Juarez Consulate

[bdesj 0]

Gabacha, you were SORTA mean. It would have been better if you had told him that Juan Gabriel would be doing the checking.

[GabachaYucateca 0]

Gabacha, you were SORTA mean. It would have been better if you had told him that Juan Gabriel would be doing the checking.

That'd probably REALLY freak him out!

[GabachaYucateca 0]

Sorry, but I need to vent and this seems the best plave to do it!

Since I've been doing the K1, I've been checking out lots of forums and my most recent is a Juarez forum to try to get the lay of the land for our upcoming visit. Many of the people around there are filing waivers for their spouses and I can imagine that they're going through all sorts of stress, raising children alone and being separated from their spouses during the wait. But I can't believe all of the negative, awful comments people make about Mexico! Their husbands are from there, their in-laws still live there, but so few would EVER dream of living in Mexico. I know many, many people filing waivers have extenuating circumstances for filing, but I find it sooo insulting to Mexicans how little they think of the country.

I've met dozens of couples, either both expat or one expat, raising happy, healthy children in Mexico. But people make it sound like raising a child in Mexico is a deathwish...no medical care, everyone is backwards, as soon as you cross the border you are risking your life. It's so insulting and obviously people have NO IDEA about what Mexico is really like.

I know for sure that my fiance would never want to marry me if I were so ignorant and misinformed about his culture and country.

This opinion may make me super unpopular around here, but so be i!

[alcatrazk 0]

Dont worry Gabacha I agree with you 100%, if it wasnt for the fact that I have a very stable career here in the US I would be moving to Mexico. It is a way better lifestyle there. People are just ignorant. I got you back.

[kitkat1 5]

Gabacha, I suspect you're reading I2us where there are A LOT of super negative people who are very misinformed and have never stepped outside of the US. They have no grasp or understanding of life in Mexico . . . and at the the same time, due to their husband's illegal entry and presence in the US, they have to prove extreme hardship to them in the event their husband's waiver is denied and they are forced to relocate their permanently. So they are always looking for the worst possible side of Mexico to support their arguement. Not an excuse at all, but maybe some sort of explanation. Agree with you 100%!

[tijuanahilton 0]

I'm with you guys... I met a girl on a flight down to el DF over Christmas whose Mexican husband had gone back to finish school while they wait for the 10 year period to end (I guess they weren't eligible for a waiver?) She flat out REFUSED to leave his house, fought constantly with his mother and told me that Mexico was the worst place she'd ever been to in her life. They eventually went to a hotel to finish out their days there, and she told me that she would NEVER go back to Mexico City, but was planning on insisting that they meet up in Cancun or other resort towns. I wanted to SMACK her. What on earth could you possibly be doing married to someone whose essence you obviously despise? I for one LOVE Mexico. ESPECIALLY Mexico City, but the rest of the country in amazing as well. But, for a teacher and a graphic designer, at this point in our lives at least, LA is the only economic reality. Who's to say what the future holds? I'd say there's some beachfront property in Chuburná with our names all over it.

Also, have yout noticed that it's mostly women petitioning for men in the MExico thread, yet the other threads are heavily male dominated? Why is that?

[bdesj 0]

I have to say that I share your attitudes towards Mexico more than I disagree, but to give a little defense to the "other side":

Mexico isn`t for everyone. Nor is the US. Personally, I love travelling in Mexico and I was mentally and psychologically prepared to move there had our waiver been denied, but I still have issues (aside from financial) that I don`t know how well I would deal with if I were faced with actually living there. I find the terrible smell of poluted rivers and the sight of garbage strewn all over pretty depressing. I like being able to sit down with my checkbook and a roll of stamps and take care of five bills in as many minutes. I don`t take well to jail-style housing (padlocks, chains, bars, lack of windows, LACK OF SPACE) and no where to go to escape. Yes, they have wonderful parks but I`m accustomed to being able to drive a few hours and see no one else for as long as I want- days, sometimes. When I`m driving in an unfamiliar area, I like to see street signs and know where to expect the traffic controls and signs to tell me which direction I`m expected to go on any given road. I like getting out of my car, especially in the summer, without having to roll up all the windows, lock the door and hasle with a steering wheel club. At home and many places I go to, I don`t even take the keys out of the ignition and I like it that way. I know there are places in the US that have many of these problems, but I don`t want to live in those places either. There are also problems that don`t particularly bother me, but I know that other folks have a very hard time with ie, public bathrooms, the more exciting bus rides, Spanish language ( I speak Spanish reasonably well and I think most or all of you do too, but imagine if you didn`t).

