Jim&Aura

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone could advise me on how to request an extension to the Visa interview deadline in Juarez, Mexico. Despite our best efforts, it looks like we will not be able to make it to Juarez before the initial deadline (22-Dec, 2016). Unfortunately, one of my fiance's family members came down with a serious illness and since my fiance is the primary person taking care of her, there is simply no way that she can leave town for the near week that would be required to do the interview in Juarez.

I remember reading somewhere that an extension can be requested, but now I cannot seem to locate it. Also, for those who may requested this in the past, is there anything special I need to know? Do you typically just request the extension time that you prefer and provide the reason why? Any advice on this would be highly appreciated!

Hello everyone,

I was wondering if someone could advise me on how to request an extension to the Visa interview deadline in Juarez, Mexico. Despite our best efforts, it looks like we will not be able to make it to Juarez before the initial deadline (22-Dec, 2016). Unfortunately, one of my fiance's family members came down with a serious illness and since my fiance is the primary person taking care of her, there is simply no way that she can leave town for the near week that would be required to do the interview in Juarez.

I remember reading somewhere that an extension can be requested, but now I cannot seem to locate it. Also, for those who may requested this in the past, is there anything special I need to know? Do you typically just request the extension time that you prefer and provide the reason why? Any advice on this would be highly appreciated!

Ok, so long story kinda short, my Mexican fiance only has an "after-the-fact" Birth Certificate (Acta de nacimiento extemporanea) that she obtained last year. Her original BC was destroyed in a fire when she was a girl living with her parents, so she got this after we decided to file the I-129f package. At the time, I did not think there was any effective difference between this and a regular "original" BC, but come to find out, if the BC is issued with a registered date more than 3 years after birth, there are additional requirements in order to obtain a passport. My fiance called SRE and spoke with an agent about the list of additional documents needed to get a passport with this type of BC and while we will try to obtain some of them, it may prove to be problematic since most of the documents required (like birth certificates of family members, her school records, etc) were lost in the same fire that destroyed her original BC. Another forum member suggested that we might be able to obtain a copy of her original BC by travelling to the nearest larger city Civil Registry, so we will try that as well, but since she is from a very small village, I'm not sure that will work either.

Bottom line though, we are hoping that at least something will come through that will enable her to get her passport.

However, my question then would be about the Visa interview itself. Is this "Acta de nacimiento extemporanea" likely to cause problems when we get to the interview stage? I seem to remember reading somewhere that this type of BC could cause issues, but at the time, I didn't realize this is what she had, so I didn't bookmark the page and now I can't find it. So, I am wondering if anyone has either been through the interview process with a "Acta de nacimiento extemporanea" and if so, do they just require the same additional documents that the SRE requires for passports? Or, is there something else that they might ask for?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Thank you both for your suggestions... I really appreciate it! I figured that there had to be alternatives for cases like this and you both pointed out 2 good ones. I think we will first try to get that checklist of additional requirements and hopefully she can meet enough of those to suffice.

On a somewhat related note, I just got my NOA2 today... a full 3-4 weeks earlier than expected! So, while this is great news, now we REALLY have to move on the passport issue...

Thanks Jose... I think the issue might be as follows with that last sentence (in red text below). Because when I look at the electronic copy i have of her BC, the "Fecha de Registro" shows as the date within the last year that she obtained this BC on... so most certainly WELL outside of 3 years of her birth. Her "Fecha de Nacimiento" shows correctly as the date she was born, but this registration date is now what I am worried about.

Certainly, there must be some kind of an exception, but I can't find it anywhere. Maybe it indeed the 5 year waiting period but that still seems ridiculous to me! So what, anyone that lost or doesn't have their original BC and the appropriate Civil Registry can't find the record... that person can never get a passport? or has to wait 5 years? This cannot be an isolated case as I have heard of many problems with original birth records being lost.

 Birth certificate—you will need to take your original or a certified copy of your birth

certificate and two letter-size copies (of your birth certificate) to your appointment. The birth

certificate must indicate that you were registered within three years of your birth.

So, my Mexican fiance & I are about half way between our NOA1 & NOA2, so I am in the process of preparing for the next steps. We were just about to start the process of applying for her and her kid's passports, but an troubling situation has come up with her birth certificate that seems like it may cause a problem.

