Prepping for interview

bobbyb says on Sep 29, 2005, 14:59:

add this question What about a letter from you explaining why you cannot be there for her interview????

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cam0940 says on Sep 29, 2005, 19:52:

They asked my gf if she had a ring, under the assumption that any American man that was serious would buy his gf an engagement ring. They also asked her if she spoke any English. When she said "Not much", they then asked her how we communicate. Fortunately, I was there to demonstrate that my Spanish is very respectable, and therefore she didn't NEED to speak any English for us to develop a relationship.

You should also send phone records if you can get them. They looked more at our phone records than our emails.

Sounds like you did a good job on the I-134 situation. Excellent that you are having her hand carry them there. Sometimes guys send the forms to the embassy, never to be seen again. Your novia should never let them out of her sight, because if they come up missing, you're finished.

As uncomortable as it might be, you should make sure your novia knows things like why you got divorced, were there any form of DV allegations involved, she should know common things about your family, what you do for a living, where you live, basically they may ask her questions to ensure that you've given her enough information about you to make an intelligent decision. If you were there, they probably would ask you a few questions, too.

The number one complaint the embassy gets is about relationships that fall apart. Also keep in mind that the consular officers have absolutely nothing to gain by approving a visa, but negative repercussions if something screws up down the road (e.g. approving a visa that probably should have been denied). So they'll err on the side of caution.

I don't want to sound discouraging. It's actually very easy if she's prepared when she goes down there. Just drill her on the types of things they may ask.

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utopiacowboy says on Sep 29, 2005, 21:18:

My wife normally goes to HEB and they have a pretty good selection of things she likes to get like plantains, mangos, papaya, coconut etc. She's adapted pretty well to what is available here and gets the drumsticks, chicken wings, pizzas that you can heat up in the microwave.

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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dannyherm says on Sep 29, 2005, 21:26:

Thanks Cam & UTC Cam, I did give my fiancee a nice enagement ring when I proposed, so I'm good there. Thanks for reminding me.

Like others, I usually buy calling cards. Will sending copies of those suffice? I did send plenty of e-mails which are written in Spanish, so they can tell we are communicating. Good idea on briefing her on divorce details. I've told her about it, but focusing on the specifics is probably the way to go just in case.

BTW, do you agree that I should write a note explaining why I am not there at the interview?

UTC, I figured HEB was about all there is. It's funny, but I kind of feel sad taking my novia and kids out of an environment where they buy fresh goods and pastries daily, and bringing them to our pre-packaged world. We do have some decent mangos, plantanos and such, but I couldn't believe the wide variety of fresh fruits they have in Colombia, and how you can buy them on every street corner. I guess I'll take her to the Fiesta in Austin or Houston, or HEB Central Market for a fix of some of the rarer delicacies.

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cam0940 says on Sep 29, 2005, 21:57:

Hmm, I don't know about the note. I cannot in good conscience tell you whether it's a good idea or not. I apologize but I can't really comment on the calling cards either, unless they somehow show you calling her. The expired card itself may not help the cause much. But if it somehow connects you to her, then by all means do it.

If she hasn't been to Banco Union yet, tell her to get there early. The bank opens at 8, but people will be lined up as early as 7. There will be a bunch of tourist visa applicants going there to pay fees, backing up the line. It's a real drag, so she may want to beat the crowd. Same thing at the lab, which is first come first served. The lab opens at 7--she'll want to be there around 6 or 6:15 if she wants to be closer to the front of the line. And God Almighty is it cold out there at that time of the morning.

The interview itself is the same type of deal. You're out there at like 6 AM. Bogota weather being what it is, the sky could open up with rain or even hail at any second, and what really stinks about the embassy trip is that you get there early to be toward the front of the line, but then when the applicants are ushered into the waiting area, they don't necessarily keep the applications in the same order that the applicants had in line. That is to say, you could be first in line, but still wait over an hour to get called to the window. Of course once you get approved it's all worth it, but it just isn't fun.

Make sure your gf has 120K for the doctor and 135K for the lab (or was it the other way around), they're going to charge her 230K at Banco Union, and she's going to need at least 7 5cmx5cm pictures that she can get at any Foto Japon for 6 mil pesos per pair.

If you are interested in any more details I'll be glad to share our experience with you. Best wishes.

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cam0940 says on Sep 29, 2005, 22:06:

P.S. When I say "lines" my friend, I mean LINES. I'm talking about wrapped around the building, Great Depression soup kitchen type lines. It's well worth getting there early.

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JMOON87 says on Sep 30, 2005, 08:29:

FROM WHAT I READ from what i read from old post on visa journey and here she does need to know about divorces but to go into a bunch of specifics is not neccasry and would be more confusing i think .unless there is a history of k1 visas and divorces .... but i have read on visa journey about visa getting turned down for not having n enough personal info as far as family names and occupation etc ..good luck

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utopiacowboy says on Sep 30, 2005, 08:54:

You're right, Danny. My wife does scrutinize the fruit she buys carefully and the freshness (or lack thereof) of the coconuts is a constant issue. There is a market that specializes in Latin American goods called Las Americas at 6651 San Pedro Avenue. There is also an association of Colombians in San Antonio: www.asociacionamigosdecolombia.org

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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dannyherm says on Sep 30, 2005, 09:51:

Thanks, UTC! Those items of information will be a big help. I can definitely see us being involved with this organization.

Luego,
Danny H.

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thundernco says on Sep 30, 2005, 11:37:

The children should go if she plans to bring and they're applying for K2 visas. All else sounds good. -TNC

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Crazy4Cali says on Sep 30, 2005, 14:44:

My novia was asked about me, my family, my kids (names & ages), my work, if I knew spanish, where I learned spanish, if she spoke english.

I was asked, where she worked, what her job was and....(this is the one that is REALLY important) what are your wedding plans?

I read that this can be a showstopper question as the K-1 is a "go to the U.S. to get married" visa and not a "go to the U.S. to cohabitate for 90 days" visa. Not having plans is one of the red flags they look for, apparently (whether you actually execute those plans is a different matter). So we talked about it and came up with a plan together so we could give the same answer.

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CaryGrant says on Oct 1, 2005, 09:26:

An advantage to Skype and similar services over calling cards is that you have a record of phone calls: date, time, duration, number called.

I went through the same thing with lines when I was getting my US PR. Around the corner in Dallas in freezing weather, hours before the office opened...not fun.

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dannyherm says on Oct 1, 2005, 11:26:

Ake kids or not I talked with my novia last night, and told her that a couple of folks in this forum said she should take the kids.

But she says the documentation she recieved in packet for says minors under 14 need not attend. I told her to take that form with her in case the issue is brought up. Either way, she is planning to take her 11-year-old daughter to the interview to keep her company.

Thanks to all,

Danny H.

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utopiacowboy says on Oct 1, 2005, 11:31:

She should definitely take her daughter. I know what they say in the instructions but the interviewer wanted to see all of my wife's children, even the 9 year old and matched everybody up with their names and birth dates. Also, you do spend a lot of time waiting and it's nice to have company.

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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