In my opinion one of the best ways to study for the USCIS Civics Exam is to simply watch or read the news daily.
A good amount of the exam deals with how the United States Government is made up and functions. There are news reports on these topics everyday.
A perfect example is with the proposals for immigration reform laws. The news reports that the bill must pass the House of Representatives which is comprised of 435 members, the Senate which has 100 members and then be signed into law by the President. You could learn all these steps simply by watching, reading or listening the news.
The Supreme court rules on cases at times and often journalists take the time to explain how the court works. Vacancies on the Supreme court also come up at times which forces the President to make tough decisions on whom to appoint to the Supreme court as they are lifetime appointments.
You will also hear the names of the politicians as their names come up. Names of political figures such as The President and Vice President, your state Governor, state senators or state representative could be asked in an interview.
Basically watching the news can help you prepare for you Civics interview and learn about the politics and how the government functions on an daily basis.
Its been over three years since my last update and here are some of the items that we have completed since then.
First of all the Adjustment of Status Package (AOS) package was approved and my wife got her conditional 2 year permanent resident card.
In January of 2013 We applied to renew her permanent resident card and it was a similar process to the Adjustment of Status package. They request the same type of information as the AOS package.
In January of 2014 We applied for citizenship. After sending the package we realized that we didn't include some important documents and are waiting to see what happens next.
Over the next few weeks I plan on writing in detail about our experience with the process. Hopefully you can learn from some of the mistakes we made and make your experience better.
Its been a while since my last update. As many of you know after marriage many this happen to change your life style and I stopped updating this blog. I am going to resume my updates and write posts on the processes my wife and I have gone through for immigration purposes.
Its hard to believe its been 3 years since the last update and we are not completely finished with the process.
If you you have a fiancee or significant other that lives abroad chances are that you have spent a lot of money on air travel. You can help reduce the cost of travel by signing up for a frequent flyer program on the airline that you use most frequently and also get the Airline's rewards credit card. You will earn bonus miles on enrollment and earn miles for each purchase that you make on the card. These miles add up quickly and will have enough miles for free flights and upgrades before you know it.
Again its extremely helpful for those who make frequent long haul flights. The website Credit Card Discovery has reviews of various frequent flyer cards and I'd recommend it for those who travel frequently and dont already have one.
Its been a while since my last post but now I will now plan on creating a series of posts about the Adjustment of Status process. I plan on creating a video of my packet I submitted and will go into details of the steps we took to finalize the immigration process.
Many people who have interviews at the US Embassy in Bogotá wonder what to expect once they arrive. What side of the Embassy do I enter on? where do I go, what does the Embassy look like.
I created the following maps to help you answer these questions about location before going to the interview.
The Embassy is located near the intersection of Ave Carrera 50 and Calle 26.
With an interview date set and the documents obtained, it was now time to set our trip to Bogota. We checked several hotels and the lowest price we could find was about $150 per night and needed to stay for 8 days.
We found the website www.welovebogota.com and decided to rent an apartment here.
I sent Sr Alberto an e-mail and he responded promptly. He and his sister Martha have several apartments in Bogota and he rented the apartment located in Cuidad Salitre to us. This accommodation worked out very well as it is approximately a 5 minute walk from the shopping center Salitre Plaza. The shopping center had everything we needed for our stay including an “Exito” grocery store, banks, restaurants and travel agencies if needed.
Sr Alberto rents each room in the apartment individually or you can rent the entire apartment for your stay. The apartments have cable TV, kitchen with stove, refrigerator, microwave and Internet access. The only thing the apartment doesn't have is heat and it can get cool at night. The building also has 24/7 security and is in a good area of the city. We rented the entire 3 bedroom apartment for the equivalent of $70 USD per day.
The prices for the apartments are very good and need to be paid in cash for the entire stay on the first day. We enjoyed our stay here, felt very comfortable and would recommend it for anyone who needs to visit Bogota. For more information you can visit www.welovebogota.com and contact Sr Alberto or Martha for more information.
Here are some pictures of the apartment and a map of its location in Bogota
Map of the Apartment (Cuidad Salitre) in reference to the US Embassy in Bogota
We started the day by calling a taxi at 6:00am. Our apartment (www.welovebogota.com) was close however were a bit worried because we didn't have much luck with calling taxis. To be sure we called two different services with the intent of taking the first taxi that showed up. The taxi arrived at 6:10am and got to the US Embassy at about 6:20am. We waited in line 3 which is right outside of the Embassy walls and the ladies in the hot pink vests verified our appointments and let us in the Embassy. We did not get the appointment letter so they had to call and verify our appointment before letting us in.