Here's the issue... she has an official, certified birth certificate that she obtained within the last year from a Civil Registry (CR) office in or near the very small town where she was born. She had to obtain this after we decided to file the I129-f because she had lost her original one that was issued from there when she was born.

However, here is the key qualifier (as I understand it anyway... there is a language barrier that sometimes causes some confusion on technical issues like this)... when she went to the CR, they could not locate the record of her birth in their records. Apparently, there was a fire or something a few years back that had caused some records to be lost but also, this is a very small town... more like a village in the middle of nowhere... so it's also possible that they just lost it, but regardless of how... they didn't have it.

However, despite this, they were actually able to issue her a signed and official birth certificate anyway. She had used her original BC to obtain her CURP and subsequent ID (back before she lost her original BC), both of which she presented to them as proof of identity. In addition, there was something about some local residents vouching for her that remembered her and her family from when they lived there some years ago (or something like this).

So, we assumed everything would be fine since she has an official BC along with a matching CURP & ID card... meeting the requirements to get her a passport. Unfortunately though, I guess that someone at that Civil Registry has subsequently notified her that she can only use this "type" of BC to obtain a passport after 5 years has passed! This seems crazy to me... if they issued her an official BC, then they verified her identity already, so why would there be a 5 year waiting period before you could use that to apply for a passport? This doesn't make sense to me because what would waiting 5 years accomplish or prove?

So, I am really hoping this is a mistake. Maybe this person didn't know what they were talking about? I am tempted to have her make a passport appointment and try anyway, but I thought that i would check here and see if anyone had any knowledge about this kind of issue first.

Any feedback or personal experiences in this area would be greatly appreciated.

OK... thank you both for the valuable information! :-)

So, I originally was happy to see that the US Consulate in Juarez had 3 approved medical offices close by. However, after realizing that my fiance's kids would be required to wait 3-4 days for the results of their scratch-test, this appears to more of a hindrance, at least logistically. Mainly, because this will require at least 2-3 additional days be spent in Juarez.

But, I have seen at least 1 post here indicating that official Medicals were actually performed in Mexico City, so that got me thinking...

Are there other approved medical offices for immigration purposes elsewhere in Mexico? Or, are the only official ones in Juarez & Mexico City? If there are indeed other locations, would anyone know where to find that information? I remember searching a few months back but couldn't find anything.

Ideally, would be looking for a facility in Playa del Carmen, but even Cancun would be a big help. In reality, even Merida would be preferable since my fiance and kids could do that in 1-2 days easily and save 3+ in Juarez.

Any insight into this would greatly appreciated.

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.

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!

My wife actually sent ME money, to come over to her... and paid the hotel too, in advance of me coming. I couldnt afford it at the time.

Wow! Thats amazing, considering that probably 95% of filipinas would not even be able to come close to affording to do something like that. While I am sure you were very happy for her generosity, if any of the girls I was involved with would have offered that, I would have probably been very skeptical and figured they were trying to set me up to be kidnapped for ransom lol.

Actually, one of the girl I knew did try to sell me something a bit similar...

I told her that I couldnt come see her because I couldnt afford it yet (I was actually lying because I already suspected her) and she countered by saying she would come to visit me. I asked how she would afford it (not even talking about the impossibility of her getting a tourist visa) and she said her relative left her some land and she would sell some of it and get the money. Playing along with her lie, I asked her how much she would get for it. She replied saying 1 million. I said oh cool, that's like $25k USD. She said oh no, she meant $1 million USD lol! We were on skype an it was one of the hardest things I've ever done... to somehow squelch the laughter emanating from within myself. Funnier yet, she told me that this was only a small portion of the land she had inherited. Seriously funny stuff really. She even continued to swear she was coming to my town to see me lol... even said she arrived at my airport and somehow saw me around my house but then got cold feet and decided not to meet me lol. At this point I knew it was all lies so was just kinda playing along to see how ridiculous she would get. Really looking back, it was quite comical. Most of them have become much more refined in their scams now... making them much more believable for those without some inherent knowledge of their culture and living conditions.

