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Dan has written 35 posts
Soldiers Deserve Better
I saw this on the news online a moment ago and thought I would post it. Here, you will see the living conditions of soldiers living at Ft. Bragg NC. I've stayed in Barraks like this too a long time ago and after a while, the unit closed them so they could renovate... and now there are still barraks worse off. It's disgusting... yet the leadership does nothing and complains to those living in it as the reason the conditions are so bad.
quick rant here... Well, here I am. It's almost 8 o'clock and I'm still at work. ONLY because a few people who have had TWO WHOLE WEEKS to get some paperwork done, didn't finish it or do it correctly or just left something out. AND, we're still waiting for people to SHOW UP!!! From what I've heard, the people that we're waiting for sit on the BUTTS all day anyway and have had plenty of time to get this crap done!! ok.. that's it for now before I make this too long. ...
That figures!!
Everyone stayed up all night talking about painties last night and now that I'm up early this morning that there's no one to have a good conversation... I guess I'm just here talking to myself for the moment. ...
Stupid Cop!!!
I saw this online in the news during lunch. This cop was yelling at a kid for skateboarding and seemed to take things a little bit to the extreme. The news clip I saw said that he was suspended with pay... Personally, this guy should lose his badge. He used way too much force on this kid. I hope this kids mom goes to court!
Colombia orders blockade of rebel hostage camps
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080127/wl_nm/colombia_hostages_dc Just saw this now. To me, this looks like it'll be a daring move.
"A" number
I was just working on a letter to write to immigration about getting a divorce. One thing that I want to include but don't have is an Alien Registration number. Anyone know of a search available or is it likely to be a call to USCIS? I'm hoping at some point in the next week or two or three or (???) that I'll get the final word that it's all over. Then, it's just a matter of seeing if she will leave the country quietly. Then, the final step of the divorce is getting it recognized in Colombia. ...
Amazing!!
Someone from work told me about this so I looked it up. This is Miss South Carolina and an answer to a question that doesn't go right. ...
My current travels
Hi everybody!!! I haven't been on for a while. I'll be in and out for the next few weeks. As of right now, I'm working on going home from Afghanistan. I have so much work to catch up on... Work on the house, visit family, divorce.... Oh and I'm playing around with the idea of going on vacation and have a little Me time for once. I should be home by the 25th. Everyone take care and I'll be back here more often when I get home. Chao mis amigos... -Dan ...
I am now lost
I really don't know how to put this but I'm going to try. It has been quite some time since I have last posted anything here so some people may remember me.
I got married in Bogotá Colombia almost 2 yrs ago. I got married on a Tuesday and the very next Saturday I was flying back to the US. I was in the US for 6months waiting for the Visa process to go through. Then, My work sent me to Colombia again for a trip for 3months. Now, during the 6 months apart, we called each other on a ...
Travel update from Dan
Just thought I would write a bit on my current trip to Colombia.
Lot's of stuff has been going on since I've been here. working on visa's for wife and stepdaughter. Got through most of the National Visa Center and now the packets are transfered to the Embassy. Right now, My wife has interview date on Nov 30th and stepdaughters is Dec 1st. I'm hoping that they may be able to do them on the same day, and keep them from making more trips than necessary to the embassy. I had already p ...
Next step continues
I tried calling early yesterday about info on my petitions and was only told that they were not in the system. Just for the hell of it, I called the NVC number and saw that they really were entered into the system yesterday. Now, time to get the sortcut files made and have them ready and waiting. Looking forward to getting this stuff done.
Also, I'm going to see how much I can do before I have to deploy(w/military) in a few weeks. Probably not much but I have friends that can help ...
"Greed Lured GIs Into Colombian Underworld"
Noticed this article on Yahoo about the guys caught smuggling drugs with US Army aircraft. Talking about the greed that got him started into the smuggling. One thing I don't like is that they have a picture of a Special Forces guy training the Colombian soldiers. The unit that Rosas is from has nothing to do with the mission that the SF Community is responsible for while deployed to Colombia.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050903/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/colombia_rogue_us_soldiers; ...
exchange rate
Just noticed on the El Tiempo website that the exchange when to $2.298,85 today. It's been hovering just above 2300 for quite a while and now just went below it.
Finally!!
The petitions finally got approved by USCIS for my wife and stepdaughter. I'm sooo happy that I heard something about it. Now it's time to get ready for everything else. Also, I'm supposed to be Traveling to Colombia again for work, so I'm hoping to be able to spend time with them for their interview. So long as the NVC can process the case's quickly. One step down at least.
Dan ...
K3's going away?
Ran into something interesting while looking around on VisaJourney. Someone is saying that they are hearing that K3's may be going away. Also that a couple embassies (Canada and Turkey is what I saw) are stopping K3's and telling people to wait for the CR1/IR1. Anyone else hear about this? kinda sounds stupid to me. I would want whatever would get my spouse/child to the US faster. I didn't see anything that said Colombia is doing the same.
Any thoughts? ...
