Marty80

Any recommendations on what time we should show up at the consulate tomorrow? It is an open appointment from 8:00a to 10:00a. We actually stopped by the consulate after picking up the medical exam results and talked to the guard there (who was very friendly). He basically said there is no reason to show up early because they just make you wait at the corner at the end of the block until 8:00a.

We were thinking of going a bit earlier anyway, but I would be interested in hearing others' experiences and recommendations.

Thanks!

My fiance and I showed up between 8:30 and 9:00am I think. There really is NO reason to get there any time earlier. In fact, you might save yourself a wait if you show up around 9:00am. My fiance did not have to wait in line outside when we showed up as the line of people waiting before had already moved through.

Be prepared with all the correct papers and be honest and things should go well. For us, it went much better than expected.

Hi,

So I take it we will have to be at the consulate on Monday morning to wait in the information line and request them to print the invitation letter. Can me and my fiance both wait in the information line or does only my fiance (as is the case for the interview)? As a side note, it's probably not possible to go to the information line on Saturday, is it?

Thanks,

Martin

They won't let you in the embassy or the medical building unless you have packet 3 which will come in the mail to the USC's address.

I had read elsewhere you can enter the consulate, and they will print the invitation letter for you. But from your statement, I take it you can't. I know others have gone to Juarez without the packet and only instructed to gather the forms online that were needed.

Hello,

We'll go to Juarez this coming Friday for the medical on Monday and interview on Tuesday. I called the consulate and they said our papers were sent, but of course we haven't got them yet. So, reading the instructions online, it says we'll need the invitation letter to attend the medical interview. Should we go to the consulate in the morning before the medical and request the invitation? If so, do we wait with the other interview people at the consulate or is there another line?

Thanks,

Marty

We will go for a waiver appointment on a Friday, so if they approve it, but happen to be late, are we able to pick up from DHL on Saturday?

Thanks for the feedback... I'll keep you updated when we get our papers.

Hello all,

How long does it take for Juarez to send the visa packet? We recieved our approved NOA 2 on December 12th, and the NVC sent a letter on December 19th stating they would forward the information to the consulate within a week. Since then, we haven't heard anything.

Thanks,

Martin

Never had DVR, but think the concept is excellent. I've been without cable now for 6 years, and believe it's one of the better choices I made. Most tv is fairly terrible anyway, although I do watch a lot of dvds (many terrible too), and spend time on the interweb. So far the lady and I don't plan on cable, but we'll see how she feels about it once we're together a while.

Good evening,

We got our NOA 2 from CSC, an email tonight from CRIS at 8:30pm. Thanks for all of those who have been writing on this forum, it's been helpful.

Now we only need to interview and make it through the waiver process.

Happy holidays, and good luck to everyone else.

-Marty

Thanks for the feedback from both of you. Not too much more time before the 6 month mark, so we'll wait and give them another call on Dec 18th. Best of luck to everyone.

Hello,

We filed for a K1 fiance visa and recieved our NOA #1 from the CSC on June 18, 2008. Since that time, I haven't recieved any updates nor touches from them on our case. I called a couple weeks back to check on the status of our case (as I noticed other people who filed later were being approved), and the person I spoke with said they cannot look further into the delay until I get past the 6 month processing time (Dec 18, 2008).

Is this typical, or should I be worried that we haven't recieved any type of update since our first NOA? I know the CSC is a bit longer on processing, but I still find it strange reading other's timelines and seeing they've had at least one touch since the first, and many have been approved.

Thanks,

Marty

Good afternoon,

I'm trying to limit the time we must spend in Juarez. I know we will need one day for medical, and another day for the interview, then we have to wait a few days before we can interview for the waiver. Is it possible to get the medical in another city, prior to going to Juarez? Do they have hours on the weekends for medical exams in Juarez?

-Marty

I think that the only place you can do the medical are the two places they list in Ciudad Juarez.

In the packet of information it says "The only medical offices authorized to perform medical examinations on behalf of this Consulate are:" and then it lists the two places. Also, it says they are open Mon-Fri from 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM.

Thanks, the info has been helpful. Seems we'll need to take the time anyhow.

Good afternoon,

I'm trying to limit the time we must spend in Juarez. I know we will need one day for medical, and another day for the interview, then we have to wait a few days before we can interview for the waiver. Is it possible to get the medical in another city, prior to going to Juarez? Do they have hours on the weekends for medical exams in Juarez?

-Marty

To be clear, my fiance does not currently have a tourist visa. We were thinking of applying for one while they are processing the K1.

Hi,

It is my understanding my fiance (who I filed a K1 visa application for) is not allowed to try getting any other type of visa, including a tourist, while our application is processing. Is this true?

Thanks,

Marty

Does anyone know the term in spanish or a service which provides the same as a notary public?

Thanks again for taking the time to respond. A number of other people also suggested immigrate2us.com. I'll check it out soon, and report back my findings. Have a nice week.