And for all that, my father in law has had a GC for years and recently got US citizenship, but refuses to stay in this country any longer than necessary to see his kids and make an appearance at the social security office. He hates it because the busses suck- city busses (where the drivers only speak English) and Greyhound (which ALWAYS stops at McDonalds and NEVER stops at anywhere he can get a torta and a beer or a bag of dried shrimp). He doesn`t like that you have to go three blocks to get to a convenience store or two miles to get to any kind of more substantial shopping. When he comes to our house, it drives him up the wall to know that the door is unlocked all night long. Well, it`s a flimsy house anyway- pura tablaroca y nada de cemento. He doesn`t drive here and the local busses usually take a good hour to get you anywhere because there is invariably a transfer involved and they only run once an hour on the outer routes, half hour on the more central routes. It`s God-awful cold here. Sometimes even freezes. At home, he likes to sit in front of his house drinking beer with his buddies and BSing with everyone who passes by. At my house, he`d be lucky to see five cars and one pedestrian go by in an hour. Pretty boring place, Gringolandia!

[tijuanahilton 0]

Goodness! I didn't know places still exist where you don't have to lock your car doors, even if it's just to get out and pump gas.

sounds nice.....but I'm a city girl, through and through. I mean, my home pretty much sits right where the sewer hits the sea..... and well, I feel guilty recycling because I feel like I'm taking away the livelihood of the homeless men who root through out trashbins every morning before the break of dawn (or after it). But I wouldn't trade Los Angeles for anything that wasn't MExico DF, and lucky for me, my fiance feels the same way. OK, babbling.

I do see your point, though, the infrastructure isn't quite what it is here in the states in Mexico.

[E&K 0]

I think I understand the way some people feel about Mexico city, I lived there a couple of years while I was still in college, and while I loved the city with all the beautiful and interesting places you could visit like bellas artes, el zocalo and el templo mayor, Reforma, Coyoacán, and many others, I really didn't like to be always on a "watchful" mode to make sure me and my belongings were safe from "los miembros del hampa". I think it is a wonderful place to visit for a few days, even weeks if you'd like, but it is a different story to actually live there. But then again, my sister and a few other close relatives live there and cannot imagine themselves living anywhere else :-) I also liked the fact that, given its location, the DF is relative close to many other beautiful places like el "bajío", Puebla, etc.

We have a saying in Mexico that says "cada quien platica (dependiendo) como le fué en la feria" (the way you speak depends on your experience), and I think it could be applied to this topic. From my personal experience, I think that aside from people's lifestyle preferences (which do have a lot of influence on the way you feel about living in a place), the way they feel about Mexico depends a lot on what places they have visited: Queretaro, Guadalajara and Monterrey for example while not as big as the DF are beautiful cities too, and their crime levels are not as high, and they of course cannot be compared to border towns (which are not exactly the best parts of Mexico in terms of culture and natural beauty but have their own charm too) or rural towns without any infrastructure. The way they are introduced to the places has a lot to do too, a rural town can be charming or discusting depending on how they show it to you and how the person showing it to you feels about it too. Just to give you an example, Taxco and Guanajuato have no street lights to direct traffic, they rely on people's courtesy or "tránsitos" to control traffic, and this can be seen as ineffective, chaotic or charming depending on many factors - I personally think these towns are lovely :-) The knowledge you have about the place also affects the way you feel about them, when you know the reasons or history behind certain events or aspects of the town it helps you understand it better and you have more chances of liking it (not always of course). And last, but not least, the quality and quantity of your relationships also count. Sometimes you can live in the ugliest town and not care about it because you have lots of great friends with you (or family) that make your life happy OR be in the most happening modern safe place on earth and be miserable 'cause you don't have anybody to share your life with.

