For those of you who went with Jamie's agency...

[Kiltboy1]

Jamie

Nothing personal against your agency. All agencys have a ton of visa hunters and there is not much an owner can do exepct try to do what you say when you see or hear of something bad. As far as the translator, I will not reveal who because she is an absolutly wonderful person that told me this in confidence and confidence is where it will stay. You can trust me when I say that she only told me this because it turns her stomache to see this but she likes her job and need employment, so she does what most all people do in every part of the world and keeps her mouth shut and does her job. Again, nothing against your agency as all agencys have a large % of women only looki g to get out of an oppressed economic situation and uses her looks to do so. Barranquilla is no different then any other city that has an agency.

KB

[Jamie]

I know you have nothing personal against International Introductions but what this person told you is not factual. If such information really turned her stomach this person would have told me and no employee of mine has ever expressed such an observation.  If I had to make a conjecture I would say this person was only saying this as a screen to cover like intentions she found as you say sickening. Those are very strong words coming from a Colombian for what would be considered tame stuff in a criminal laden land. 

I am also not sure why you feel such information should be held in confidence I would think you would want to be more helpful to the board so they can evaluate the source. This person no longer works for me so the protection is not necessary. Anyone who has worked for me knows people are open to say what they think. I try to hire people with good intentions for helping others and someone with good intention would not hide such information. Your silence only prevents me from providing more details of why she was not telling you the truth. Not all of the translators that have worked for me have been good people and some of the girls who have worked for me and speak English were not translators even though I have heard from other that they claimed to be. There are only 3 translators in 5 years who have the left the agency in good standing and I know you did not date them.

As I indicated we are unlike any other agency and while I do not dispute your opinion regarding agencies as a whole your view does not apply to us in any form.

[soltero]

Jamie doesn't seem to be letting this go, KB. Either admit you made it up or spill the beans! 

[blockbuster]

 Jaime,
 No disrespect, but women have a way of telling women things they would not tell men.  So I do believe she may have been privy to see what she says.

 As for KB keeping it confidential, I can't blame him/ What good will it do if he discloses her name?

 As for writing  " There are only 3 translators in 5 years who have the left the agency in good standing and I know you did not date them".

 How many did you have within that 5 year period? Why were they fired?  Just curious as it seems you are implying there was a lot and most were dishonest or not very trustworthy.

[fathertime]

No disrepect to anyone personally.  All this Chit chat about "Scamming women" sounds like gossip from people who have not utilized the services of Jamie's agency.  I almost never see any first hand complaints only conjecture or second-hand complaints. 

I have not seen too many people criticize his services or the ladies that we were introduced to.  What I have noticed is that almost all Jamie's clients DEFEND his services.  How many other agencies are posters willing to stick their necks out for?
That should tell people quite alot about the ladies and the experience provided at Jamie's.

Granted there is ALWAYS a % of gals who are not entirely honest, but that is a given with any agency or frankly with women in general.  New travelers to Colombia should be aware and learn ways to spot these "Evil" women, because they ALMOST always give themselves away.

In my time with Jamie's agency, I felt the gals were GENERALLY very sincere in their effort to find a decent and attractive man to marry.  As a man there is not much more you can ask for, Is there?

Fathertime!

[singlefather no more]

KB,

Your quote..

“You can trust me when I say that she only told me this because it turns her stomache to see this but she likes her job and need employment, so she does what most all people do in every part of the world and keeps her mouth shut and does her job.”

Inquiring minds want to know.. You seemed to state that she was still working for Jaime. Maybe I misread that?

If that is the case I would ask you to consider the board members who are thinking of going to Jaime like myself and to Jaime and his agency.. You brought this up and I can see how Jamie wants to get to the bottom of the story... I would be p*ssed off if a translator was not being honest with me or with Jamie..

If she does not work for Jamie anymore her job can't be put in jeopardy.. Also could she not have been trying to tell you what you want to hear to get closer to you ? She probably figured out from talking to you that you do not like agency's since you have not been a real fan for a while.. You have a good reason to be with a lot amateur agency organizations out there..

You opened Pandora’s box , can you close it.. I know you don't want to get this girl in trouble but maybe you can talk to Jamie off the board and on the phone or by email..

KB ,

A personal point..

I followed your posts for years and I know you put a lot of effort into finding your wife.. Looks like you made a fantastic choice. I have taken the advice you and others have given and I am learning Spanish…

I will probably be going the agency route since as a single widowed father I don’t have a lot of time away from my kids that I can spend searching.. I don’t want to spin my wheels either. My children really do need a mother figure and a step mom. I cannot be a Mother and a Dad as much as I try too..

