rjstuff has written 14 posts

Permission for Children to travel from USA to Colombia and then back - parents split

My wife's friend's daughter is about 12 years old. Her father in Colombia wants her to visit him during the summer. So, she would try to send her alone - but here is the problem. She needs some kind of permission from her mother in USA (Denver) to travel back to USA, her father will do one (again) in Colombia. But what does she need to do here? Where does she go to get it authenticated so that the Colombian authorities will let her come back to USA (she will be traveling alone)? Anyone done this ...

How long K2s have to join their parent who left on K1

Friend of mine brought his fiance on a K1 and they are now married. Her son (8 or 9 years old) got a K2 and I thought he has one year to come here but his wife thinks he only has 6 months. Anyone know where to find the answer? Or what the answer is? Thanks: ...

Custom checks/limits in Bogota

My wife and I will be coming to Colombia this week and we have a few odds and ends of ipods, blood pressure monitor, digital cameras , mp3 players and a digital video camera - will any of this be subject to custom duty or confiscation? What are the rules and limits on bringing stuff (dollar limits if any one knows)? Thanks for all the info ...

How much Max cash out of ATMs in Barranquilla?

I will be going to Barranquilla again in June and am wondering how much maximum cash can you withdraw at a time from the ATMs in town? Last year it was limiting me to approx. 400.000 per day which becomes a hassle to try and withdraw every day or two. Any info? Thanks: ...

Reasonable Car rental in Barranquilla?

Thw only place I can find on the net is National that rents an SUV fir $91 a day. We need an SUV type vehicle - 4 adults and 2 kids for a few days in June. Any suggestions? Also, do these rental include insurance charges or do they tack on an extra $20 or more per day? Thanks: ...

Tourist visa for Costa Rica for Colombian citizens.

I am having a problem getting answers out of the Costa Rican consulate here and the answers I am getting seem very backward and unreasonable. Anyway, I am planning to visit Colombia and Costa Rica with my Colombian wife - she needs a visa to go to Costa Rica (I can just fly in and out without any visa requirements.) When I looked at tickets - I saw that if we fly from Denver to Costa Rica and back and fly Costa Rica to Barranquilla and back (that is - we first go to CR then from there to Barranq ...

Finally got the AOS approval email yesterday

Hey Silvia and Crazy - I think I can catch you both here. We finally got an email yesterday - 3 of them - that a welcome letter has been mailed on april 14th. So! I think the Green card should be here in a week or so! Best wishes and we should all get together in 2 years for the next phase. ...

Tax filing for us - She worked 6 months in Colombia - none here

I am not sure how income gets taxed and reported in Colombia. Should I just not worry about reporting her income in Colombia (probably less than $400- $500 a month) and show 0 income for her and file jointly or do I need to get her income data (from where and how?) and add that to her income etc. Which raises a complicated question - if I show her income in Colombia and then (I assume) some taxes paid to Colombia - then won't I need to do some tax credit claiming on US taxes etc.? I think its si ...

Aguardiente taste test - yecccch

OK - so I am a little late in reporting on the taste of Aguardiente. My fiancee brought a bottle (clear) in August and we got married in September. Then one day I tried it and I tried it without any mixer - It basically has no taste but my throat could feel the alcohol going down (just like with schnapps.)

So! Sorry but I give it no thumbs or toes. I do like a shot of Schnapps once in a while but the Aguardiente had no taste (for me.)
Should I try it with a mixer? what? ...

Wrong Spelling of Colombia on Marriage certificate - can I use it still for AOS?

We received our certificate from Orlando and they list her country of birth as 'Columbia'. They won't correct it unless we both fly down to Orlando and apply again in person for an amended marriage license/certificate etc. (this would cost another $1000 or so since we are in Colorado!)
If I use this certificate with the wrong spelling will it cause a problem in the AOS process? Anyone else go through this scenario or know of anyone who did? Everything else is correct on the certificate - ...

Bogota Interview for K1

My fiancee had her interview yesterday and she described the interview as follows:
She was asked my name, what do I do and how we communicate (emails and chat) - she showed them copies of 8 or 10 emails and print-outs of 4 or 5 chat transcripts (yahoo messenger.) She told them she uses online translation (freetranslation.com) - we mostly chat in English and sometimes we use a little Spanish - I am way too weak in Spanish; she was asked about her planned wedding - civil or Catholic (civil ...

I would like some basic info on Military Conscription

What's the state of forced military sevice or draft in current Colombia. How do Colombians opt out of it (or avoid it.) Also, what do other factions do - is kidnapping of young boys quite common - I would love to understand it better, my understanding is ... ahem nil.
Gracias amigos y amigas ...

Bank Charges - are they thieves in Colombia - I mean the banks

I just talked to my fiancee who I had sent a check that had cleared my bank in USA on May 13. She got the money finally today - June 7th! But not only have they had the use of my money since may 13th, they gave her 483 out of the 500 I sent, charging $17 for what?
Are all banks this way - another reason to stay away from Colombia then. When I was there and used my ATM card my bank charged me 0. And to top it all, my bank gave me a rate of 2,250 to 2,300. When I cashed actual dollars (no ...

Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta pictures

I was in Colombia in February and had a very nice time. I have a bunch of pictures posted on my webpage http://ramanjalota.com/crpics/Colombia1.htm
I would suggest getting some popcorn and beer before you start paging through. Enjoy! I realize when I try to enlarge them they go fuzzy - sorry - next time I will not even try that!
The carnaval is a blast, Cartagena was very interesting and Santa marta was very pretty. ...

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