Can you clarify your last statement? You said that his income was right on the $31k line, but then said that his 2015 total was only $26k. Are you saying that he only made $26k last year but is on track to make $31k this year? Meaning, if you, for instance, take his paystubs for Jan1-Jun30 this year, do they add to $15.5K, which would extrapolate to $31k annually? If this is the case, I am not sure how they judge it, but I agree that you should send in every piece of documentation available to support him making at least $31k this year and going forward.

aleful makes a good point... since the official MINIMUM requirement for a family of 4 on the most recent form I-864P is $30,375, I would assume that if your sponsor's income was around that number or lower, that is why they are asking for more supporting evidence. Frankly, i would have thought that his tax returns would have been required already. Otherwise, without that proof, anyone could claim they make any amount of income, right?

I don't know the inner workings here but logic dictates that in cases where the applicant/sponsor is very close that minimum number, they would pursue more due diligence than in a case where the sponsor far exceeded that number. Add to this the fact that you say he has no assets to claim, it is not surprising that they are asking for more information. All you can really do at this point is comply with their request, hope for the best, but alternatively pursue alternate sponsors that have a bit more breathing room over that $30,375.

Thank you both very much for your thoughtful replies! They set my mind at ease... well, at least as much as that is possible at this point in time ;-)

A few responses to points/questions you had...

- on my bullet 4d above... yes, I am talking about potential difficulties getting my fiance's mother's BC. We certainly have my fiance's BC... I have filled in all data on all forms to match the information contained on it.

- I think you are both right... I got into a rabbit hole on the g-325a... starting to 2nd guess everything that is not 100% complete, but it really seems that not having all fields filled in on it should not be an issue, especially regarding her parent's info.

- as to the actual I-129f form, i feel pretty good about it. I have completed all of my information, as well as for my fiance and her 3 kids... all of which matches their BC's, which i have electronic copies of just to be sure. The only piece missing is the date that I filed this ap for my previous wife about 17 years ago. I had all of the other info for this, including her A #, etc. I actually went to my local USCIS office to try to get this date but they would not release to me but indicated that leaving it blank should not be an issue since someone in the ap process can look it up if needed. Still, I included an attached paragraph explaining exactly this just in case. Other than that, I just had to change the city of US Consulate 36.a from Merida to Cd Juarez, so i just need to print another copy and sign and then should be ready to send in the packet.

- about the birth certificates needed for the Visa application/interview process... I was previously thinking copies meant photo copies... but now i am thinking that actually mean official copies. I believe my fiance currently only has 1 copy of her BC and her kid's. So, I am assuming she will need to get maybe 3 more official copies of each before this appointment?

Thanks again for all your help!

Big thanks to all 3 of you for the airline suggestions. I have bookmarked all of their sites for future searching purposes.

Agree that Cancun airport not ideal right now but since I am just about to file the I-129f package, a typical 4-5 month wait could end up putting us in the Oct-Dec time-frame for flights... which is low season for Cancun so might get a bit of much needed financial relief there. Still, the fact that these tickets will have to be booked on very short notice is a bit concerning... but it's unavoidable in this case so will just have to deal with it.

Thanks again for all your help on this and my other threads! it is greatly appreciated!

Hello everyone,

I am about to file the I-129f (K-1/2 Visa) package for my Mexican fiancé and her 3 children. I recently discovered that their eventual interview will have to take place in Ciudad Juarez, not Merida as I had first thought. One of the repliers to my thread about that issue copied this link that provides great information about the specific process in Juarez. However, a couple of pieces of information there prompted a few questions that I am hoping someone can answer for me.

http://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Mexico&cty=Juarez

1) First and foremost, I only need 2 g325-A’s in our I-129f packages (one for me and one for my fiancé), correct? I just want to make sure that I also don’t need one for each of her 3 children.

2) The reason I ask #1 above is that in the Packet 3 section of the page linked above, it states the following: “All applicants, regardless of age, are required to appear in person at the Applicant Service Center (ASC) prior to the consular appointment date”. I understand this to mean that the 3 kids will need to attend the ASC/Biometrics(fingerprint) appointment. But, is this only to fingerprint them in preparation for issuance of their K-2 Visas? Or, are they part of the Biometric interview process? The latter question is why I ask if g-325a’s are required for the children.

