Juarez US Consulate Holiday Schedule?

[Jim&Aura 6]

Hello,

I have a i-129f currently at the CA processing center and have estimated my fiance's visa appointment at the US Consulate in Juarez to be roughly mid-November. The logistics are going to be very challenging beasuse I will need to fly from Portland, OR to Cancun, go pick up my fiance and her kids in Playa del Carmen, then back to Cancun for all of us to fly to Juarez. I am also trying to take enough vacation time to allow for 2 possible Thursday to Tuesday windows in Juarez, but this got me thinking about the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday Nov 25th. Depending on what exact days the US consulate will be close for this, it could impact my travel dates greatly.

So, I was able to find the page below that shows the US consulate/embassys in Mexico holidays for this year:

https://mx.usembassy.gov/holiday-calendar/?_ga=1.219277785.1107177891.1467688474

From this, it appears that the consulate will be closed on 11/11, 11/16, 11/21, 11/24 & 11/30. I expected the closure on 11/24 but the 3 other earlier dates may cause more logistical issues for us.

My question for this forum is... does anyone know if these closure dates are for the Consulate only? Or would they also apply to the other 2 required areas... Medicals & ACS Biometrics?

I am hoping that they are not affected as then I could attempt something like the following:

- Friday 11/11: Medicals

- Saturday 11/12: Biometrics

- Monday 11/14: Visa interview

This would also leave an extra day if needed for the interview, before they will be closed on 11/16.

My understanding is that both ACS and the Medical offices, while certainly doing most/all of their work FOR the consulate, they are not directly affiliated with them... so hopefully that means they are not closed for business on those same days.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[jan22 2,898]

First, you may drive yourself crazy worrying about things like over which you have little control -- the date when the petition will be approved and the case ready for interview. I certainly would not lock any schedule in (i.e., definite vacation dates) until you have received the approval notice.

Second, if your Thursday to Tuesday schedule includes finishing the process and getting the passports with the visas in them back, you need to adjust your schedule unless the plan is for them to then return to Cancun and wait for the passports as the passports are not returned on the same day as the interview.

Third, there are frequently fewer appointments available around the major holiday times, as employees take leave to celebrate with their families. That may make it more difficult to get the exact days you want.

Finally, to somewhat answer your question, the panel physicians and ASCs do maintain their own scheuldes and are open on some days (usually US holidays or administrative days) when the consulates are not. They will most likely be closed for 11/21 (Dia de al Revolucion celebration) and open on the others, as those are US days.

Edited August 21, 2016 by jan22

[acajim 16]

As Jan22 said, be patient and wait. I found an ASC center (CAS in Spanish for Centro de Atencion al solicitante), closer to Cancun, I don't know if it'd help ease your schedule:

CAS Mérida

Centro de Atención a Solicitante
Calle 66, #561D esq. Calle 69,
Col. Centro,
Mérida, Yucatán, C.P. 97000

Lunes a Viernes - 7:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m., Sábado - 8:00 a.m. a 2:00 p.m

I thought maybe your fiancee could go to Merida before you go to pick her up. You can find the list of CAS offices here:

https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-mx/niv/information/asc

[Jim&Aura 6]

Thank you both for your feedback. I do agree that I am somewhat driving myself crazy with this stuff, but in all honesty, it appears to be at least reasonably predictable date-wise, assuming of course that there are no major snags ;-)

This is the logic I used in my estimations:

1- CSV processing time to NOA2: estimated date of 9/28. I have been tracking their processing time every day since getting my NOA1. These times seem to be very consistent... they have actually gained 5 days since I began but even if they don't gain any more it would put me at 9/28.

2- NOA2 to NVC: 3-4 weeks is what seems to be pretty common, so assuming 4 weeks would put me around 10/26

3- NVC to Juarez Consulate: 1 week seems to be standard, putting me at Nov 2nd.

4- I do NOT plan on waiting for the confirmation letter to arrive by mail as I know this can be the cause of lengthy delays. Maria and others in this forum have indicated that it is quite easy to just pick up a copy of this at the information window at the consulate, so that is what I am planning to do.

Given all of this, I think the first possible Thurs-Tues window would be Nov 10th to 15th (8 days after estimated arrival) but I readily admit this may be pushing it. That's why I am hoping to swing a 3 week semi-working vacation block that would also allow me 2 additional Thurs-Tues windows of 17-22nd and 24-29th. Or, I may also opt for a shorter time and just forget about trying for that 10-15th window... but again with the holidays even that may be difficult.

The reason I am trying to be proactive here is that if I wait until the last minute to book my flights to Cancun, they will undoubtedly be much more expensive (2 or 3x the $500 they are now) and the decent flights with short layovers will likely be gone altogether. I know it is a bit of risk-taking but at least it is educated risk-taking. But,

Thanks for the reference to the ASC in Merida. I was actually originally hoping that this entire process could be handled in Merida, but found out just before sending in my i-129f that all K-1's were now processed through Juarez. Unfortunately, I don't think doing this in Merida would really help much because as I understand it, this is a very short part of the process and since we already have to be in Juarez at least 4 days because of the scratch test waiting period for the kids, the ASC can easily be handled the same day or days in between the medical appointments.

Finally, I do not plan to wait in Juarez for them to return the passports with Visas as we will already have the kids out of school more days than is optimal. We will be leaving there as soon as the interview is concluded and having them delivered to her via DHL. My understanding is that this usually only takes about 1 week, so it is preferable to waiting several extra days in Juarez.