USCIS CSC processing, Case isn't in the system(?)
This seems really strange to me right now. A little over a week ago, California update or "touched" my petitions for my wife and stepdaughter, but the case status has not changed. Now, I'm trying to contact the 1800 number to see what that says. For my cases, I get a message saying "-We're sorry, but due to a temporary problem with our system, we can not access your account information at this time, please call back in another time-". Now, when I enter other case numbers near my own either above ...
Something I thought Odd.
I just checked the USCIS website where I did the account thing to see if/when anything changes on the petitions for my wife/step-daughter. The part I thought was strange was that it shows:
WAC05160XXXXXX Y 07/29/2005 I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN
The date shows that it was updated Yesterday the 29th but when I clicked on the case number, it didn't show anything different, so I'm trying to figure out what happened, if anything. I'm go ...
The New Refugees: Americans who give up citizenship to save on taxes
Came across this article while I was roaming around the internet. With how many people are seeking US Citizenship, there are those who would rather give it up. This is mainly refering to saving on Taxes, but what about other advantages?
http://www.escapeartist.com/library/article7.htm
Just thought this would make an interesting discution here on the board. ...
Chief: Paramilitaries Seek Drug Profits
BOGOTA, Colombia - Paramilitary leaders are rushing to sell millions of dollars' worth of cocaine before they demobilize so they can retire wealthy from Colombia's protracted war, a top military commander said Thursday.
Navy chief Adm. Mauricio Soto said in an interview with The Associated Press that the paramilitary United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, is shipping an unprecedented amount of stored cocaine from the country ahead of their demobilization, which is under ...
About Diplomatic Immunity - From Ambassador Wood
Versión en español tambien:
http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsww54.shtml
******************************************
Ambassador William B. Wood's Comments at the of Ibague Country Club
Versión en español
About Diplomatic Immunity
Immunity is not impunity. In the Apiay case, during the month of April the Army prosecutors presented more than 15 counts against one of the individuals involved. And in May this case will proceed to the ...
change of address
Here's a quick one. I submitted for my wife/stepdaughter's visas a few weeks ago. Right now, my wife is talking about her, and some friends that she lives with, on moving out and find another place to live. I was wondering if there is a change of address thing that needs to be filed out so she get's her packets. I didn't see anything about this on this site so far.
Thanks,
Dan ...
Evalúan posibilidad de modificar inmunidad de militares de Estados Unidos en Colombia
Thaught others would find this interesting.
http://eltiempo.terra.com.co/judi/2005-05-24/ARTICULO-WEB-_NOTA_INTERIOR-2078429.html
Dan
USCIS
Just noticed this a bit ago. I looked at the case search sites for California and still showed they are working on I-130's as of Feb 28, 05. I checked Texas and they some how must have caught up on their work or something as they are showing the same thing? Could it be Texas is mirroring what California has because of forwarding the Petitions? Maybe Texas is acctually on a road to "recovery". ...
Here I go!
I finally got some papers translated. Now the next step is to do the Immigration thing. I got the I-130's for my wife and her daughter along with the supporting documents. I'm kinda anxious to get the whole thing done so that they come to the states soon. Tomorrow (Fri) I'm going to mail off the packets to Texas. With how they're sending everything to California lately will help get the process done faster.
BTW: I know that we're going to have to pay for the Med Exams and I'm thin ...
Travel visa
Anyone know what the timeline is like for getting a Travel/Tourist Visa to the US? Between applying and getting it?
Thanks,
Dan
Married!
Well, I finally got married this past week. Took about several months to do, but it's finally done.
The Notary I found was pretty nice. Plus, they were helpfull. I didn't have too much time in Colombia and with Samana Santa recently, the timing wasn't too good. On the Thursday before Samana Santa, We submitted the papers to the Notary. I told the Notary that I was supposed to leave the country on the 30th. At first, she was talking about the 5 working day requirement and then afte ...
A step closer
Well, I spent a good month with my girlfriend. I got back from Colombia on the 25th of Feb and already I'm being asked when I'm going back. The purpose of my trip was so that I can get married. Ran into problems before because the Notaries didn't understand nor accept that I was born in Germany but had a US Certificate. The other thing was trying to get the Apostille. Anyway. I finally found out what I needed to do to get the Apostille for my birth certificate the day before my flight. With that ...
Exchange Rate
Just looked at the ol' El Tiempo Website to see if anything interesting is going on there. I saw the exchage rate today is $2484,36. I also saw that the Casa de Cambio has been inching forward recently. It was down below 2100 a week or two ago and now 2180.. Man! I remember not too long ago, earlier this year it was about 2600's, 2700's and a year ago at 2800's and 2900's.
It'll be interesting to see where it goes from here. I guess that meens also, that house/Apt. That I'm saving ...
