Went to Juarez today for our K1 interview, although there was a sign on the door saying that K1, K3, CR-1 & IR-1 applicants can't have anyone come in with them, they let me in anyway It seemed that everybody there too had their USC with them. Here's how it went down:

We got in line about 7am with at least 200-300 other people (contrary to what they say at the information window, we asked 2 different guards, and both times were pointed to the longest of the 3 lines to get in), got in the door around 8.

After going through security, we were lined up outside building "C". After a few minutes, someone came down the line and collected the cover letters. We had to wait about 20 minutes to get a seat because the entire outside & inside seating area were full!!

It took about 3 hours till we were called to a window and were told to "prepare our documentation", and I handed him the following:

For K1:
DS156 x 2
DS156K x 1
Big sealed black bag from medical
Birth Certificate (Original & copy)
2 pictures
Passport
Proof of payment from Banamex (1100 pesos)
I-134 with backup (05 tax returns & letter from my employer)

For K2:
DS156 X 2
2 pictures
Big sealed black bag from medical
Birth Certificate (Original & copy)
passport
Proof of payment from Banamex (1100 pesos)

I also asked him if he wanted the original NOA2 letter, which he said yes, (which I got handed back later with a confused look from the interviewing officer) so I wouldn't bother taking it. He asked a few questions, like, how many times she had visited the US, and if either of us had ever been married. He didn't ask anything else or for any other documentation, and told us to go to building "B" and wait to be called for the final interview, where a decision would be made on our case. This was about 11:00am.

About 4 1/2 hours later, at 3:30, we finally got called for our interview. It took about 5 minutes, where first she asked my fiancee to put her finger on the scanner, then had her raise her hand and swear to tell the truth. It was more like a conversation, she asked simple questions, like, how long had we been dating, where did we meet, stuff like that. She seemed satisfied with all the answers we gave, even though we screwed up some of the dates.

What she didn't like was my fiancee's daughters birth certificate, which she said she needed to verify, and we would have to come back tomorrow because they couldn't do it after 3pm. She gave us a pass to come back at 7:30am tomorrow, and told us to come directly to building "B" to her window. So 1 more day here in beautiful Juarez. Hopefully that will be quick tomorrow and there won't be any other problems and we'll get the Visas. She didn't indicate there was a problem with anything else, though.

Good luck what3ver!!! Sounds like you are almost done!

Hello everybody!!

We are kind of new in all this ride! We just sent the 129F 40 days ago.. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THOSE WHO HAD GOT THE VISA!! for K1 holders, We hope u are happily married soon..!

Our medical and interview will be in Cd Juarez, so here we are! we hope you guys welcome us to the club!!

welcome, hope you have a fast journey. we are here to help, so feel free to ask any questions you may have

hey all,

Thanks for the congrats! and for the clarification regarding AP....not needing AP was one of the hugest reasons we didnt do k1 and had to wait all of this time!!!

Daniel - we got the cr1....so I guess we have to remove conditions in october....how long did it take ana to get her greencard and ss card in the mail?

sandy

sooo happy for you guys.

within 2 wekks, the SS card.
3 weeks after that, the Green Card.

what conditions are you going to remove in october?


Daniel

Well, we finally got the K1 & K2 visas today after having to deal with 2 days of the "Fraud Prevention Unit". I guess the Consular Officer that interviewed us felt that my finacee's daughter might be stolen So she had to go through a long interrogation and then we had to wait while they verfied all the documents. It wasn't fun.

Just a note to anyone going through Juarez, after you get to Building B and get interviewed, if for any reason they send you back to building C, it's because they have transfered your case to FPU for one reason or another, be ready, it's not going to be pleasant.

In the end we finally got the Visas at about 4pm today, and can finally get out of here. I hope I never have to come back here, it was hell.

Also, it seems to depend on the day you come and how the guards feel weather or not they let you in with the applicant.

All you have to do is go to the information window at entrance 1, which is for American Services, make up some reason why you need to go in, (really all you have to do is talk real fast to the guard in english since it seems none of them speak it), he will ask for your ID, then give you a pass to get into building A, after you go through the entrance, instead of going into Building A, hook a right and head over toward B & C. I had to do this twice after they wouldn't let me in Thursday or today.

[quote name='gringuitalokita' date='Mar 6 2006, 06:14 PM' post='61519']
Christine,

My husband just had his medical on friday and he required the following vaccines
1. Tetanus (he actually got the Tetanus-diptheria vaccine in the states prior to interview
2. Varicela
3. MMR (measles, mumps and rubella in one vaccine)

He didnt have any vaccine records from childhood and that didnt seem to be a problem. You only need flu and pneumococcus if you are over a certain age.

These three vaccines were the only ones listed at the consulorio for the ages of 25-38, so if your husband falls into this age group you should be safe with these.