3) Also, even if the kids are not part of any actual interview, is there any recourse that can help prepare my fiancé for this phase? Or, do I have it wrong and there is no interview here like will take place afterwards with the actual consular officer for the Visa.

4) Finally, the reasons I am somewhat concerned about the g-325a piece (at least for my fiancé), is as follows:

a. We do not have much information about her father… only his name and nationality as they are listed on her birth certificate… as he left the family when she was very young and they haven’t heard anything from him since. I was told by a local USCIS officer that this should not be an issue, so hoping that is true.

b. Another concern is in her employment area. She is a professional massage therapist and has had 3 jobs as such since being in the workforce. She only has 1 4-month gap between her 2^nd and 3^rd jobs as she was laid off due to lack of business volume, then found a job at another spa 4 months later. However, I have heard that gaps in this section could be problematic. Should I include an explanation for this gap as an attachment?

c. Also, I am somewhat concerned about the ability of officials to validate information on her form, mostly in the employment section. Her first (and by far longest) employment was in a small fishing village in SE Mexico and she worked there as an independent massage therapist on the beach. Frankly, there is probably literally no way to validate this. I guess my question is, what types of things do they focus on validating on this form? Also, what if she loses her current job by the time of the interview? This is a concern because low season has hit again in her area and demand for massages is again very low.

d. Finally, and somewhat related to the validation question in #c above, I am unsure what official documents her mother has. Her correct name and Mexican nationality are reflected on my fiance’s birth certificate but upon last check, her mother did not have a copy of her birth certificate. Furthermore, he mother now lives in another country (which I have listed on my fiance’s g-325a form) as she met and married a man from that country and moved there to live with him. Because of this, it may be problematic if she is somehow asked to produce her birth certificate. This is why I would like to know how likely this will be a concern because it could take quite a long time to obtain a copy and I want to avoid delays if at all possible.

Thank you very much for any feedback & advice!

Thank you very much jan22! I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this in detail. It does make sense from a logical standpoint... i was just surprised and disappointed last night but after discussing today with my fiance, I am sure we will be able to work it out... it's just going to cost quite a bit more and be more difficult to arrange and plan.

You mention that Mexico has good internal flights but I didn't find any through use of Kayak. Do you happen know the names of any of these airlines? I assume that they are probably not indexed in Kayak's engine.

Thanks for the feedback... yes, I know that this I-129F packet is going to the Texas lockbox, but the sample letter of intent (which I'm pretty sure I got off this site) indicated the address of the eventual receiving consulate should be contained on this letter.

However, although I am not as well-versed on the "what's to come" of this process... like after the NOA2, etc... i do believe I remember seeing that another letter of intent to marry will be required much closer to the actual Visa interview. So, can I assume that it is that 2nd letter of intent in which it is more important to have the correct consulate reflected, effectively making the address on this 1st copy nearly useless/not needed?

OK, so I just found out that contrary to my prior findings, my Mexican fiance will have to go the the US Consulate in Ciudad Juarez... not Merida as I had originally thought. I double checked the US Consulate Merida webpage and I suppose that when I originally looked at the page many months ago, I saw the sub-page for K-1 Visas and either assumed that alone meant that they processed them or, I simply mis-read the statement that says these are only handled in Juarez.

Unfortunately, this puts me in a tough spot so I wanted to ask for some expert opinions on the matter.

I have just returned from Playa del Carmen, where I had my fiance sign both the g-325a & Fiance Letter of Intent. Unfortunately, I included the address of the US consulate in Merida on this form, so now it is not valid since it needs to reflect the address in Juarez.

I will not be going back to visit for several months and we need to file the I-129f package well before that (was planning to send tomorrow or Wed before discovering this issue).

So, I guess my first questions is... does the signature on this form have to be original (meaning actual ink signature and not a photo copy of the signed page)? If not, then I can fix it by printing the correct address in Juarez in the same space, the physically taping it over the bad Merida address and taking a photo copy of that.

