DCF started today in Mexico City

[johnnydobbins 1]

I filed our I-130 packet today in Mexico City and it was a breeze.  We showed up early, found the right line and obtained those important little 'tickets' to enter the building.  We were the first in the USCIS office there and the person who received us was very nice and polite.  The first thing he said when he saw my permanent residents card was, how else can you prove you've been living in Mexico more than three months.  I had a brand new passport with one entry stamp in it which caused him to say "it looks like you've been here about a week".  Thankfully having lease details solved that.  A word of advice to anyone else going in to DCF, have more than your Temp or Perm residents card handy to prove you've been living in the country.

 

He reviewed the full packet of affidavits, leasing details, 3 years of joint travel documents, a similar amount of photos and the reviewed our original certificates, etc.

 

He asked for a copy of my beneficiaries visa (b1/b2 border crossing card) --which we had not expected and did not copy but we did have the card.  He made a quick copy for us, wrapping up the doc review.

 

At the end, he read out what their process was (noa1, noa2 then Juarez) and that it takes 'about 8-9 months' for the entire process but their part should be fast.  I'm thinking the DCF approach will not take that long, but it was nice of him to just explain everything as clearly as possible so we understood it.

 

We followed the Mexico City DCF guide shared here by another user and it was very helpful.  Now we're just looking for our NOA1 and NOA2 to come hopefully quickly so we can start preparing for Juarez.

 

Some notes about the Embassy: 1) they will store your bag and electronics for you so don't resort to using anyone in the street for that. 2) have your appointment letter. 3) When 'getting in line' find and clear yourself with the 'embassy worker' who is there so you get those necessary tickets (ours were purple squares) to enter the building.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2019 by johnnydobbins

[Just Paul 4,591]

Congrats!   Hopefully you will get email, like us, saying the case has been sent to the embassy in a few days!

[Boiler 43,433]

Must admit I  thought they had closed the office, good to hear it is still open.

[HRQX 4,145]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Must admit I  thought they had closed the office, good to hear it is still open.

Cuidad Juarez office is the one that closed: https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/mexico-uscis-ciudad-juarez-field-office

https://www.aila.org/infonet/uscis-to-close-all-international-offices-by-2020

[johnnydobbins 1]

HRQX Is correct here; the USCIS office at the Embassy in Mexico City is open.  They did close the USCIS office at the Consulate in Juarez.  Folks often get confused because, oddly enough, all of the Consulate Interviews for CR/IR-1 happen at the Juarez consulate.  So while you can't file your I130 in Juarez, the interview will be Juarez.  

 

People who were previously covered by the Juarez USCIS office geographic region, they now fall into the Mexico City USCIS geographic region.

[Just Paul 4,591]

1 hour ago, johnnydobbins said:

They did close the USCIS office at the Consulate in Juarez.

Monterey stopped accepting petitions too.

[Boiler 43,433]

As will Mexico City.

 

DCF used to be a few months, perhaps increased workload?

Edited August 30, 2019 by Boiler

[geowrian 22,335]

I don't believe Mexico City has picked up all territories that the other 2 had.

[johnnydobbins 1]

20 minutes ago, geowrian said:

I don't believe Mexico City has picked up all territories that the other 2 had.

According to USCIS, they have.

 

Quote

The USCIS Field Office in Mexico City, Mexico, will assume responsibility for certain immigration services provided to individuals residing in the Mexican states of Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Durango, Sinaloa, and Sonora (see table below).

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/mexico-uscis-ciudad-juarez-field-office

https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-offices/mexico-uscis-monterrey-field-office

 

Doesn't hurt to check before misguiding people with hunches.  Also, Mexico City USCIS isn't just 'Mexico" its:

 

Quote

USCIS Mexico City is in the Latin America, Canada and the Caribbean District and has jurisdiction over U.S. immigration matters in Canada, Cuba and Mexico

 

And they don't have a firm date yet for closure so if any of you are wanting to DCF, I would.  Don't be discouraged by 'closure' notices until its actually posted on the USCIS website.  Also, email USCIS in Mexico City to confirm if you have questions --they typically respond in under a day.

 

There is a lot of confusion around this for some reason I guess because people keep making posts that aren't backed up anywhere.  I would always confirm directly w/ Mexico City on any questions you may have.

 

Edited August 30, 2019 by johnnydobbins

[MexicoExpat 18]

Did you have any issues making the appointment to file the I-130. I'm also about to start this process in Mexico City, and whenever I visit the USCIS website to book the appointment, it says there are no appointments available. I'm hoping they haven't already stopped accepting applications due to USCIS closures abroad.

[johnnydobbins 1]

15 minutes ago, MexicoExpat said:

Did you have any issues making the appointment to file the I-130. I'm also about to start this process in Mexico City, and whenever I visit the USCIS website to book the appointment, it says there are no appointments available. I'm hoping they haven't already stopped accepting applications due to USCIS closures abroad.

It was tough to get the appointment scheduled; we checked every morning early and it appears they open a one month block all at once.  Just check every day and you'll eventually see a lot of them open up and then they go fast over the following days.

 

I was able to get an earlier appointment that the one we got when the full month opened just by checking every day; you'll see random days and times open when people cancel their appointments.

 

Don't give up, be persistent --you'll get the appointment!

[johnnydobbins 1]

18 minutes ago, MexicoExpat said:

Did you have any issues making the appointment to file the I-130. I'm also about to start this process in Mexico City, and whenever I visit the USCIS website to book the appointment, it says there are no appointments available. I'm hoping they haven't already stopped accepting applications due to USCIS closures abroad.

 

They have not stopped accepting appointments yet and do not have a scheduled close date.  Try every day and you'll get one either when the next full month opens up or when someone cancels. 

[MexicoExpat 18]

On 9/2/2019 at 6:27 PM, johnnydobbins said:

 

They have not stopped accepting appointments yet and do not have a scheduled close date.  Try every day and you'll get one either when the next full month opens up or when someone cancels. 

How long did it take you to see something available pop up? And do you know when they open up the full months?

 

I've been checking every and there's never anything available, except one day I checked at 7am and there was an appointment open for 8am that same day.

[vivimos 0]

On 9/12/2019 at 6:47 AM, MexicoExpat said:

How long did it take you to see something available pop up? And do you know when they open up the full months?

 

I've been checking every and there's never anything available, except one day I checked at 7am and there was an appointment open for 8am that same day.

The appointments for September were available Tuesday, August 20th around 11 AM in the morning. Maybe October appointments will be the 20th, or maybe Tuesday the 17th, or Tuesday the 24th. There were appointments available through the evening of the 20th.

Good Luck. We submitted the I-130 on September 5th and were approved a few days later.

[MexicoExpat 18]

Thanks for the info - I'll make sure to keep checking around those dates.