more visa questions the visa buffs

ewonder says on Aug 25, 2004, 07:56:

Arqtat I am literally in the same situation as you. Our visa was processed at the USCIS center in California and we received a notice from the NVC dated 8/09 as well. It stated the case was being forwarded to the U.S. Consulate in Bogotá and included was the BGT2004 # which led me to believe things would speed up now. (After almost 6 months of waiting) Your fiancé should be expecting packet #3 sometime with all the medical contact info and forms that she needs to fill out and fax back. Next the packet #4 will be sent out which is basically the interview date information. We are hoping to streamline this by going to Bogotá and picking up the packet #3 and doing the medical and lab exams at the same time. According to Utopia on the board, he waited 6 weeks for packet#3 and came to the conclusion it was lost. So going to the Embassy directly may save you a couple weeks and some piece of mind!

Do you plan to attend the interview? There is a site off the U.S. Embassy that posts interview dates, at some point your case # could show up here I would assume. Check out http://usembassy.state.gov/colombia/wwwfivad.pdf and make sure you have Adobe on your PC to view the file.

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r1ch1ee903 says on Aug 25, 2004, 15:23:

in the same boat is it possable to get an appointment date without receiving packet #3

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 25, 2004, 15:29:

I suppose it would be theoretically possible to get copies of the forms along with the other information that is contained in Packet 3 and send in Part 1 of the DS-230 and send it in to the embassy. If you have not received the packet, the real solution is to send someone to get another one. I would have been real nervous doing the thing with downloaded forms without having an actual Packet 3.

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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argtat says on Aug 25, 2004, 18:52:

thanks e wonder i am glad i am not alone, i am starting to go bonkers. regarding the interview i am debating i really think i should go the issue is grtting thr time off work now, i have been told it is not necessary but i would truly love to go and actually fly back with her, also do you know if they have to enter through miami or is sf ok i was wondering about that detail.

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ewonder says on Aug 26, 2004, 06:23:

Colombian POE After the interview in Bogotá I am told your Fiancé will hand over her Passport and receives a sealed envelope to give to the people at the point of entry. We plan to fly into LAX and I am sure SF is acceptable for your Fiancé. The visa will be sent back to her via courier with her Visa 7-10 days after the interview. For this reason I am planning to fly home alone and my Fiancé will have to come later. I think this really stinks and I have been writing my Congressman and Senate to complain. Make sure your Fiancé starts calling the U.S. Consulate on Tuesday and verify the packet #3 has been shipped. If you are getting anxious send her to the Embassy to pick one up which might save you a little time.

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 26, 2004, 08:50:

The thing that really sucks about the courier thing, ewonder is the fact that back before April 1 of this year, you came back the next day to get the visa. So then you could go to the United States together. Th 7-10 day wait now makes that difficult.

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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argtat says on Aug 26, 2004, 09:55:

thanks well it seems we are on the same boat... some of what cowboy said is scary like the fact that they may not tell tou if you have been aproved.
so have you gotten the appointment yet, judging by what you said we are on the same batch, my girl lives in bogota so is easy to just drop by at anytime... oh yes yesterday i noticed a slight discrepancy, on the first page of the apy, i was so mad the address there and the address on her biograpic info as her current address are different, soemhow her moms address ended there and is missing the apt number (just to add to my angst) i am sure it will be ok i am only worried about packet four with the apptment and the frigging courier crap but ill take a deep breath now.
i think i am gonna have to do thing s abck wards, i am gonna take my vacation and have my honeymoon in colombia before i get married :) that way i kill to birds with one stone and will be able to travel with ehr he he.
anyways thanks for the info and keep me posted if you can of any progress, heck we might even run into each other at the interview.
ps have you done any research as to what weddings are acceptable, i mean i dont believe church matrimony papers are valid so a judge marriage is requierd now is vegas acceptable? getting married by elvis sounds like a plan lol

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ewonder says on Aug 26, 2004, 11:44:

Reply We haven't received any paperwork from Bogotá yet, hopefully the packet will arrive soon. Every Tuesday we are calling the U.S. Embassy to make inquiries. Once they confirm packet #3 is mailed I think she will travel to Bogotá and pick it up and do the medical exam and lab at that time. The site I check occasionally for appointment dates doesn't seem very up to date. You can do a search and see if your case # is there. If you know of any better links, please let me know. http://usembassy.state.gov/colombia/wwwfivad.pdf

We may end up in Bogotá at the same time, I'll let you know when I find out for sure when I'm going. I would love to stay down there and come back after the interview like you are planning, but I am too busy at the office to allow the time. Once my Fiancé is here that will change. I think people suggest with the K1 visa that you wait to get married after you enter the U.S. You can do a ceremony for the families sake in Colombia, but if it is a legal matrimony then that could complicate the visa. We are planning a traditional Wedding after we are settled. Las Vegas would probably be fine, but I think anyone from Colombia that has never experienced Las Vegas before would view a wedding there as a little "loco" in my opinion.