By the way bdesj, my dad feels the same way your "suegro" does about the houses here :-)

[Kristen_y_Efrain 0]

Hi guys....now that Efrain and I area settling in, I am starting to think about the whole AOS and EAD process....the paperwork seems endless sometimes, doesn't it?

ANyway, can anyone who has any insight shed some light on the vaccinations for AOS? Efrain doesn't have any records of vaccinations, so he'll have to get all. Do you use the I-693a supplemental form? ANd do you have to go to a civil surgeon for the shots too? Did anyone do this recently who can tell me about how much they cost? Or point me in the right direction. I read the guides and didn't find my answers....

Thanks guys!

[Allie&Leo 0]

Kristen - I had Leo's done about 1 month ago. I called the local civil surgeon (which I found on USCIS.GOV) and made an appointment. I told them he just needed his vaccinations because Medical exam was already done. They had all the forms, etc there and they gave him his vaccintations based off age. He only had a couple done - can't remember which ones. He did not have any done in Mexico. Civil Surgeon seemed to know what they were doing. Bring your A# with you. I didn't have Leo's at the time so they just wrote down his passport # instead. They give you a sealed envelope not to open to send in with your paperwork. Just give your civil surgeon a call and they should be able to handle everything. It was $100. It might be worth it to call around to check on pricing. I didn't but was lazy and wanted to go to the office that was most convenient to me.

good luck. I'm so ready to send off the AOS paperwork. I have all forms completed, checks ready, just waiting on getting marriage certificate in the mail.

Allie

[Louisa 0]

I have mixed feelings about Mexico. I actually lived in Juarez for 5 years with my ex husband. I hated living there because I didn't feel free to leave my home and go as I pleased. I grew up in a very very very small town which I am now living in again. I forget to lock my doors (to my house) and never lock my car, etc, etc. My fiance lives in Mexico City. I enjoy visiting there but would never want to live there because I would feel scared once again to leave the house on my own. It isn't Mexico I am afraid of though because when I was in Mexico this last time we went to visit one of his sisters and I loved the small city she was living in. I felt completely comfortable and would move there now if it wasn't for my children (I have joint custody with their father).

I wrote a hardship letter and am one of the people who quoted negative things about Mexico. I have mixed feelings about my hardship letter because in complete truth the only thing that keeps me here in the US is my children. I wrote many things though that were correct in my hardship letter but that I don't truely feel are real hardships. A good example being violence in Mexico. Yes what I said was true about violence in Mexico but if you think about it there is violence everywhere. Go to any big city in the US and I am sure you will have the same issues as in Mexico City.

When you are forced to prove hardship in order to be with you loved one it makes you become negative if you want to be able to get your hardship letter approved. I try to always be positive and believe I can make it no matter what comes my way so it was extremely difficult for me to come up with my hardship letter.

Sorry I am just going on and on.

[bdesj 0]

E&K- Good point about the situation making a big difference for how people view a place.

Kristen- no idea, sorry.

Louisa- I think that`s what Kitkat was talking about. If you want to prove it`ll be hard, you`ve got to paint it ugly even if you don`t believe it. Have you spent quite a bit of time in DF? How do you see it in comparison to Juarez?

Oh yeah, TJ Hilton- You really lock your car to pump gas in LA? I`m much more careful there than at home, but not to that extent. Of course, it could be that I`m just "askin' for it".

[scroll 0]

E&K- Good point about the situation making a big difference for how people view a place.

Kristen- no idea, sorry.

Louisa- I think that`s what Kitkat was talking about. If you want to prove it`ll be hard, you`ve got to paint it ugly even if you don`t believe it. Have you spent quite a bit of time in DF? How do you see it in comparison to Juarez?

Oh yeah, TJ Hilton- You really lock your car to pump gas in LA? I`m much more careful there than at home, but not to that extent. Of course, it could be that I`m just "askin' for it".

Yes, here in LA I do lock my car when I pump my gas....

[tijuanahilton 0]

Oh yeah, TJ Hilton- You really lock your car to pump gas in LA? I`m much more careful there than at home, but not to that extent. Of course, it could be that I`m just "askin' for it".

Yes, here in LA I do lock my car when I pump my gas....

I certainly do!