Also, they might require hepatitis b if your husband has any risk factors, but mine did not.

hope this helps!

sandy

We got the visa!!!

They don't seem to have the mumps or the chicken pox(varicela) vaccines here in stock.. We'll keep looking.
Thanks for the answers and the details.
and CONGRATULATIONS!

Thanks Tabta!! I will be around..

what3ever!! congratulations for your visas!!

where is everybody? can someone tell a list of hotels near to the consulate?? so we can plan the trip in advance!

i don't have a list. you can look one up on expedia i think.
we stayed at the Fiesta Americana Inn. it is about 100 bucks a night. about a 12 minute walk from the embassy. there are some hotels nearby the embassy. hopefully others will come by and tell usabout their hotels.


Daniel

I don't have a list either but we stayed at the Holiday Inn Lincoln. I know a lot of people don't like it though. I didn't mind it. I am pretty picky about hotels also so if it didn't bother me it must be okay. I know there is a Holiday Inn Express which is supposed to be much nicer than the other Holiday Inn but it is also more expensive. I know there are several other hotels around but I am not sure how nice they are or what their prices are. I hope this helps.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express...it is more expensive than the Holiday inn Lincoln, but it is very nice! newly remodeled with a gym, pool, and free breakfast buffet. very nice, big, clean rooms. i think we paid about 70 a night, so it's not bad!

If you are looking for a cheap hotel, there are a few on the same street as the consulate for about 30 dollars a night. You dont need to book in advance.

The first time we stayed off of Avenue Lincoln, I think it was called Suites Marta. We had a car so even though it was a little distance the room was nice and big, even had a sitting area. (This is when we discoved the restaurant El Torro Bronco, just a block away. We liked it so much we ate there on 2 nights and also on our return trip it was the last place we went before we left to go across the bridge to El Paso). We made the mistake of thinking we were done and checked out, so we just stayed in Hotel la Playa (DO NOT RECOMMEND). First they want a deposit and then the rooms suck.

The second time we stayed in Hotel Americano, it was OK, the restaurant even though it was small had wonderful food. The room was just ok, but it did not matter, because we were only there to sleep. It is just around the corner on Av. Hermanos Escobar.

we stayed at the hotel americano also. there food is really good , they have a help office for immigrants, and there housecleaning were extremely nice. The lady washed our clothes for us for 2$$$$

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Lincoln, and I thought it was fine, and I'm picky. We got the breakfast buffet included on Friday - Monday for a really good price. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a safe place near the consulate. We thought of staying in La Playita but were afraid to leave our paperwork, cell phones, laptop and digital camera in the room while we went to the consulate or were out and about in Juarez. We did the same in the Holiday Inn Lincoln (locked up inside our luggage) and had no problems.

Hey everyone! I just wanted to share the news that we finally got our appointment date set. It's May 3rd, so now we are going to start going about the business of getting ready to move to the US. I am very excited, and thank everyone here who has shared their experiences.

Our date was moved forward due to a medical emergency. It involved having a doctor fax a letter confirming the situation, then an email from me clarifying that we were asking for the appointment date to be moved forward.

Christine and Armando

Congratulations and good luck. If you have any doubts before be sure to post them, we are here to help.

Hello Everyone:

This site has been a great resource with many wonderful and insightful people. I have a question about packet 3. This is my timeline:

NOA 1: 11/22/2005
NOA 2: 02/22/2006
NVC: 03/02/2006 > snail mail, stated sent to Embassy Cuidad Juarez; El Paso

Currently I have not heard anything from the embassy. I conctacted them two weeks ago and they have not received the packet. So I contact NVC again to check for delivery information and they stated that they sent it to the embassy.

In general, how long does it take for packet 3 to be sent out? One month? I'm not sure and wanted to get an idea of others experience with Cuidad Juarez Embassy. In addition, does anyone have contact information for the embassy regarding fiance visas?

Thank you so much!

You dont have to wait to receive packet 3 to go to Juarez. Once juarez informs you they have your infomation you can print out all the forms you need online and go.

I think it takes about a month usually. It took them 3 months to send mine, and THEN they sent it only AFTER I emailed them and helped them remember. After that, it never arrived. (I figure it got lost in Mexico's mail system), but since you are having yours sent to a US address you probably won't have the same problem.

What kind of contact information do you need? website? email? phone? I figure you already have their mailing address. cdjimmigrantvisas@state.gov is the email address i use, I think it works the same for fiance visas.

Good luck.
Christine and Armando



So.. How is your husband liking the US? Is it his first time?

It took about 5 weeks from the time our packet left the NVC to the time that I received packet 3 from Juarez in the U.S. My fiancee in mexico never received her packet! Someone mentioned this and blamed the mexican mail system...I agree! But you can just print everything you need online and show up at the Consulate. You need to go within 4 months of the date of your "approval" by USCIS. Good luck!