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argtat says on Aug 26, 2004, 20:37:

agree i checked that site but like someone said i dont believe the case number for us would be there until we have given them the packet #3.
i have been trying to calm my self down a bit but is so much to think about, being in two diferent hemispheres really makes planning a wedding a pain in the butt. time is definetly a constraint, specially when i have been in colombia 3 times in the last yearand a half january 03 may 03 and january 04 and all three times for about a month so my vacation has become pretty exhausted and that sux. i would love if this people got their act together and you cpuld know dates of event with exactitude so things like going down there and purchasing tickets at reasonable times can be bettter planned i have a feeling thaat i am gonna get an appointment so close to the actual date ill end up paying 1400 for a ticket specially since it is still high season there

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argtat says on Aug 27, 2004, 08:46:

packet number 3 hi e wonder well low and behold guess what, she received the packet and my suspicions were correct, remember the minor snafu with the address well i was right, her envelope was sharing some cozy days with the night watchman and the security guars since the 19 of august i am assuming since your fiance is not in bogota hers should be in her hands by now, i found this out in the morning and it fits the time tables in visajourney for bogota, ten days from the date in the visa center letter so yes i would say she should go to the embassy asap and pick hers up and get all the other stuff taken care of. i have to wait until next week anyways, my dear beloved insists on staying in her job till the last day even though they laid her off, originally she was to have a job till sep 15 then teh cut it back till the 31 of august, i told her to just quit and do the paperwork..... she wouldnt have it, what really gets my noodle going is that i make in an hour what she makes in a day and i offered to pay her the monetary loss buy nooo she is too responsable with her comitments (which is good) and doesnt want me to pay for everything specially if she is able to work (isnt that lovely) but she has a cold from hell and not even with my concern for her health she would stop, like they say in colombia, this woman is a jewel the sweetest kindest most responsable girl i have ever met but she is mas terca que una mula (stubborn as a mule) so i won the lottery with this lady so long as i can stan her stubborn ways! just thought i shared

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ewonder says on Aug 27, 2004, 09:43:

Great news! I am glad your Fiancé has the coveted packet #3! My Fiancé has not received hers and now we are very anxious after I read your posting. Can you tell me whether this was sent via a courier or regular mail? If possible what was the name of the courier. My Fiancé will want to call the delivery service I am sure and possibly the Embassy to make preparations for a trip to Bogotá.

Your Fiancé is lucky to have work in Colombia, I know jobs are very scarce at the moment. My Fiancé decided to go home and spend time with her family since she had much difficulty finding a job that paid decent wages. Once she deducted the cost of buses, rent and cell phone bills/internet Cafe's she could barely afford to eat. Plus her 90 hour work weeks blew my mind too!

Please keep me posted with any new news and I will share any info I have as well.

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argtat says on Aug 27, 2004, 11:58:

sure thing, i will ask her later on today she is supposed to scan the whole packet in adobe format so i can see what the contents are, i have a feeling this packet is generic in nature and doesnt contain information specifically addressed to her and is more aimed to solicitants with an approved application.
regarding work, i agree she is blessed to be able to find work but hell you and i are spoiled, we work 40 hor weeks at least i do OT is paid and at the end of the day the expenses of getting to work and living leave us at least with more than 50 percent of our salary. but hell my baby girl had to work too 12 hour days seven days a week for a meassly salary that barely covers her expenses, it isnt right but at least is something i know.
well the next stage is on the way so we will see how it progresses, ill post whatever else i can find later today

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r1ch1ee903 says on Aug 27, 2004, 21:20:

hi guys my/our application was approve (I130)and i am waiting on word from nvc so i will be in the same boat as u guys in a few weeks so please keep posting your progress and degress so i and others will know what to expect in the future and for those silent viewers who read and don't post my application was approve on the 19 of aug.(vermont)and i haven't receive word from nvc yet and i am hoping for a late sep or early oct date for appoinmentas,as per the time frame you guys have been posting with your progress and i am trying to book flights for around those dates so my wife and i can fly back together including the 7-10 days wait for the visa to return in the mail , so i beg of you guys to keep posting and keep your dates so others like myself would kinda have a time frame of what to expect of our love ones to return to the us to start our new vidas
thank you in advance and good luck
Richie

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 27, 2004, 21:27:

