US Immigration from Mexico

I am petitioning for my husband and three stepdaughters (ages 18, 16, and 14); each are principal applicants. Originally, the consulate gave my husband and two of my stepdaughters (18 and 16) an interview appointment for September 26. My other stepdaughter (14) was delayed one month at the NVC, so we didn't receive an email for her interview appointment like we did for the others. I immediately sent an NVC expedite, and she was assigned an interview for September 15. I called the consulate to see if they could reschedule her appointment, and they said she could just go to her dad's. When I explained to them that she couldn't because her appointment is BEFORE her dad's, they sent an escalation to request the change. This routine of me calling and them escalating continued for a few weeks.

Last week, they finally responded aaand..... they rescheduled my husband's appointment for September 15. So, now there are two appointments -- one for my husband and stepdaughter (14) on 9/15 and the other for my stepdaughters (18 and 16) on 9/26. I again requested that they be changed to all the same, but the consulate refused.

What we're thinking is that we could take everyone to CDJ for the first appointment and at least do their medical/biometrics -- how long do the medical results last before they expire? We could try to get them to be seen all together, and if that can't happen, we'll just go back for the 26th appointment.

Does that seem feasible? Anything you would do in our situation?

I have a question about travelling abroad after entering the US on an IR5 visa. My wife's parents just received their interview date set for October 4. After approval we will pay the USCIS immigrant fee right away. They will likely be entering the United States as soon as they receive their visas. My question is, it says it may take 90 days to receive the green card in the mail after paying the immigrant fee. We travel to Mexico over Christmas and New Years almost every year and we'd like to take them with us. Will they be able to re-enter the United States without that green card. Is the passport stamp good enough?

On 8/6/2023 at 10:33 AM, Crazy Cat said:

Removal of Conditions is not a fun experience. You should avoid it if, at all, possible.

Context: My husband and stepkids are currently scheduled for their interviews at CDJ in Mexico on September 26, and our plan is to have them cross as soon as they get their visas (hopefully a week or two after - early-ish October). Our second wedding anniversary is March 11. We are (like many of us here on VJ) dying to finally live together; plus, getting my stepdaughters enrolled in school and having my husband get a U.S. job sooner rather than later is a major advantage.

Could you expand a little on why ROC should be avoided if possible? I've read through this thread and others that it is expensive ($595 x 4 for us - goodie!) and is extremely delayed. I guess my initial reaction is - well, sure, it may be a lot more waiting, but at least we'd be waiting together, living together. It's been hell doing all of this paperwork and paying all of this money, plus the waiting and waiting and waiting, all while living apart.

Is the ROC process particularly nerve-wracking? Is there a chance of losing status? Are the chances of getting denied high?

All that to say, this thread has me rethinking our plan a little bit. To wait until March would break my heart and crush me, but I'm curious of ROC is bad enough that it would be worth it to wait.

Hello, my fiance and I are getting a lot of mixed information from the consulate and I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this happening.

We had our k-1 visa interview at Juarez last week and at the interview the agent said the only thing they were missing from us was my (petitioner) long form birth certificate original copy. He said that's all we needed for approval, and we could send it in by post along with the beneficiary's passport, and then they would approve it and send back with the approved visa. He also told us to upload the original birth certificate to the CEAC website and gave us instructions (this didn't work, but that's a whole thing for another post).

So we send everything and it arrives at the consulate after 4 days or so, and then we get a call. It's a different agent, and he says the guy that did our interview forgot to have my fiance take the oath, so he's got to come back to the consulate to do that before they issue the visa. My fiance says no, he took the oath, so the guy goes and checks and sees that he did. And then he said well, we don't have your medical..and my fiance says he did indeed turn that in. So the guy goes and checks again and finds it. THEN he says well, the agent didn't take your fingerprints at the interview, so you have to come back and do that.

Then he says because it's an inconvenience, we can come back anytime/any day and just walk in and they will take his fingerprints and issue the visa same day. My fiance says "I can't get into the consulate without my passport because you guys have it" and the guy says he can show his voter ID and explain the situation and they will let him in.

So all in all, we are extremely tired and frustrated, especially my fiance because he has to buy another plane ticket and fly back to Juarez for what I'm guessing will be another interview. I don't trust them to be organized, so I'm just sure what we should bring just in case. Any advice or words of comfort is greatly appreciated

I'm petitioning for my spouse's CR-1 as a naturalized USC. I seem to be getting conflicting forum discussion on the need for uploading and providing my old a-number.

Could someone please help me understand if this is needed at all for my I-130 application? Is the US passport good enough?