I will not settle on a woman just to get my kids a new mom.. If I don’t find the right woman and fall in love with her then I will continue to carry on as a single father…

Jamie,

I have not dealt with you in a long time now.. You were kind enough to try to arrange a meringue(sp?) band for a amiga of mine back in 2005. It did not get arranged since the lady flipped out about it.. A big newbie mistake I made with her..

Jamie you remember that Lady Medical Doctor.. jajaja... crazy woman...

I will have to get down there to see the Senoritas ,Jamie since I still have a credit from that. lmao . My friend raycjs speaks very highly of you..

Good point Researcher,

Researcher quote..

"while I took my time finding a wife, and one thing I learned is that once I started dating one woman in particular, she started talking bad about all the other women in the agency. They did this to steer me away from the other women. I don't doubt that the lady you dated was sincere, but it is quite common for a woman in an agency (working for them or not) to do this (stretch the truth to keep her man)."

singlefather

[Researcher]

   Thanks SF, I'm glad you caught that. There are ALOT of available and attractive women in Colombia so there is competition among them. The first thing the women that I was trying to get to know did was get me away from the agency and the other women.They did this by talking bad about them.Of course, when I used an agency I met as many women as I could.Since I speak spanish pretty well I talked to them and got to know them.A few women in Cali just flat out told me the deal and what they were looking for(someone to help support their family back home). I appreciated their honesty and moved on.I know that "green card girls" exist I just don't think there are as many out there as some have stated.My opinion is based on meeting and getting to know several hundred women and speaking to them in their own language as well as living  and working in a latin country for a while.
   I like the idea of using an agency to "get your feet wet" because the thing I found was that finding a woman I wanted be with was ultimately up to me, agency or not.I was the one deciding whether or not the women were on the up and up.I also like KB's approach(KB thanks for the post btw).Learning spanish is definitely well worth it.
   

[John330]

I should have added that that is not unusual in any agency, I am sure most are the same, so not singleing out jamies agency, just that I had firsthand Knowelage of it going on.

KB

I hear you KB...I dated a girl who worked for Jaime's agency and was a also a member. She told me that many of the women, think the agency is prostitution.  I am not exactly sure what she meant. She was really sweet, but she started keeping tabs on all the other women I was meeting.  Jaime if your reading this...it's probably not a good idea to employ women who are also members of the agency. 

As KB pointed out, it has nothing to do with Jaime's agency.

John

[John330]

I used his one-on-one introduction service.  I didn't like the idea of sitting at a table with 20 women around me. 

If I had to do it again, I would go with the complete tour package.  I choose a less expensive package, and met some nice girls.  But, as someone else pointed out, you ultimately end up spending more - when you make repeated trips just to meet 2-3 girls.   

I should also mention, that not all the women in Jaime's agency are looking for marriage.  There are definitely some that seem to be interested in improving their lifestyle, by getting 'wined & dined' at a few nice restaurants and perhaps a trip to cartagena/santa marta.  I typically took the woman and the translator to dinner.  Of course, I didn't have to...perhaps it was a mistake. I really like Jaime's translators, because they don't stuff their faces at your expense.  They have class, and they are good at helping you get to know the woman. 

You have to weed out, the less than sincere women.  One thing, that everyone should realize when visiting Colombia...is that there is a certain 'curiosity factor'.  All the women seem to want an American connection, for whatever reason.  They all want a gringo friend/contact...etc.  But that doesn't mean, that they have any sincere or romantic interest in you.  They are simply curious and may be looking for a hookup, when they want something from the states.  Folks that don't understand this, end up wasting their time and getting scammed.  Not all Colombian women, have enough class just to tell you straight-up, "thanks but no thanks".  They will typically try to use you for something.

You figure, a woman isn't gonna sit at a table with 10 other women, unless she is serious. Another reason to go with the top of the line package.  To the contrary, when I used the his service to setup a few one-on-one dates, I met some beautiful women that didn't seem to be very serious. One of these chicks, has been (and still is) on his site for years...she's too beautiful, to be in a marriage agency that long.  . This chick made it clear, that she's not going anywhere, until she finishes college in couple of years.  So, I moved on.   I think the agency is just a lifestyle thing for some of the women. I would avoid the 18-21 age group, as many fall into that category...unless you just want to date some eye candy for fun.  The folks I know that were successful, all date within a 10 year range of their age.  Don't make my mistakes, which I will save for another post.  Actually, I wouldn't call my decisions mistakes, I always had a blast dating beautiful women...and Jamie does deliver! But you can use his service to find a wife and get married...or just spin your wheels, while dating some of the finest women on the planet! Either ain't bad I guess.

