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$10,000 is a small fortune in Colombia. This seems to me to be a very high price tag.聽 But I have never actually done it.

First of all, congrats on meeting your potential future boo! Them's #RelationshipGoals
Maybe next year it'll be my turn

But real talk bro... even though I only visited and I don't live there yet, I can already tell... what you just described sounds very much like a scam. Why? Because AFAIK right now, the US Embassy in Bogota is not REALLY issuing migrant fiance visas at any reasonable speed right now, due to COVID issues, long processing times, etc.

I really doubt the $10K would guarantee that she is "expedited", because the official government website says they don't expedite. Not even sure that'd be legal. If it's illegal to even try to bribe an official, then you could lose your money AND get in trouble.

...BUT! I certainly hope actual ex-pats living in Colombia say I'm totally wrong on this.

I'll be monitoring this forum. Good luck.

Look at iVisa.com

supermanenergy wrote:

I was visiting her in Bogota last month, and she introduced me to a friend of a friend that claims he can get her a visa to the US for just under $10,000 American dollars.聽 If this wasn鈥檛 coming from a good friend of hers, I wouldn鈥檛 even entertain the idea.聽 Is this something that鈥檚 commonly done down there?聽 What should I look for as far as legitimacy/getting scammed?聽

Is there any other way to get her a tourist visa to the United States?聽 I鈥檓 more than happy to sponsor her....

Dear Superman,

Welcome to the Colombia forums of 禁漫天堂 ...

You are wise to contact us about this obvious scam.

This is not something that is commonly done down here.聽

Layman Expats here in South America cannot be relied upon for up-to-date advice for your specific case.聽 Contact your local consulate in the U.S. or whichever embassy/consulate/agency they refer you to .. and go about this the right way.

Bringing a foreign citizen who is not a spouse or family member into the United States during The Situation may be next to impossible and may also be overrated!

cccmedia

Don't know but I'd give 3 to 1 odds that it's a scam. Have her go to the embassy and apply for a tourist visa. Paying somebody to get a visa to the US would most likely not turn out well.

She will also need a passport.聽 She should be able to get it in about 4 days at a cost of less than $100

If she has a job she should be able to get a tourist visa, that is the least risk for you. My sister in law has done it twice now. Might want to look at that Affidavit of Support with the government and see what you are up against if she bails. It is a lifetime contract with no outs. I rent a nice apartment in Funza for my wife for 250 usd a month with security. No amount of money is going to work with the US Embassy, just have to go through the waiting process. Just remember once you sign that affidavit you are responsible even if she takes off. Lifetime support, medical, legal bills, I was going to do it but I decided to just give it some time and see how things go. I have been with my wife for 4 years now. Good luck.

Members fascinated by this general topic -- and who isn't? -- may want to visit the "Marriage advice" thread of this Colombia forum where the advice ranges from the ridiculous to the astute.

For a magic-carpet ride to that thread (est. 2017), just type its name into the Search box on the Colombia forum welcome page .. and you'll be whisked away to 'temps perdu'...

cccmedia

This is a scam.聽 The right way to get her a visa is to take her to the embassy, and fill out the paperwork.

Sir, take it slow. I too have a Sweetheart in Colombia, Cali Colombia. This minth makes 2 yrs from the time we submitted application for a visa. Due to Covid, the process came to a stop for us and is now finally moving along once more. My fiancee will travel back to Bogota next month for the required interview and examination. Hopefully, she'll have her visa before this year's end. Good luck and best wishes, Sir!

I think you are about to be scammed big time.

Yeah. I have been in Bogot谩 for 6 years. This is obviously a scam. $10,000 is what you need to have in your account to sponsor somebody to get a student visa in the US. They never actually take the money, the govt. Just wants to know you can be responsible for them. Do not give up $10,000. Do not do it. Spend some time down here. Say one or two months. Make it so she had to be with you a while and see if her personality changes at all. See what changes with family, and friends. Then contact the embassy directly. Get your information straight from the horses mouth.

Hey man congrats on the relationship! The thing is 10k? Sounds like a scam and I can tell you this from experience.....NOTHING is expidited in terms of any kind of Visa is concerned by either country. I brought my wife to the US about 6 years ago then just uprooted sold my house now living and working (remotely) in Armenia. I hired an attorney at first for $1509 then just ended up doing it myself. It really is not rocket science and there is a forum on the US website from people that are alot of help. Save some time and money look into the venture yourself.....my opinion 100% scam.

Thanks for the advice brother!聽 I was supposed to take my little one to Armenia last summer, but COVID had other plans.聽 Appreciate your input. 馃檹馃徑

@ supermanenergy
I am in the process right now in getting a Canadian visitor visa for my Colombian wife. My costs to process the application are about 200-300 dollars. I would be wary about 10,000 if I were you.

You are about to hear from someone who has worked with this situation for more than 10 years. Colombia is no longer the Wild West and if you are considering paying $10k to anyone, in my opinion, is a very poor idea. And from the US Embassy perspective, they are not for sale either.
聽 I met a lady from Cali, Colombia while on vacation in the Caribbean. After six months of Skype every day I visited there 3 times, the last visit I stayed for a full month. On that visit I rented an apartment in a safer area of the city and got a real feel for what it would be like to live there. Six months later I moved there and we spent six+ years together. We applied聽 for her to receive a tourist visa with a lawyer during this time period and after more than a year she was denied. It is very difficult for a Colombian National to get a tourist visa unless they have serious assets in Colombia and for that reason are almost certain to return. The Embassy gets requests from single women all the time and they are rarely approved.
聽 In late 2018 I had to return to the US because of a death in the family. Then COVID hit and all travel and Embassy activity stopped. During this period we applied for a K1 visa with a lawyer and things look good for us because we can document 10 years of being together.
聽 聽Bottom line I would advise you to not try to buy any short cuts. Your chances of anything good happening going that route are almost 0.
聽 My advise is to go there and spend some time together and see if living there is something you would be willing to do. If not, apply for a K1 visa with a reputable lawyer (Colombiavisas.com).
聽 聽Good luck amigo.

Yes, I鈥檝e definitely decided I鈥檓 not going the 鈥渟hortcut鈥� route....... I鈥檓 entirely to skeptical.聽

Thank you so much for taking time to write.聽 Covid has definitely put a damper on things, as far as Visa鈥檚 are concerned.聽

I鈥檓 headed back to Colombia to see my little lady at the end of the month.聽 I love it down there.聽 Good luck with your K1 visa brother!

I'm a citizen of the United States and have my fiancee, who is from Cali Colombia, currently in Bogota going through the process for a K1 for a second time due to the Covid shutdown which voided the original physical exam results which were valid for a maximum of 6 months. Our application for a K1 Visa was originally submitted in August 2019. Hopefully all will go well this week for us and I can return to Cali this fall and bring my fiancee to the US before the end of the year. Best of luck to you, Sir.

Hello,

Please note that some off-topic posts were removed from this thread.

Thanks,

Diksha
禁漫天堂 team

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