YES, you can get married on other VISA's
I went to the Office of Visas in Bogota the other day in hopes to get a marriage visa as Notaries told me the visa I have is no good... WRONG! the woman working behind the window wrote down a referance for the notaries to look up. I was able to find it online. The title of it is: "CIRCULAR No. 02-02" Pretty much, so long as you dont have a Visa de Cortesía (CO), Negocios (NE), Tripulante (B), Temporal Vistante (TV), or Turismo (TU), you can get married.
ENJOY!
Dan
* ...
Marriage adventure.
Here's what I've been up to lately. About a month ago, I was in Bogota with my girlfriend trying to get married. I ended up running into a few walls... I went to three Notaries, One of them said that they didn't do Extranjeros. As far as the documents that I have, one said they were fine. The other had a problem that he saw that I was born in Germany, and I needed a german birth certificate. I tryed explaining to him that I was born on a US Military Base and a german birth certificate does not e ...
Marriage adventure status
Well... I was finally able to go to Bogota to visit my girlfriend for a little while. I've been trying to find out about getting married on an Official Visa. I was told by quite a few people that it has been done before and that it wouldn't be a problem but I was still unsure. I still got all the documents I needed. My girlfriend and I went to about 3 different Notaries. The first one said that the Singleness Certificate was good, I needed only the Marriage VISA and the Birth Certificate was bad ...
Cedula Extranjería
I've read that a person with the right visas, can get a Cedula after 60days living in Colombia. I was wondering if it was possible to get it sooner or is that the only way. I'm sure that I can't just get married and then go down the street the same day and pick one up. I'm looking at someday buying a house and living with my wife in Colombia and I know that all the banking stuff needs to be done too and just to do about anything else is next to impossible with out it.
What has bee ...
Satellite Television
I've been looking around online for awhile for this one, but does anyone know of a Satellite TV Company that can provide Colombian Channels? I'm kind of interested in Something that can be picked up in the US. Just thinking that it would be good for when I get married, my wife can still keep up with what's going on back home. The searching I've done hasn't yielded any good prospects for Colombia Programming.
Thanks,
Daniel ...
Travel Documents
I havn't seen anything regarding this topic so I just thought I would ask everyone here. I am currently working on getting married. While looking up some of the documents needed for the whole process, right up to the immigration stuff, I found one form "Travel Document" I-131. Now, I know my soon-to-be wife would like to be able to travel back to Colombia with the kids on vacation or for holiday's. I would like to know if anyone has used this form before. How long in advance from travel should i ...
marriage in Colombia question
Just out of curiosity, is it possible to marry in colombia under a different visa? I know it is illegal for tourist visa. Some one I work with was asking me if it's possible to marry under an official business visa/official passport. I told him that I believe it should be done with the special marriage visa, but he wanted me to look into it anyway.
Thanks,
Daniel ...
Trip Repot from Dan
Here is a Trip report for my visit to Colombia. I know there was someone asking about it so here it is. First to reply to Tiopipe question, Yes Delta is flying Atlanta-Bogota. Thats how I flew. Might be quite a bit of info but I hope it helps someone.
Well, first part of my flight was from my city in North Carolina which Delta has Connection flights going from the regional airport here to Atlanta, From there, I had to wait abt 3 hrs or so for the flight to bogota. The Internationa ...
Here I go...
I'm off to Colombia this morning. it is now 4:20am and I've been awake for almost 2 and a half hours. My flight doesn't leave until 11am... Just looking forward to my trip. I got my bag packed, my passport and plane tickets in hand just waiting... and waiting... and waiting...
My girlfriend is so happy about my visit that she told me to call no matter what time I get into Bogota, which will end up being around 8pm anyway.
-Daniel ...
Traveling soon
Well, not too much longer, I should be in colombia with my girlfriend. Right now, I have ordered my plane tickets, hotel reservations, found my passport and put in for some time off from work. I'm only able to visit for a week but it'll be worth it. My girlfriend and I have a lot to talk about and hope that all goes well. This will be my first trip to, well... just about anywhere as a tourist. Normally I visit Colombia for work and normally I don't ever go through Bogota so this will be an inter ...
Insurance
I remember reading something about someone living or moving to Colombia and becoming a Resident. I know there was a question about life insurance too. I was wondering if there are any websites around for life insurance in Colombia. I have not had much luck finding anything.
Thanks-Dan ...
Radio Aficionados
Hey folks. I'm an Amateur Radio operator from the US. I'm interested in getting permission to operate from Colombia. I was wondering if anyone knows where I can go, or who to talk to about getting a temporary license. What costs are or anything else related. I hope to be able to take a radio with me on a future trip so that I may be able to keep in touch with friends back home. So far my searching have not come up with any results.
Thanks a bunch
Daniel ...
different visa info
I've been wondering what the conditions are for a lot of the different visas for Colombia. I know a little bit about the Official Buisness one as thats the one I normally fall under for the trips I make but I'm interested in the others. I've heard that a visa is not really required to enter Colombia as a tourist, is this right? do you just show up and get stamped while coming into the country? I've seen the Colombian Embassy website, but it doesn't seem to provide details for the other visas as ...
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