[sean126]

Just to throw in an alternate view....While I didn't date anyone who worked for Jamie, one my best friends and her sister worked for Jamie.  If anyone had went to Jamie's agency before 2005 would definitely know of Tifanny.  She was and probably will always be the best worker and translator he ever had working for him..in my opinion.  She was extremely psychologically insightful, about as much as I am.  She could tell you who was full of crap almost as fast as I could.  We've been close good friends ever since I met her back in 2004-2005.  While she would agree that sometimes a few bad girls sneak in every now and again, his agency and a majority of the women are on the up-n-up.  I've asked her this and a few other translators I've had, point blank.  They've all told me the same thing.  I've met and talked to 4 or 5 translators and they've all spoken quite blunt with me.  No one has ever told me that most of the girls were green card sharks or that his agency is having ANYTHING to do with prostitution.  Actually the prostitution claim is extremely laughable.  While I'm sure there may have been an extreme few that have sneaked in...Out of the 40-45 women that I've met through Jamie's agency I can honestly say...Zero were prostitutes. one was a complete psycho and 2 were what I would call the kind of women he does not want on his site.  The other 40 or so were just there looking for a boyfriend, someone to spoil them occassionally or a marriage. I hope you caught that...."someone to spoil them".  I'm definitely NOT implying sex for favors.  I'm talking about someone who knows they don't want you for a boyfriend...but they will let you take them out because they enjoy your company and sometimes they may just be bored.  There will be no passionate kissing, definitely no sex and you will know after the first date where she stands.  These are the ones that men tend to try to force a spark with and then complain that they've been taken for a ride.

[singlefather no more]

Researcher ,

You made a lot of good points here as always..

By the way your wife is muy bonita.. You are a lucky guy , does she have a sister.lol..

singlefather

[Jamie]

Jaime, No disrespect, but women have a way of telling women things they would not tell men.  So I do believe she may have been privy to see what she says.

No disrespect taken but we are not talking about women telling other women things but a woman telling Kiltboy1 a man something. I am surrounded by women all day and I know women. I know my translators I talk to them in private and at times with other translators about the good and bad of what occurred after their client leaves and what we could have done better. Any incidences with the women are noted in their file. Everyone who works for me knows they are expected to maintain a high level of integrity and any employee who does not demonstrate a sincere desire in assisting couples is not retained.

As for this woman being privy to seeing this everyone who works for me including myself would be privy to seeing this if it were true but it is not true.

As for KB keeping it confidential, I can't blame him/ What good will it do if he discloses her name?

This is the equivalent of hearsay and there is a good reason it is not allowed in court. I believe this person tricked Kiltboy1 into believing she was something she was not. For all those concerned with scammers and green card sharks it is my opinion the English speak Colombian women on the dating sites are the most pervasive practitioners. What appears as a very cute, sensitive, caring woman can be a harden deceiver that can guile the most experienced and cautious of men.

As for writing  " There are only 3 translators in 5 years who have the left the agency in good standing and I know you did not date them".
How many did you have within that 5 year period? Why were they fired?  Just curious as it seems you are implying there was a lot and most were dishonest or not very trustworthy.

I am not going to do a count but a high percentage of the work force in Colombia is dishonest. Anyone who has done business here knows this. I go to great effort to search for quality honest people who are closely supervised.

I hear you KB...I dated a girl who worked for Jaime's agency and was a also a member. She told me that many of the women, think the agency is prostitution.  I am not exactly sure what she meant. She was really sweet, but she started keeping tabs on all the other women I was meeting.  Jaime if your reading this...it's probably not a good idea to employ women who are also members of the agency.

I do not allow any woman who works as translators or in the office to be on the website. However for other functions the girls can belong to the agency. Such a situation where girls that work for me are dating clients and sticking their nose where it does not belong has been addressed and will be watch more closely.
As for the prostitution this woman was telling you the perceived perception of what many women in Colombia think of agencies which is true. Most agencies allow all types of trash to work the men often with their cooperation, so the general ill repute of agencies is deserved.

[Kiltboy1]

Nobody tricked me  and this woman had no reason to lie and was not threatend  by other women because she knew I would never go to an agency anyway. She just told me what some of the women told her, no more, no less. It was not her job to police these women , she was a translator and nothing else. What the women did or did not do was not of concern to her. And really who cares because it is common knowlage and logical that there are scammers in every agency and in every walk of life, I am sure jamie does the best he can to police the scammers, but there is no way that you can get rid of them all. And my friend is just that, a friend and she does not need jamie or anyone else bugging her about things that women said to her, again she is a translator, not a babysitter or whistleblower.This is all I am going to say on this subject as it was not inteneded to start a flame, only to share information .