Richie, you've got a long haul ahead of you. K-1 and K-3 petitions fly through the National Visa Center quickly because they are non-immigrant visas. In both cases, the fiance or wife later has to AOS or go through immigrant visa processing at the embassy or consulate. The timeline for processing an I-130 through the NVC is a couple of months. They have to send you several documents (agent selection, fee bill, I-864 etc) which you send back to them and it is all time-consuming. You can count on 2-3 months with the NVC and then another 2-3 months with the embassy. Realistically you're looking at the end of the year on this. Check out these sites for further info and I-130 experiences: http://www.visajourney.com/ and http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=35

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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rfonteno says on Aug 27, 2004, 23:22:

Visa Time
My process was approved by the California immigration center on April 16th. They sent the petition to New Hampshire and the embassy in Bogota contacted my fiance on the date of May 22nd. My fiance turned in her paperwork and the embassy in Bogota sent me a letter on August 1st saying that the interview would be held on September 3rd. I will depart tomorrow to go to Barranquilla and then my fiance and I will go to bogota.

I bought her a round trip ticket to return home with me to the states but after I read the posts about the visa being turned in to the consulate and 7 to 10 day waiting period, I am not sure if she will be able to return with me.
Even though I have known her for over a year, and I have been to Colombia 3 different times in the past year to be with her, I have been thinking that she has been telling me some lies and maybe it would be better if this engagement does not work out. I have been sending her 225 dollars a month to help her with her expenses but she at times has come up with I believe to be other excuses for me to send her more money. Today when she e-mailed me, she wrote that someone broke into her house while her and her family were sleeping and stole her younger brothers clothes and she also wrote that this robber stole her book about learning how to knit. The thing is she requested money a few months ago from me, so that she could buy these books on learning how to knit.
The truth is that she probably never bought this book in the first place.If she did have this book, why would someone steal it? Also the timing in being that this supposedly happened 2 days before I am to arrive there. In addition to this, she asked me for money to take English classes and she never took the classes, and another time, she asked me for 275 dollars to help with a down payment on a house that she never moved into. As a matter of fact she never brought the subject up again until I mentioned it to her.
Anyway, sorry to ramble on but I hope that all is good with you guys and your ladies are sincere over there in Colombia.

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ewonder says on Aug 28, 2004, 08:03:

Keep in mind These ladies in Colombia can make as little as 50 cents an hour and work 12-14 hours a day to pay for the bare necessities. Once they have a little money in their hands they can tend to spend frivolously because no one has taught them how to budget their money. If they know a steady stream of money is coming, they don't worry about this.

Also, there are many robbers in Colombia that will literally steal anything they can get their hands on. Some people I met said their toilet paper, light bulbs and tampons were stolen right out of their house while they were sleeping or at the market. This is of course maybe an exaggeration, but who knows. Keep an open mind with your Fiancé and give her the benefit of the doubt. As far as the visa taking 7-10 days after the interview, this is a new policy that was recently adopted. You may get someone at the Consulate that gives it to you on the spot or a hard ass that makes you wait. For this I will wait to purchase my Fiancés ticket to return until the last minute.

Hope I am not being to forward with my comments. Good luck with your situation.

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argtat says on Aug 28, 2004, 10:52:

open mind my dear fellow ewonder, i havent a shadow of a doubt about my fiances economics, i have seen it with my own eyes. she is a very proud girl and neve has asked me for money, so i have no doubt she is not taking advantage of my generosity. regarding the robbers and wheter or not those stories are exagerated... colombia is know as a place where the steal a manhole cover and come back for the hole. so it isnt far fetched to think that a lot of this "stories" are true.
regarding your question about the packet, it was delivered by a messenger from the mbassy, so i am assuming that is the way is done with bogota residents, for outside the capital the y may usea a private courier. like i suspected the forms are pretty generic, there are a total of 19 faces on the documents meaning some sheets are doublesided. the envelope contains a coverletter in english indicating that she can begin her visa application process it lists her case number and address. next page is a set of instruccions to apply broken down in three steps FIRSTstep is to gather the documents in the list(pasport birth certificate, baptismal certificate a total of four fotographs, divorce certificate, proof of relationship, police certificates, judicial past military past affidavit of support translations (although it says on the first page that documents in english or spanish need no translation or apostille) and 100 dollars, you only need one original of each but they recomend a notarized copy for your records just in case. this list is a generalized list and you are to provide the documents that apply to you. you are to keep this documents with you in the order of the list.SECOND once gathered all th edocuments you are to fill form OF 169 which comes in the packet and is a declaration that you understant you may be denied so dont buy tix or quit your job, one per applicant , also fill out DS 230 which also comes inside is a two sided page asking biograpical info once filled comes step THREE either fax this forms to the number provided or bring them mon thru thurs at 1245pm once they recibe this they will provide you with an appointment when your turn comes, it says it wont be given for less than a month from their recipt of the fax or dropping papers off.
they also enclose a copy of the affidavit of support form. they also put in there two copies of the DS 156 in spanish solicitud de visa de no imigrante and a copy of the english version of DS 156
a sheet with the dimensions of the pictures and strict specifications on paper and tipe. another document is a description of items that need to be turned in with the affidavit of suppot form I 134, tax returns for last rthree years, pay stubs for the last year, a work letter with time of employment and charge and salary earned.
i hope this helps thats all that is inside the package all wich can be found online and in the embassy in pdf form so good luck post you e mail your email if you want an attachment of the scan of the documents.