Regards,

Marty

jmmr - No, you would need a certified copy of your certificate, not a notarized copy. Please refer back to that link for your state's vital records office, and it'll probably cost under $20. And the apartment sounds great!

Marty - I'm only somewhat familiar with the waiver process, but I think you should start visiting immigrate2us.net regularly and post some questions there about your situation to see what they recommend. There is a member named Laura Fern (she's one of the moderators of the site and is going to start law school in the fall), and also an immigration lawyer named Laurel Scott. I answered one of your lasts posts about the weekly chat they have there.

Thanks to everyone that answered. This has helped a lot and given me some direction for my next steps. I'll read up on the process some more and likely contact Juarez soon for additional information.

Other suggestions are always welcome.

Thanks again,

Marty

While not completely specific to Juarez, some people may find it helpful to read this or comment on this topic I posted HERE.

Good day,

My fiancé and I already suspected we would have problems getting the K1 visa due to her past. She had filed for a tourist visa in 1999 and they believed one of her documents were false. I contact the Monterrey Mexico consulate where she interviewed for the tourist visa and explained our situation.

The person confirmed we would need a waiver for the K1 to get approved, but said we were unable to file the waiver until she has interviewed at the Juarez consulate and been denied the K1. They suggested we attend the interview, then request the waiver after the K1 is denied, then file it and pay the fee. So long as the waiver is approved, then my fiancé would have to go back to the consulate for a second interview, where they would likely approve the K1.

My question is, we already know the K1 will be denied, so is there some way we can have the waiver filled out, present it to the consulate at the time of the first interview, and possibly get the K1 approved at that time?

First, it seems like an extremely unproductive process, and is adding considerable expenses for us. Each time my fiancé travels to interview I need (should) go with her because the city is not terribly safe. So this adds airfare and then the government is so kind to charge us in excess of $500 to file a waiver. Second, while the fees are irritating, I fear this will add unreasonable processing time too. Having read the Juarez forum, some people comment the consulate will state an additional 10 months to process a waiver.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Marty

Good afternoon.

It seems as though the CSC has been processing K1 visas more quickly recently, within 5-6 months. Is it reasonable to assume processing times are speeding up?

Also, I am guessing it is a poor idea to have a religious ceremony before coming to the states on the fiance visa, despite it not being a legally binding marriage?

One last thing here, I had posted a question about a past problem with a tourist visa in another forum HERE. We would like to clear up any prior problems with this before the interview. My fiance had contacted a complaint line at the Monterrey consulate regarding her past problems with the tourist visa, and explained our situation. They only suggested attending the fiance interview, and said they did not have direct contact with the consulate. Does anyone know how to get in contact and solve past issues with documents regarding visas at the consulates?

Thanks, enjoy the afternoon.

-Marty

Hi Marty,

It looks like some of the newer petitions are being approved in about 4 months.

If you decide to have a religious ceremony DO NOT have your fiance talk about it at her interview or even present photos, even though it's not legally recognized in Mexico. Also don't get in the habit of calling each other husband and wife, since they'll assume you are already married and deny the visa. You've probably read about ChuckNTeresa who applied for a marriage license but never used it, and they had a huge problem at CDJ and had to prove that they weren't already married.

As for the other question about Monterrey... I don't know how to answer that. One thing I could recommend though is visiting immigrate2us.net and logging onto their weekly chat (Wednesdays but I don't remember the time). The chat is answered by Laurel Scott, an immigration lawyer who is also a member of that forum. If you look at the chat logs, you'll notice that most of the questions were short and so were the answers, so you'll have to present your question with probably just 2 sentences...

I'm so glad more of us are keeping this thread alive!

Thanks for the advice. Glad to see processing times are dropping somewhat. I may check out the site you suggested one evening when I get some time. I'm also going to put some calls in to the consulate there and see if I can get in contact with someone and hopefully they will provide some suggestions on how we can resolve the past issues.

Thanks again!

Good afternoon.

It seems as though the CSC has been processing K1 visas more quickly recently, within 5-6 months. Is it reasonable to assume processing times are speeding up?

Also, I am guessing it is a poor idea to have a religious ceremony before coming to the states on the fiance visa, despite it not being a legally binding marriage?

One last thing here, I had posted a question about a past problem with a tourist visa in another forum HERE. We would like to clear up any prior problems with this before the interview. My fiance had contacted a complaint line at the Monterrey consulate regarding her past problems with the tourist visa, and explained our situation. They only suggested attending the fiance interview, and said they did not have direct contact with the consulate. Does anyone know how to get in contact and solve past issues with documents regarding visas at the consulates?

Thanks, enjoy the afternoon.

-Marty

Only wanted to say hello to everyone else on the Juarez Consulate forum. As you can tell, we recently filed.

Thanks to all those who've posted helpful information in the past!

Isn't that a fairly fast turn around for an NOA 2? About three months?

We recently filed at the CSC, and were kind of expecting a longer wait.

Only wanted to take the time and thank all of you for your input and suggestions. All of the information should be helpful going forward.

Thanks,

Marty