KB

[Jamie]

Nobody tricked me

I am fairly confident I know who this person is (she was not a translator) and you were tricked.

and this woman had no reason to lie

I all ready told you her reason she wanted to appear like she was not a green card shark. 

She just told me what some of the women told her, no more, no less.

Seems strange to tell someone you don’t know that is translating for a man who is indirectly paying her salary that you intend to use him. I also don’t know how "some of the women" turns into half of the women as you stated she said.

It was not her job to police these women, she was a translator and nothing else.

Anyone who works in the capacity of personally assisting clients are more then just translators I make it very clear to such employees finding someone to translate what he said and what she said is very easy for me to me find but I expect much more then you having good English speaking skills and then I tell them all of what is expected. No one that works for me would say it is not by job without being out of a job.

What the women did or did not do was not of concern to her..

Well you told us it made her sick to her stomach now you are saying it was of no concern to her. So why would something of no concern to her make her sick to her stomach. It now appears, as it was highly unlikely from the beginning, that she was never sick to her stomach and didn’t really care how she performed her job.

And really who cares because it is common knowlage and logical that there are scammers in every agency and in every walk of life, I am sure jamie does the best he can to police the scammers, but there is no way that you can get rid of them all...

The point was you said half the girls in the agency were looking for a green card per this person not that some girls scam. And that point is not true.

And my friend is just that, a friend and she does not need jamie or anyone else bugging her about things that women said to her, again she is a translator, not a babysitter or whistleblower.

If you work for me you are all those things and more. She sounds like someone with a very bad attitude which is why among other things she was let go.

This is all I am going to say on this subject as it was not inteneded to start a flame, only to share information.

I see no flame, sharing incomplete information is not helpful to others trying to make an assessment.

[rpcv]

I never used his service but I used to date one of his translators and she told me that more then half of the girls in the agency were there to get a visa and that after dates with guys, they would talk to her about the guy and say  stuff like she was going to try to get what she could. This is not fluff, I dated this woman for a while and she was 100% above board  and sincere.

KB

I believe what KB says 100% because my own experiences in 6 agencies mirrors it. The reality is that this does occur and guys need to be realistic about this fact. Most folks don't want to believe it and agency owners do not want to admit it. But if you are in the game long enough, meet enough women, befriend several translators (which I have done too), etc, the truth will become obvious to you. Several translators I spoke with were afraid of retribution from their boss for discussing this type of info. But sit with them awhile, and you would be shocked at the kind of info that they are willing to discuss with you.

That being said, would this discourage me from trying my luck at dating in Colombia? Hell no, considering the alternative of AW. But my advice to those starting out on this journey, etc is to be prepared...

[rpcv]

...I would use agencies as a way to "get your feet wet"...as I did..then network and use www.latinamericancupid.com  and go from there.  Check out the agencies in Bogota, you will receive a good education about latin women and meet some of the smartest, classy, most educated women on the planet.  Don't limit yourself to agencies, though...you will likely run into some sharks.

You will find 'Colombian Gold' sooner than later by using a variety of methods like these, IMO. 

DayTrader 

Excellent advice Daytrader!

[rpcv]

Most of the women in Colombia and in International Introductions would prefer to live in Colombia with an American then move to the States.

I agree completely. And if you can throw in a better standard of living into the equation, remaining close to friends and family, it makes even more sense..

Colombian women whose primary objective is leaving Colombia are easy to detect for those with basic observation skills.

For some women it is easy to detect if they are obvious (talking about friends/relatives lifestyles in the USA, things they want to have once in the USA, etc.) But others can be more subtle.. 

[Kiltboy1]

RPCV

I can tell you  are well traveled and observe things well. This goes on in every agency and guys just need to be aware of this. Go enjoy the agency, ask all the tought questions but remember that it is not as simple as an agency website would like to make you think it is, This is a process that can burn the best of men, me included before.  Do your homework before you go and yes, if they have a lot of family and friends here in the USA, take a pass, you will thank yourself

KB

[blockbuster]

 Jaime wrote:
I am not going to do a count but a high percentage of the work force in Colombia is dishonest. Anyone who has done business here knows this. I go to great effort to search for quality honest people who are closely supervised.

 Jaime, if you can say a high percentage of the workforce in Colombia is dishonest, how then can you guarantee very few girls in your agency are not? I'm sure you've taken much more time in hiring translators than picking out agency girls. Yet even you've been fooled with your choice in employees.