So did you email Juarez to confirm that they had your information and then just print out all of the forms before going to the interview? Seems like that would save a lot of time waiting for the packet to actually reach the Mexican fiance (which could be never with mail there) or the USC.

JUst a hint, if you all need some sort of approvasl letter to enter the consulate, you would have to go to the information window for that even though you print all of the forms. If you do have to go to the Info window I would reccommend that you either leave a day in advance to get the letter the day before you go into the consulate, or on the dayu you plan to go into the consulate get in the info line accross the street from the consulate at about 4:45. That is about what time the people start lining up for info. we didnt get there till the window was about to open, and we waited in line for opver 5 hours to get the appointment letter. good luck

I just read on another site that it takes about 40 days - this person's file was sent on Feb 27 and the case was in CDJ from NVC electronically but not physically and they told him to email again in two weeks. So does this mean that if the file is in CDJ but you have not received the appointment letter, you have to either wait till you get it or endure the line at the info booth to get a copy of the letter? Don't they email that stuff as well?

Yes. That is exactly what I did. Good luck.

Thanks everyone! I contacted Juarez via e-mail and they said they sent the information via US mail on 4.06.2006. It seems that you can print the packet 3 documents out online as long as they have the packet at the consulate.

Thanks for the hint about the appointment letter...saving 5 hours at the consulate is very important!

Cheers

Not to put a amper on things, just dont want you to get discouraged if it takes a while. When My packet was sent out they said It was sent out on the 22nd of dec. Well when it arrived it was post marked for the 29th of DEC. it arrived on Jan 3rd. good luck

Jbeabout......Only about a month left till the big day!! You must be super excited. Hope you and your soon-to-be-wife have an amazing wedding.



p.s. isn't the weather starting to be nice 'round here?!

This is probably a long shot but is there anyway to get an appointment letter via email so you can skip the waiting for the package and the long wait at the info booth to get a copy?

Also, do the same the same information in the interview packet to both the USC and fiance?

Thaks

I know! It's coming up so quickly...I can't wait! And thank goodness the weather is better here now, because I really want to be in Mazatlan, but at least I can pretend I am when it's 80 degrees

Thanks for the well-wishes!



the interview packet is the same as far as I have heard to both the USC and fiance. I don't think you will be able to get the letter via email, but it's worth a shot. they don't seem to keen to update into the modern world!

They won't accept the email letter, I tried that. They will direct you to the window, but if you go after the morning rush after 10:30am as long as it is before 3:00pm you will be able to get to the window with no problem. There is hardly a line between those hours, then you can go to the interview early the next morning and wait in the line everyone is forming to get into the consulate. I've done it a couple of times and never have I had to wait for a long time to get to the information window. The girl there is a dimwitt though, you have to tell her exactly what you need. Take a copy of the email letter and give it to the dimwitt.

Congratulations jbeabout, I hope you two have a wonderful day tomorrow. I get goosebumps thinking about my wedding day. It will come soon, enough.

Enjoy!

Yvonne

What do you mean by "email letter" because I plan to print a copy that my sister is scanning in for me.. you aren't talking about a scanned copy of the letter, right? You are talking about an email you got that says "hey, you have an appointment" right?


I have a question about the affidavit of support I-864.
On the website there is a list of forms and one of them is about the affidavit. It says we need to bring it in. Well, we already sent it in. We have a copy, and I have a blank of the signature page, but what I want to know is, is it really necessary to RE notarize the form, since we sent it in less than 6 months ago. (Also, I didn't keep, for some strange reason, a copy of my 2004 tax return, I sent them the only copy I had. Do I need to download another copy?)

So.. do we need to completely prepare the I-864 AGAIN, notary and all, or will they just refer to the one they have in our file.

Also, there are two form D-230's on the website, part one and part two. Part two seems to be the same as part one, with two additional pages. Which do we need to turn in?

Thanks everyone! Two weeks and counting!

Mine was for a fiance visa, we never received packet 3. I downloaded everything and filled it in. I never received an appointment letter so I emailed the consulate and they let me know my petition had arrived there and I had an open interview. I took the email they sent me but I still had to go to the info window to get the letter to go into the consulate. The affidaviit of support should be good for 6 months, I would try getting a copy of the tax form, anyways they have a strange way of misplacing things that are pending. I'm not sure about DS230, I know we turned in Part II but like I said it was for a K-1, fill out the forms and have them ready just incase. Then you can have them handy if they ask for them. I'm sorry I could not be of more help. But with CDJ you never know what they will ask for or need, also each CO is different.

