixed her passport photo with glue), they will give her a sticker receipt that goes on the front of her passport. When she takes her stickered passport to the interview, it serves as proof she paid the DS-156 fee.

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JT says on Nov 29, 2005, 19:01:

Can she pay the fee a month before the interview? Does it matter when the DS-156 fee is paid? We can pay it now right? Even though our interview is in late Dec? That way we wouldnt have to make sure to get to the bank early, but just pay anytime the bank is open? Thanks!

JT

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cam0940 says on Nov 29, 2005, 20:05:

She takes the interview letter to the bank with her completed DS-156 with the passport photo affixed. The problem you may run into is that--as far as I understand--it's supposed to be paid at that specific branch across the street from the embassy.

Because everyone (K-1 visas, tourist visas, etc) is going to pay the same fee, and because there are dozens of appointments scheduled for each day, each day there are dozens of people there. Do you follow me? It's not like--for example--Friday is the busy day at the bank. Every day is busy at the bank. What might work for you is going late in the day after the rush. 3:00 PM maybe? In any event, you need to work your logistics based on how many days you're going to be in Bogota, and this is one task you'll have to budget time for.

But the general answer to your question is yes, as long as she's got her DS-156 w/ a passport photo attached, the passport itself, and her interview letter, she can go any day that works for her.

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JT says on Nov 30, 2005, 00:54:

DAS document in English? Thank goodness for the post by flaleo, because I almost forgot that my wife needs to get her DAS criminal record before her medical exam. She is having the exam done a few weeks before our interview. I'm assuming it needs to be translated to English correct? Should be pretty easy to translate it since it'll be blank.(i hope.... maybe there are some things she hasn't told me about jaja)

JT

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 30, 2005, 08:09:

The DAS certificate does not need to be translated. In fact the embassy accepts any document which is in either English or Spanish.

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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