[JR33]

   Hi Guys,
        I've read this subject and will have to agree with the majority here. I've spent the last few years looking around in Colombia and spent alot of time there. I have several friends, who I trust, that have been to Jamie's agency and they all recommend it. I don't know where all the negative stuff is coming from.Yes, there are women in Colombia looking to get out by marrying some guy....but it is not as common as some say.I heard about this forum from a friend of mine who told me there is alot of good info here, he also said watch out for the negativity.Hey, my philosophy is its all good...it may not be correct....but its all good. I know guys that say every woman in a foriegn country just wants to marry for a green card, there is a FARC rebel behind every corner and drugs are knee deep in the streets of every city in Colombia...these are the same guys who have never been out of the country....I've been to Colombia alot and it ain't like that....

[Kiltboy1]

This is not a negative forum. This forum gives both the good and bad and there is a lot of both in this process. You want negative , go hang out at the worldlovecollege, no that is a negative place .


KB

[Jamie]

I believe what KB says 100% because my own experiences in 6 agencies mirrors it.

I believe him also it is not what KB said but what the source he is quoting said and I also agree you will experience problems with most agencies.

Jaime, if you can say a high percentage of the workforce in Colombia is dishonest, how then can you guarantee very few girls in your agency are not?

I make no guarantees regarding any of the women it is up to the man to determine the woman’s character and honesty. I had a woman just come in the office for a phone call with a client. During that call the woman revealed she had 3 children yet her profile indicates no children. After the phone call I pulled her application which she filled out and showed her where she wrote she had no children. When I asked her to explain this she told me she couldn’t. She obviously lied all I can do at this point is remove her. If you were familiar with my prior writings you would see I am on record in stating that most of the women lie and most of the Colombian women in Colombia are not suitable marriage material for my typical client.  Your objective for coming to Colombia to find a wife should be to find the gems of Colombia not your average Colombian woman. Guys who come down to meet 1 or 2 girls are doomed for failure 90% of the time. The answer to the high percentage of unsuitable Colombian women is to meet many women within your criteria to increase the odds of finding a Colombian gem this is what our service is geared towards.

I'm sure you've taken much more time in hiring translators than picking out agency girls. Yet even you've been fooled with your choice in employees.

I would not say I was fooled one is not able to determine the quality of the person and their work simply from an interview as the owner of the Falcons well knows. So I will test people at work to see how they perform. Those that demonstrate what I am looking for are retained those that don’t are not or they may be held to a limited role based on specific skills they do well.  The person I believe KB is referring to had a limited role as a written translator with minimum contact with clients. Others have shown to do good work but flaws over time came up outside of the duties requiring their dismissal.

[raycjs]

I used Jamie's service and found it to be outstanding. I meet 40-50 girls and i went out on over 12 one on one dates. everyone of the women that took my email address is still writing to me. I was given over 30 phone numbers and email address from the girls that had interest in me. not one of the girls i met was in a hurry to move to the US. they would of course to persue a marrage but would rather stay with there fairly in Colombia. i dated one on Jamie's staff and she was outstanding. i found the women there to be very respectful and proud to be a Colombian i also did not find any one of them willing to go to bed just for the sake of having sex. and most of my dates the girls ate very lite or not at all.
i would recommend Jamie's service to anyone. Just pm me and i will let you know the details. Also everything Sean123 told me about Jamie was 100% true. Thanks to all me new friends i a finding happiness in Colombia. Jamie keep up the great work and the outstanding service.

[bigstew33]

After talking to Singlefather e convinced me to write what I know about Jaimie's agency.  I never used the agency but I did date a girl that worked in the office.  Today I fond out she is not there any more.  But she told me that Jaimie is very strict with the women that work for him.  When I first heard this I thought ah he is an A-Hole.  But after hearing from some people I know, and guys from here that he is that way because he runs a tight ship.  So if he finds a shady girl he gets rid of them.  He has the guys best interest at heart.  Tomorrow morning I am moving on up to Barranquilla from Bogota. 

[JR33]

This is not a negative forum. This forum gives both the good and bad and there is a lot of both in this process. You want negative , go hang out at the worldlovecollege, no that is a negative place .


KB

   "Easy big fella" I only said I was a told to look out for the negativity, thats all.I was also told it was a good forum.After reading many posts on many subjects I agree with ya "this forum gives both the good and bad"....

 I agree with ya rpcv:
 That being said, would this discourage me from trying my luck at dating in Colombia? Hell no, considering the alternative of AW.