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argtat says on Aug 28, 2004, 11:03:

oppps ooops e wonder i miss read the post i thought it was directed to me my bad. about the fellow with the colombian fiance in barranquilla do be careful, because unless she is supporting a huge family, 225 dollars a month is a pretty decent chunk of money over a half a mill wich is way over the minimum wage so if she is working as well she is counting with a least 8 or 900k colpesos, so do be careful and as for being a stickler with your money i have always advise that she keeps receipts of the use of money so you can use them as additional proof of relationship.
the way i see it if you are feeling taken advantage of i will consider some investigating before hand, although it seems that you are on the last strech, remember if she is taken advantage of you you can always send her packing and back home, the key on this is trust and i get the feeling your is faultering.

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 28, 2004, 11:10:

I must say, rfonteno, that I think your suspicions are completely justified. $225 a month is a ton of money over there - that would have been half my wife's monthly salary. When you bring her here, I think it is only going to get worse. If my wife asked me for money, it was always for a particular purpose which she carried out and it was not often. In fact most of the time, I would have to make a point of making her take it because she was ashamed to be getting help from me.

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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ewonder says on Aug 28, 2004, 14:24:

Thank you for the info I have seen the posts of what is in the packet both on this site and visajourney.com. I often wondered if we could download everything and start filling them out now. If nothing else it would be good to prepare early for the interview date. I would love a copy of the scans, please write me ewonder60 at yahoo.com and of course I will post any new information we receive. I am hoping next week we will receive the packet and can get our process in Bogota started as well. I am very jealous now! Thanks again.

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r1ch1ee903 says on Aug 29, 2004, 09:21:

Utopia thnx for the info, my 129 is still pending and its 7 days away from the processing dates, i think i have read somewhere that they cancle your 129 if your 130 has been approve is that true?
thnx again
Richie

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 30, 2004, 08:38:

No, Richie, you can still get the I-129 processed even if your I-130 has been approved. This way you might get her here a couple of months sooner and she can adjust her status to permanent resident on the basis of the approved I-130.

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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r1ch1ee903 says on Aug 31, 2004, 13:08:

thnx for all the info utopia..........this is such a long drawn out process, the 129 is suppose to get them here quicker but if its only a couple of months they really need to add more people to that department.........
i think even tho the k1 keeps asking for more proof at least its faster and your paperwork is in bogota and its a matter of showing that the relationship is real
you spend months getting paperwork to get married there....... then you spend more months waiting on k3 visa to be approve by that time you would of made 3-4 trips to bogota with the k1 visa and showing documents that the relationship is real and still come out quicker than the k3 visa
my 2 cents
richie

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 31, 2004, 13:33:

You're definitely right about the situation right now, Richie. The K-1 is a lot faster than the K-3. Of course the situation can change very quickly - back when I did the process in late 2003, the K-3 was much faster than the K-1. My K-3 was approved in two months and the service centers were taking a lot longer with the K-1s then. Of course my wife had her heart set on being married in Colombia so I didn't have a choice anyway. There is some speculation that they are trying to make the K-3 obsolete by processing the I-130s faster. This does seem to be happening.

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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r1ch1ee903 says on Aug 31, 2004, 14:10:

mid feb i did my filing on the 10 of feb for 130 and the k3 feb 27......its now sept, the k3 was suppose to reunite the family in order to keep the family together but i think they have lost focus on that,
since feb i have been there 2 times already and now it seems like its going to be a 3rd time b4 my paperwork gets process. i'm going to be bankrupt by the time this is over. lol
Richie

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 31, 2004, 14:18:

Rich, hang in there. They are now processing K-3 petitions from about your time-frame. You should be getting a notice of approval very soon.

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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r1ch1ee903 says on Sep 1, 2004, 18:47:

hanging in there thnx for the info and i'm hanging in there alright....
Richie

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James3 says on Oct 17, 2004, 10:28:

work permit This past week my wife's K-3 visa was approved. What do I need to do to ensure that she can work and study in the US?

Thanks in advance

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yahya says on Oct 18, 2004, 18:12:

help we are in 221g hell yahya

our interview was aug 27 2004 we were put in status 221g-- returned with requested addition paper work aug 31. they said all was good and they had to send new paper work back to Washington and then they would contact us about the visa. so far it's 2 months and nothing

yahya

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