Well....we're doing it. I've sent in our K1 petition and have joined the ranks of timeline appreciation.

just wanted to say good luck, hope you have a speedy journey

Well we decided to postthis here too cause a lot of people on this thread has been supporting us, we got APPROVED on or NOA2 Thanks everybody!!! .

Oh yeah, good luck amor and David, welcome.

congrats on the recent approval

THANKS TABATHA

Congrats Junari on the NOA2!!! Was it for the I-129 or I-130?

Welcome DavidN to this journey that is SO WORTH IT!!!! I hope it is smooth and speedy!

Jbabout...hopefully you don't have any jitters yet!! Have fun in Mexico and just think...you'll be bringing the best present back with you.

Hey everyone. Our first trip to Ciudad Juarez is over, and sadly, we did not leave there with a visa in our hands. We ended up having to file the waiver I-601 because of Armando's accident 9 years ago, for which he was charged with reckless driving, involuntary manslaughter. We thought that since he wasn't drunk, wasn't going all THAT fast, and he stayed at the scene, and it was 9 years ago that we would be able to convince them to let us in without the waiver, but all cases involving reckless driving are considered crimes of moral turpitude.

The good news is, we were prepared, and we turned in the waiver right there, and now just need to turn in some documentation. Also, my mom is writing to her senator to try to get the case expedited.

Our appointment details are about the same as everyone elses, but I wanted to note, that it doesn't seem to matter what time you get in the line as long as you are there by about 6, because that's when the took up the appointment letters, and they shuffled them around.

Armando went in alone, and I waited in the hotel (we stayed at the Hotel Plaza Consulado, because it was right there, and it was really cheap, 300$ MXP a night. It wasn't gross either). He had to come out at 7:30 to get other pictures (the ones we had were too small). He went back and I waited. At about noon he came out, and I watched from the hotel window as he walked, and he looked up, saw me, and shook he head "no". He had to go back for fingerprints because there was someone with his same name who had done bad things in the US. He had also been told that he would have to file the waiver. I was able to go in with him this time, saying I needed to use the ATM (which was true) to get the money (85$ USD) for the fingerprinting fee.. After I got the money I went to the window with Armando, and tried to convince the man that Armando's crime did not involve moral turpitude. He said that Mexican law does not diferentiate between voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, and that his case uses the term "reckless driving" ("inprudencia") so there was nothing he could do. He really seemed sympathetic, and It seemed he wanted us to be able to get the visa, it just was impossible for him to make that decision based on the court records. We had to come back the next day to get the results of the fingerprints. (he gave us a pass that included permission for me to come in too. I think he took pity on us)

We came back at 6:30, and of course, the fingerprints were fine, then we paid another 265$ USD for the I-601 fee, and were sent to building C. The woman there was also very nice, and she made supportive comments about it being an accident etc. etc. And told me I could contact my congress(wo)man for help.

And then we went looking for cheap flights back to Oaxaca.. there was a Mother's day deal, so we did get cheap flights, but I won't be with my daughter for mother's day. siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh. But, she'll be coming to stay with us in Mexico when she gets out of school in a couple of weeks, while we wait for good news from my Mother's pen-pal the Senator.

Thanks everyone. We'll keep you posted.

Christine and Armando

Mzswing
Have you looked at i2us.com for information on waivers in CDJ? The good news is that they are averaging about 4 months to be approved and 7 weeks from approval date until the second visa appointment for pick up. (But it takes about 5 weeks for DHS to register the waiver in their system in CDJ) Hope this helps!

JUst wanted to say I am sorry about what happens, and I hope you havbe a speedy waiver approval

[quote name='mnmex' date='May 4 2006, 08:55 AM' post='173498']
Congrats Junari on the NOA2!!! Was it for the I-129 or I-130?

thanks mnmex it is for I-129

Jbeabout….hope the wedding was beautiful! Have a great honeymoon! CONGRATS!!

Thank you!!! The wedding was great! Unfortunately Sofia was sick during the honeymoon but we crossed the border very quickly and with no problem at all. They didn't even check what we had in the car or ask any questions. The main question the agent had was where to send our packet. We were finished with the whole process in under 15 minutes.

Alas we finished the looooong drive from Mazatlan to Rochester and I couldn't be happier!!! On to the green card process!!

jbeabout
CONGRATULATIONS!!!


BEST WISHES ON THIS NEW STAGE.




ARI & JUSTIN

Congratulations

Congrats Jbeabout! I'm so glad that everything went as planned! Sorry to hear that your lady wasn't feeling well. I'm actually planning to do virtually the same thing as you in July...we got approved this month and are having our ceremony in July. My question is this, what do you give to the border agent? Did you have to get out of the car to submit the paperwork? We have the packet and I'm not sure if we need to park and turn that information in or just hand it over to the border agent.

Again, congratulations and finally the process is complete...at least now you both can work on things together!

Saludos