Spousal visa from Cali?

[cancunhound]

... in response to Re: Re: Spousal visa from Cali?, posted by Celt on May 12, 2003

Interesting, I just checked American's website, Orbitz & Yahoo.  Orbitz wouldn't let me start pricing from Colombia, American no problem but expensive, yet Yahoo appears to permit it and saves about $200 - and interestingly - Delta was the cheapest (3 stops though) and is never an option for me when departing the US.  As for one-way, I have yet to be able and purchase a one-way for cheaper than round-trip unless I'm dealing with a foreign airline like COPA or ACES.

[Celt]

... in response to Re: Air purchase out of country, posted by cancunhound on May 12, 2003

You are probably right. Only once was I able to find a
one-way Bogota-LAX that was cheaper than round-trip. But,
they do allow you to pick up tickets abroad, which is
pretty handy.

[wizard]

... in response to Spousal visa from Cali?, posted by Cali vet on May 11, 2003

Just do the DCF through the US Embassy in Bogota...

Here's the link to the document requirements page for US Embassy website in Bogota...

http://usembassy.state.gov/colombia/wwwsmare.shtml

Since you're already in country, you can take your time processing the paperwork... Total cost is $460 USD and it will start the BCIS wheels moving on the I-130, "Petition for Alien Relative"... Once completed, she will be granted a visa to travel to the US with you... I'm not sure of any other travel restrictions beyond this point though...

[Cali vet]

... in response to Sure..., posted by wizard on May 12, 2003

Thank you Wizard, have noted the website. Doesn't sound too bad. What do the acronyms DCF and BCIS mean?

[wizard]

... in response to Re: Sure..., posted by Cali vet on May 12, 2003

Since the demise of the wholy inept INS, the US Government has formed the BCIS (Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services)... All functions previously handled by the INS are now handled by the BCIS...

DCF stands for Direct Consulant Filing... This is the process of filing all paperwork for a Spousal Visa  directly with the US Embassy in your jurisdiction, i.e. Bogota... If you file for the Spousal Visa in the US, it can take months to process... If you file the paperwork via DCF, it only takes about one month for the Visa to be approved, if you have all the paperwork in order... This may be an issue since many of the documents you need for a DCF must come from the US... Read the document requirements on the US Embassy website and you'll begin to understand the process...

Hiker posted a compreshensive list of the documents required a month or so ago... That may be a good place to start... Just skip the section on getting the marriage visa from the Colombia Consulate...

Having just gone through this process myself, I plan on posting the steps here in a couple days myself...

Hope this helps...

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Re: Sure..., posted by wizard on May 12, 2003

Thanks again Wizard. I was thinking I might have to do some leg work in the US to have the proper documentation. That trip wasn't in the plan, hmmm...I am hearing that getting her a tourist visa to Canada is much easier. Might just take her to Winsor, Ontario and she can look the US accross the river.