Problems w/Fiancee Visas

[yc]

I just got some distrubing news from a friend of mine.  I had introduced him a few weeks ago to this method of finding a bride.  After being convinced or just out of curiousity, he decide to give it a try.  He ordered some addresses from LatinEuro and sent emails to two Colombianas.  One of them responded.  She resides here in the US on a work visa.  Well in talking with her, she revealed to him some shocking news.  She said, that the Colombian authorities do not recognized fiancee visas.  She stated that a friend of her became engaged to a gringo during her stay here in the States.  When she returned to Colombia, the guy started the process of getting her a fiancee visas.  When everything was completed, he flew down to Colombia in order to bring her back to the States.  Well when the couple got to the airport, the Colombia authorities detained both of them and would not allow her to board the plane.  The authorities claimed that her paperwork was not in order.  He(the guy) told the authorities they must be mistaken.  They said, that in order for her to be able to board the plane, he would have to pay them $200 - $300.

My friend is concerned because if the two of them hit it off, would he have to go through the same thing.  She is here on a work visa.  But that visa expires in two months.  She is not sure if she can get it extended.  If push comes to shove, she will have to return to or be departed back to Colombia.  If she goes back to Colombia and can not get another work visa, they might have to try for a fiancee visa.  He is worried that he might encounter the problem with the Colombian authorities.  She said, the bribe is sometimes even more money.  It all depends on what the Colombian authorities would settle for.

Has anyone had this experience with the Colombian authorities?  Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

[Clevelander]

... in response to Problems w/Fiancee Visas, posted by yc on Oct 1, 2001

the authorities are always looking for a quick buck.  stop you in your car   Officer why did you pull me over???   Officer, "I'll give you 50,000 reasons why"   get the hint?

[jim c]

... in response to and you are surprised at this??, posted by Clevelander on Oct 1, 2001

entonces payaso when was the last time you bribed a cop. I am sure you will have interesting information to provide us with. welcome     we are waiting with baited breath.  jim c

[JunFan]

... in response to Re: and you are surprised at this??, posted by jim c on Oct 2, 2001

sorry, he just smelled like somebody that used to post on here....

[Clevelander]

... in response to Re: and you are surprised at this??, posted by jim c on Oct 2, 2001

is everyone so cynical on this board??

I'm going to Colombia for the first time soon.  It seems it wouldn't take much to have a more interesting trip than what you recently posted.

[jim c]

... in response to thank you for that heartwarming welcome, posted by Clevelander on Oct 2, 2001

I am sure you will bozo, with your pointed brilliance and wit you will just floor those 18 year olds. The green sharks are just waiting for you, when they finish you will kiss all those corrupt cops you know. Not everyone is as cynical as I am, the worst ones are on vacation. I'm just a puppy, a retired cop with an attitude. jim c

[JunFan]

... in response to thank you for that heartwarming welcome, posted by Clevelander on Oct 2, 2001

that was a little uncalled for...POS

[jim c]

... in response to Re: thank you for that heartwarming welc..., posted by JunFan on Oct 2, 2001

I think he looked up Payaso

[JunFanTX]

... in response to Problems w/Fiancee Visas, posted by yc on Oct 1, 2001

That was an example of corruption, ie extortion.  The first person you show your paperwork to are the airlines people. They don't issue a boarding pass if you don't have the right stuff in your passport...sure, they check everything at security, but I have never seen any of these types of problems.

It seems these types of games are played in Bogota, Cali & Medellin....I have never seen anything like that in Cartagena or BQ....Mike

[Clevelander]

... in response to Re: Problems w/Fiancee Visas, posted by JunFanTX on Oct 1, 2001

my understanding is that since Cartagena is such a huge tourist place, they are plenty of people trying to scam the tourists.  more so than a non-tourist place I would wager.

[JunFanTX]

... in response to are you saying that Cartagena is free of..., posted by Clevelander on Oct 1, 2001

No, that's not what I said....I said I have never seen that sort of thing, based my experiences.

Matter of fact, I have not heard of that from any other people that I know who have been to Cartagena or BQ...but then again, what do I know...I have only been there 6 times in the last year.

What about you?  Have anything to add, besides heresay?

Mike

[jim c]

... in response to Re: are you saying that Cartagena is fre..., posted by JunFanTX on Oct 1, 2001

Hey mike don't pick on the boy he's new.
    Corruption is rampant through out the world and I have been ripped off all over the world. The first by a murphy man in Detroit.( if anyone dosn't know what that is, ask for a private e mail)I have payed $2.00 for potato chips marked $1.69 in New York and was told take it or leave it. Taxi drivers all over the world never have change from Pattaya to Cali.
  If anyone gets ripped off in cali do the math its probably for .25 .  Colombians are no more corrupt than Americans. These people work for nickles, just consider your loss a tip. If you are upset about american prices try Cuba  there you pay in dollars and the Cubans pay in pesos  it costs you one dollar it costs them a nickle. As to I know a, who knows a, that saw a. Several of us have lived in Cali for periods of time and I have never heard these outrageous events happening to them, why? Jim C

[Cali vet]

... in response to Re: Re: are you saying that Cartagena is..., posted by jim c on Oct 2, 2001

I've had good experiences with Cali taxis and bad. Once I asked a taxi to take me to the theatre Jorge Isaaks so I could pick up some tickets for a performance later. I told him it would just take me a minute and asked him to wait and take me back. We arrived at a theatre and I hopped out and went to the ticket window only to be told there was no such performance there but perhaps at the other theatre. The driver had deliberately taken me to the wrong theatre with the meter running and insisted the confusion had been on my part. He added distraction by chattering away in English like it was such a novelty. Got me. On the other hand on one of my first trips to Cali when I didn't know my way around at all and didn't speak much Spanish I was returning to Avenida Cascajal in Ciudad Jardin from the North and the driver couldn't find it. We just kept heading south and eventually came to a carretera with a military checkpoint and I realized if we kept going we'd be in Ecuador before long. We turned around and he finally found the place. I thought he's really going to try to clean me out but to my amazement he said well that was his fault and charged me exactly the price it should be with out the excursion. So there're good guys and bad guys in Cali just like anywhere else.

[rafael]

... in response to Re: Re: Re: are you saying that Cartagen..., posted by Cali vet on Oct 2, 2001

In the DR, most cab drivers will try and charge you the Gringo rate. I hardly ever argue, but many will really pile on if they think they can get away with it. Once my wife an I took a cab to a restaurant. the Gringo rate should have been 80 pesos as I've made that trip a bunch of times. The guys tells me 200. Now this was above and beyond the normal Gringo "tax". My wife started ripping into the guy. I calmly got out of the taxi, threw him 80 pesos and closed the door. Of course he did not follow me in!

Later that same trip, my buddies GF took a cab to the same restaurant from probably 2-3 times as far away, on New Years Eve 1999! I was picking up the tab, and was prepared to get reamed. the guy rolled down the window and said 50 pesos! He was charging me the non Gringo price, on NewYears Eve! Since he was the first guy to not "tax' me I gave him 100 pesos. He was extremely happy with that "huge" tip. I figure reward the honest guys,and
make a stand against the rip off artists or things will just get worse.

[Billt2]

... in response to Similar experiences, posted by rafael on Oct 2, 2001

Isn't 80 pesos 25 cents? How far can you ride for 80 pesos? I keep seeing the ride from the Cali airport to downtown is about $15.00 US?