We then processed through security which is very similar to a security checkpoint at an airport. I’d also like to say that they don’t allow cell phones with cameras, cameras, mp3 players and a lot of other electronic devices in the Embassy. You will need to check them in with security if you have them befor eentering.
We then went to line 40 or immigrant visas and were given a folder to organize our documents. The items in this folder included:
Passport
2 copies of DS-156 & DS 156k forms
Birth Certificate
Baptismal Certificate
DAS Judicial Records
DAS Immigration Records
I-134 & Supporting documents (Employment verification letter, W2 & Tax return from previous years, letter from bank stating balances on account)
Medical exam results in sealed envelope
Two passport style pictures
We waited in this line for about 40 minutes, got the folder, organized our documents and signed the DS-156 and DS156k forms, had them reviewed and were told to move to the waiting area near the Domesa line.
About 30 minutes later we were called to window 32 to submit the documents in the folder. The lady reviewed the document, asked my fiancée a few questions.. Where did I live? Where did I work, was I married? The then told us to go wait by windows 2 – 6 for the immigrant visa interviews.
We waited here for about 2.5 hours before being called for our interview and it was a bit depressing because most people we saw were not approved. You are able to tell if someone is not approved because the officer will return their passport. If the visa is approved the officer will keep the passport for processing. Most non-approvals were because o problems with documents and were told to set up another appointment.
We were eventually called to window 4 for out interview an it was a man of what appeared to be Indian decent.
He asked my fiancée two questions that were: how long did she know me? Where did I live? and then asked to speak to me.
He asked me the following question:
How did we meet?
Where do you work?
When did you propose and did she accept?
Did you give her a ring?
When do you plan on getting married?
What type of wedding will you have?
What was her religion?
He then asked to see pictures and e-mails and I passed them through the window. I explained they were from my last visit in March.
He then told me that the application looked good but that he was uncomfortable with my nervous body language. I explained that I indeed was nervous because we have invested a lot of time, money and emotions in this process and our future depends on this interview.
He then requested to speak with my fiancée again and asked here the same questions. About 2 minutes later he requested to speak with me again and told ME and not my fiancée that the visa was approved. He told us to pay the Domesa fee so we did and walked out the door at about 12:18pm. The interview lasted about a total of 10 minutes.
Also to my surprise the consular asked me about 70% o the questions in the interview.
Interview Tips
REVIEW YOUR DOCUMENTS!!!
They are very picky about the documents so make sure they are all the correct documents they requested an that everything is filled out properly. I cant stress this enough because most of the non-approvals were because of people missing documents like the DAS forms, W2 forms, employment verification letter etc…
Again.. Read the instructions in packet 4 and become familiar with the requirements. Again they will not approve your visa if you don’t submit all the requirements. This is the most important thing you can do before the interview.
Make every effort to attend the interview with your fiancé(e)
Im 100% sure that she wouldn’t have been approved I I wasn’t there because our relatively short time knowing each other. It also shows the officers that you are serious about your relationship. Of the few approvals I witnessed, the petitioner was there with the beneficiary. I can only remember one woman who was approved who was there by herself.
I hope this helps you prepare for the interview!
You must pay the visa fee at an authorized Banco Helm office before having an interview at the US Embassy in Bogota Colombia. My fiancee originally paid the fee at the Banco Helm branch in Barranquilla Colombia however we had problems as the representatives were not properly trained. They wouldn't accept our computer generated forms that were required according to the web site, and the representative was unsure of how to enter the payment giving us serious doubts about if the payment was actually registered.
While in Bogota we needed to visit a Banco Helm office to resolve an issue we had with our payment receipt. I checked the list of authorized Banco Helm payment offices on the US Embassy's website at (http://bogota.usembassy.gov/scabco.html) and decided to go to the branch named:
Oficina de Recaudo de Visas - Cipres Plaza Carrera 50 No. 21-41 Local 118 Hours 7:00am - 3:00pm
The taxi driver wasnt able to find the address as i dont believe its correct on the website but was able to find it because he was familiar with Cipres Plaza. Cipres Plaza is a small shopping center and the building is green in color.
