Requesting Interview Date?

utopiacowboy says on Nov 8, 2005, 19:27:

What an outfit. Can you imagine that they are not accepting emails! What nerve. It is next to impossible to reach them by phone. They sit in that fortress and think that they are completely untouchable. I think it is time to contact your US representative and both senators and get their asses kicked. Which reminds me. I need to write my congressmen and bitch them out myself. I HATE that damm embassy and everyone who works there. It's a disgrace to the people of the United States of America.

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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bbattiste says on Nov 8, 2005, 19:50:

You're right Utopia They should all get fired!!!! The place sucks and they treat everyone like Sh*t. Seriously though...is there anything I can do or should I just wait more? What is the one hour time on Tuesday?

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rjstuff says on Nov 9, 2005, 09:43:

Hold off With all their imperfections they are GREAT at handing out visas (very few denials of K1 and K3.) Don't get them all fired - just have their communication protocols/procedures changed! Good luck

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 9, 2005, 11:49:

Fired? I would like a lot more than that done to them.

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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stripes says on Nov 9, 2005, 19:10:

what are you suggesting? Are you suggesting that you'd like harm to come to the people we're paying to be here on our behalf? I know a few people there, and they're all good people doing the best they can. What's more, they live here under threat of physical harm as representatives of our government. Seems like a harsh punishment just because there is trouble getting in touch with them or having a delay in your visa.

De todos modos: a quick search of the embassy web page gives this page http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsc143.shtml with the instructions on what you should do.

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 9, 2005, 19:28:

Glad that you mention that we are PAYING them to act on our behalf. No, they are NOT good people and they are NOT doing the best they can. They are supercilious haughty bastards who treat everyone that they encounter, Colombians and Americans alike, like scum. I have not talked to any Colombian who had anything good to say about the embassy or its employees. In fact people like them do much to discredit the United States and cause people all over the globe to hate us. They are the very worst ambassadors for our country. This is why I have been planning to write to my congressman with my list of grievances in the naive hope that there will be repercussions for the disgraceful and abdominable behavior of these people who allegedly work for us, the citizens of the United States.

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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stripes says on Nov 10, 2005, 03:36:

indeed UC, you're generally pretty logical and precient, but it's failing you now. I'm sure exactly what happens is that the US state department gathers up the worst of the worst and sends them to Colombia. In fact, I'm sure they do it just to aggrivate the members of this board. I've met a few of these people through Colombo Americano and can tell you that the ones I have met are indeed good people. One of the people I have talked to handles visa interviews for people who have had problems with the law (a shocker in Colombia), and told me that he has had threats on his life for denying narcotrafficer's visas. He has to ride to work in an armored van with a guy with a machine gun in the front seat. I'm sure that probably gives them a slightly different view of Colombia than we have.

By all means, write your Congressman. When you do, I'd be more specific about your complaints than that they are all bastards and rude, because what your congressman will be interested in is whether they are implementing the law appropriately. I worked as an intern on the Hill after college, and can tell you that I was the one generally handling those inquiries and sending them on a template to the Embassies.

Now, living in Colombia and taking classes at Colombo and other schools, I can tell you that I've met a number of Colombians who hold those people in very high regard, and that the image has improved since I've been here. A friend of mine who is a student at La Salle got her tourist visa the other day, and only had to wait a week for her visa. When her brother had gotten his a few years ago, he had to wait a year just to get his appointment.

By the way, being the political science dork I am (hence the internship for pennies when I should have been doing something else), I occasionally tool around on the State department FOIA page. This is something I found out about during my time on the hill. All government departments are required to have certain things under a general FOIA blanket. When we would make visa inquiries for constituents, the embassies would sometimes send us an attachment of the regulation. Not really related as much to this conversation, but it answers just about every visa question (if you can find what you're looking for. They tended to send us one page, but I can't even remember what it was.) http://foia.state.gov/REGS/fams.asp?level=2&id=10&fam=0

The really cool stuff on the site is the declassified documents stuff. Of course, by really cool, I mean if you're a government dork.

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 10, 2005, 07:02:

I am not about to send a complaint letter that just says "Those embassy people are really mean! Boo hoo!". No, I have very specific documented examples that display just what a horrible job they are doing. BTW, being rude does matter. There is no need to be anything other than considerate and polite and the embassy employees do not display the right attitude. You act as though they are some kind of heroes for even being there. Let me assure you if we cleaned out that rat's nest of ineptitude, there would be no shortage of people willing to take their places. I have no doubt that we could even find people who are willing to be polite and courteous.

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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stripes says on Nov 12, 2005, 09:01:

Maybe not heroes Maybe they're not heroes, but I just think it's a little crass to say that "you want something more than firing" to happen to anybody. Especially when these are the same stock of people that were bombed in Africa, taken hostage in Pakistan, attacked in Jeddah, and have been kidnapped in Colombia. My company is pretty strict about security here, and we've never been targeted. Still, the level of stress that we have is pretty high. Not that that excuses rudeness, but I'm sure that they're under a bit more stress than we are. Just my two cents.

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utopiacowboy says on Nov 12, 2005, 15:38:

Yes, sitting in that fortress, insulting people who come up to the window all day, I am sure is very stressful. From what I hear they like to party pretty hard as well at the Bogota nightspots - I guess that's to relieve all the stress they are experiencing.

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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JMOON87 says on Nov 12, 2005, 19:02:

Gotta agree with uc It is pathetic and sad that you can get no help from that place through telephone or email when they know that many people live many miles away and can just not jump in a car to visit . i will reserve judgement on the face to face untill i visit there hopefully next month .

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