Revised Date: May, 2005

Dear Clients, Friends and Supporters,

I) Fiancee Visa Denials And Why It's Happening:
Lately, an unhappy trend has seemed to develop at U.S. Embassy, Bogota in the processing of fiancee visas.

Our office has recently experienced two fiancee visa denials, and we are receiving reports of other fiancee visa denials from callers and others over the past 30+ days.

It appears that Immigrant Visa section chief and other section officers lately have been getting increasing number of disturbing reports from U.S. citizen gentlemen. These gentlemen are reporting that Colombian ladies with fiancee visa have been simply leaving them after arrival in U.S., or overstaying their visas.

Under apparant instructions from State Department, Consulate wants to better police the issuance of fiancee visas, and has commented to us that they are much more sensitive now about the presence of a "matchmaking business" in Colombia.

II) Closer Scrutiny of Applications:
They have started a policy of closer scrutiny of fiancee visas. It would seem that fiancee visas will no longer be an automatic "slam dunk" (if it ever was), at least for some gentlemen petitioners and lady applicants.

Certain applications will be closely scrutinized for things such as sincerity of relationship, whether the lady or gentleman (or both) appear to be "shopping" for boyfriend or girlfriend, likelihood that the lady will comply with terms and conditions of fiancee visa, or simply if the visa is appropriate under all circumstances.

Examples: Gentlemen who present four or more divorce decrees, especially if one or more of the past marriages was with a foreign lady. Gentlemen who have filed for a fiancee visa with a foreign lady in the past, especially (but not necessarily) if the lady violated terms of visa, or simply left at the two year mark with her green card permanent residency. Ladies with a history of U.S. fiancee visa or spousal visa. Gentlemen with current or recent serious criminal court or civil family court background, especially concerning domestic violence or sexual abuse.

III) The All-Important Interview and Some Recommendations:
An increasingly critical part of the process is the interview:

Ladies who are interviewed and are found to be ignorant about their gentleman's prior marital or visa history with other ladies or criminal background will not likely receive the fiancee visa. Under these circumstances, it looks to the Consular Officer as if the fiancee relationship is not sincere since the lady knows nothing of her gentleman's past significant relationships or conduct, and further makes the gentleman look like he is "girlfriend shopping" without his lady's knowledge.

We are recommending that the US gentleman 1) fully verse his lady about his background in regards to past marriages and divorces, and past visas for other ladies and any criminal background, and 2) also appear personally with his lady at the Consulate and request presence at interview.

In case of fiancee visa denial, the best option realistically for most people is local in-country marriage in Colombia, followed by petition for K-3 spousal visa.

IV) More Recent Processing Changes:
The Consulate has just recently revised the processing of fiancee visa applications in important ways. In the past, after the Consulate was finished with their intial work on papers from the U.S. Immigration Service Center, they would mail out the Visa Notification Letter and application packet to the lady applicant called "Packet 3 & 4". This packet asked the lady to fax her biography data to the Consulate and invited her to an "open appointment" to Bogota for final processing and interview.

That has now changed. The Consulate is now sending out first only the Packet 3, and requiring the lady to gather and have ready all her necessary documents and photos first, and then fax a signed certification that she has them ready for presentation, together with the fax of her biography data. Upon receipt of all this material, the Consulate will mail her a "Interview Appointment Letter" and the Packet 4 with a date and time certain for interview in Bogota, which can now include digitial fingerprinting and security clearance of the prints.

The letter is required for the lady to enter the Consulate grounds. Unfortunately, the Embassy is advising that the projected timeframe for the lady to receive the Interview letter is four (4) to eight (8) weeks, which will slow down processing and also frankly pose another risk of "lost mail", especially if the lady resides in a remote location. The Consulate does post to their website by middle of the month all K-1 fiancee visa interview appointments for the next month.

Further, the final processing stage may now require digital fingerprints of all lady applicants as part of the interview, and also a security clearance of the prints before visa will be issued. The projected timeframe for final processing in Bogota is at least one (1) week, sometimes longer. Standard procedure currently is that the visa will be mailed to the lady's listed home address in 7 to 10 days via DOMESA, a secure private mail carrier servicing Colombia which will require identification and signature from the recipient. (Current costs of Delivery of One (1) Passport & Visa in Bogota: $28.000 Pesos, Outside of Bogota: $44.000 Pesos).

The bottom line is that lady applicants and their gentlemen will need only more patience in the constantly changing visa process.

We will continue to monitor the situation.

Gary Bala
USA Immigration Attorney
Pennsylvania USA