The Banco Helm office is on the first floor and is divided into two sections. The first section is for regular banking transactions and the second section is dedicated to visa payments. The employees were very knowledgeable about the visa payment process and one of the tellers named Diana went above and beyond her duties to help us get the issue resolved. So much that I wrote a letter to the bank manager praising her efforts.
I would recommend that you make your payment at this office to save yourself time and to have peace of mind that the payment was entered correctly.
We wasted two days dealing with the Branch in Barranquilla. Here is a map of its location relative to the US Embassy in Bogota.
I made this video to help those who are unsure of how to package their petition information. My petition was submitted and approved by the USCIS so I hope this helps those who may need it.
The pages have been blurred because they contain personal information.
We will be taking a similar package to our interview.
After our NOA2 approval we began the process of gathering the required documents for the interview. This is a simple yet important process and its essential that you follow the directions 100% according to your package.
Our case with with the US Embassy in Bogota:
Shortly after receiving notice that our package was approved we began assembling the required documents that were listed in “package 3.” The embassy sent us a list of items that were required for the interview and requested that we send form DS-230 to them once we had obtained the following documents that were requested by the US Embassy in Colombia.
Required Documents
PASSPORT: This is the most important thing you will need. The embassy will not give you an interview without it.
PHOTOGRAPHS: Six (6) COLOR photographs taken within the past six months for each
BIRTH CERTIFICATES:
BAPTISMAL CERTIFICATE: (If available)
MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES (K3/K4 cases): Married applicants must present a certified copy of their civil marriage certificate. All marriage certificates must include the date and place of the marriage, complete names of the spouses, and name and title of the person who performed the ceremony. Applicants and petitioners must also present proof of the termination of any previous marriages.
·Stepchildren (K4) cases: Marriage certificate of your biological parent and the petitioner. Your parent and
the petitioner must also present proof of the termination of any previous marriages.
TERMINATION OF PREVIOUS MARRIAGES: (if it applies) Certified photocopies of final divorce decrees, annulments, or death certificates.
POLICE CERTIFICATES:
JUDICIAL AND PRISON RECORDS:
US IMMIGRATION RECORDS:
MILITARY RECORD: (If it applies)
DAS CERTIFICATE – Entries and exits to and from Colombia for the past 10 years. This document may be
obtained in Bogotá at the DAS Office located at Calle 100 #11B-27, Edificio Platinium.
EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT: A Form I-134 (Affidavit of Support)
This form is very important as it shows that the petitioner will be able to support the beneficiary financially and that the new immigrant will not be a “burden” on the US Government. Along with this form you will need proof of income and ability to support your beneficiary. These documents include:
·Previous year’s W2 statements and 1040 Tax Returns
·Employment Verification letter listing your job title, employment status (full-time / part-time) hire date, and salary.
·Pay statements for the past 3 months
·Signed letter from your bank listing your account number, balance, and open date.
·
MEDICAL EXAMINATION:
Vaccinations: The packet lists approximately 16 vaccinations that are needed however my fiancée obtained the following and was cleared during the examination.
Vaccinations: The packet lists approximately 16 vaccinations that are needed however my fiancée obtained the following and was cleared during the examination.
1) Yellow Fever
2) Varicela
3) Measles, Mumps, Rubella
4) Tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis
Once all of the documents were obtained we faxed the DS-230 form to the Embassy and received our interview appointment date 3 days later.
This was great news and just happened to get the news while In Colombia, and on the day of my fiancee's graduation!
I checked my phone and "bam" there it was. I wish I could have captured the expression on her face when she read the e-mail. It was a truly a good news after waiting for about 3 months.
I've been doing a lot of traveling this year and have met some wonderful people along the way. One of the women whom I met I believe to be the love of my life and am currently working on a K1 fiancee Visa application to bring her to the United States for marriage.
I'm sure there are other world travelers, or other people in the same situation so I thought about making this blog to share my experiences, provide advice and help others learn from my successes and mistakes.
I've decided to do the process by myself in order to save money. It looks like it will be an expensive process once all the costs are added up but believe it will be worth it in the end.
I have decided to file the I-129F petition by myself. I thought about getting an attorney, however have found enough advice and information to feel comfortable with filing this form by myself. Its fairly straight forward.
A good resource with instructions on the requirements of obtaining is www.visajourney.com