However, if it does require an original ink signature, what would some recommendations be? I can think of the following:

1- Printing a corrected copy and sending it to her via carriers such as FexEx, DHL, etc to sign and then return to me using same method. This is NOT optimal and I hope not the only reasonable option. I have already had horrible experiences with FedEx in the Cancun/Playa area and want to avoid relying on this at all costs. Also, this will be another waste of time and money, neither of which I desire.

2- Leave form as is (with original signature but wrong address) and include in I-129f package but include a cover letter stating the circumstances of the incorrect address.

a- If I go this route, should I correct the address on my letter of intent? or would mis-matching addresses likely lead to further issues?

Any feedback on these options or others would be highly appreciated!

Wow! Seriously? This is a major blow! Mexico is a huge country (land-mass wise) so I naturally figured they would have multiple options. And if they only have 1, why make it literally as far as possible away from the vast majority of Mexican citizens? Clearly I am not an expert on this topic but this just does not make sense to me.

My fiance has never been on a plane before I had fully intended on being with her for what I hoped her first time would be... Cancun to the US. I know it's a long time off but i guess i need to start looking at flights from Cancun to Juarez... since that is obviously way to far to attempt by bus!

Thanks for the feedback!

Hello everyone. I am about to file the I-129f package for my fiance Aura, a Mexican citizen living in Playa del Carmen, Mexico (Quintana Roo). In my initial search for the nearest US Consulate/Embassy that handles K-1 Visa interviews & Processing, it seemed that the location below in Merida was the closest.

United States Department of State
United States Consulate, Merida, Mexico
X 58 A Y 56 A, Calle 60 338 K

Alcala Martin, 97050 Merida

Yucatan, Mexico

However, upon further reflection, it seems a bit strange to me that there would not be one in the entire Quintana Roo. I would be very grateful if someone familiar with this area could provide some advice on this topic. Realistically, there are probably only 2 possibilities in QR... Cancun & Chetumal. Chetumal is about the same distance from Playa del Carmen as Merida is, so no real help there, but Cancun would be ideal since it is about 1/4th the travel time of going to Merdia.

Thank you in advance for any advice on this matter!

Thank you KDC! You have set my mind at ease :-) well, at least as much ease as possible while on the precipice of sending off the packet ;-)

OK, so after many months of preparing, I am finally within a few days of being ready to submit my i129-f package. However, in going through what feels like my 50th double-check of the main form, I just realized that the expiration date is 6/30/2016, which of course was just a few days ago.

So, my main question is... should I be concerned with this? At this point, I am hoping to send the packet to the Dallas lockbox on either Tue or Wed, 7/5 or 7/6. Can I assume that as long as I keep checking the USCIS site to make sure that the form has not been updated to a new version (right up until the day that I send it), should I be ok?

Also, can someone tell me how they determine which service center the packet is forwarded to when it is ready to leave the Dallas lockbox processing? Is this based on something like the closest one to where I live? Or is it determined by something else or maybe even totally random?

Thanks in advance for any feedback on this!

Hello everyone,

I am a US citizen and I met my Fiance (Aura) a little over a year ago. She is Mexican and lives in Playa del Carmen. I am headed down there in a few weeks and my intent is to take care of everything needed for the I-129F package, which I plan to complete and send in shortly after my return from this trip.

Since it is quite difficult (or at the very least, expensive and troublesome) to obtain certain things long distance, I want to make sure that I am not missing anything.

By looking through the "Assembling the I-129F package" checklist on this site, I have identified 2 forms that need to have Aura's signature on them:

1- Statement of intent to marry (her copy)

2- G-325A Demographics Form (her copy)

I am filling out these and all the forms for the package and plan to take the complete 2 above so that she can sign them while I am there. I will probably print out a few for her to sign just in case 1 gets damaged or lost.

So, given this, these are my questions:

1- Are these the ONLY 2 forms that will need her signature at this point in the process?

2- Do either of these forms need to be notarized?

3- Is there anything else that I might be missing, such as her needing a passport prior to filing, etc?

Notes:

1- I already have passports style photos of her

2- She has never been married so I do not need a Divorce Decree from her

From what I understand, other requirement of her, such as Police Clearance certificate, Medical Certification/Immunization records, Passport, etc can all be gathered while waiting for the I-129F package to be processed, so I don't believe those are super high priority at this time, but please let me know if this is incorrect.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

Jim