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Bad news for us -- they told my fiancee she needs to apply for a waiver. Does anyone have any experience with this?

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!

MEDICAL EXAM REPORTt:

We showed up at the Clinica Medica Internacional at 5:30a. There were already about 200 people already there when we arrived, in a line that snaked around the entrance area of the clinic (outside). Between then and 6:00a when the doors opened, about 100 more people came. Once the doors opened, the line moved relatively quickly. I should note that a good chunk of the people waiting in line were companions of people going for the medical exam, and they had to go stand aside once the line started moving, so there were less people waiting than had appeared at first. Once my fiancee got to the entrance, I went back to the hotel.

Upon entering my fiancee had to wait until about 7:00a. Then she was called to one of the windows where they gave her an ID bracelet. Then she basically just sat in a common area while she was called to different rooms for different parts of the exam. She didn't need any vaccinations (she didn't get the ones needed for AOS), and she was done in almost exactly 3 hours. She paid afterwards. She paid dollars, but says you can pay pesos as well. They told her to come back at 2:00p for the results.

We went back at 2:00p. We had to wait outside in the sun a bit, and then they let the line of people go around to the back of the building in a different entrance where they called their names and gave them their results.

That's about it. Everything was pretty straightforward.

Also of note, when she was called to the window to get her bracelet, they asked her where she was staying.

There is definitely a separate fee from the one you pay to NVC. My finacee paid hers today at the Banamex in the mall near the consulate, and it was $149 USD.

Later he went to pay for the interview at BanaMex. He said he had to go several times. At first he forgot his passport at home so he had to go back and get it. When he came back he let them know that he was paying for the interview and he gave them the money in US dollars but they told him that he had to pay in pesos!! I thought that he could pay either in pesos or us dollars but I guess not. So then he had to go to get pesos. The total fee he had to pay for the interview was 1900 and something pesos, which is the equivalent of 148 us dollars. So know I'm worried because lately I've been hearing that you pay 171 us dollars. I guess we will find out tommorrow. This is really frustrating because you can't even trust what the juarez consulate website has posted. In there posting it states you pay 131 us dollars and it says that it was updated on april 2009. But everyone here has been paying around 171 us dollars. I just hope that tommorrow everything will go well.

Is the $1900MN a special fee for the K-1 visas? Is it a separate fee from the $400 paid to the NVC? The consulate website says nothing about $1900MN in the Packet 4 pdf (linked here).

Oh, and yes, this is for the K-1. We didn't pay any fees to NVC. Only to USCIS for the original application.

There is definitely a separate fee from the one you pay to NVC. My finacee paid hers today at the Banamex in the mall near the consulate, and it was $149 USD.

Later he went to pay for the interview at BanaMex. He said he had to go several times. At first he forgot his passport at home so he had to go back and get it. When he came back he let them know that he was paying for the interview and he gave them the money in US dollars but they told him that he had to pay in pesos!! I thought that he could pay either in pesos or us dollars but I guess not. So then he had to go to get pesos. The total fee he had to pay for the interview was 1900 and something pesos, which is the equivalent of 148 us dollars. So know I'm worried because lately I've been hearing that you pay 171 us dollars. I guess we will find out tommorrow. This is really frustrating because you can't even trust what the juarez consulate website has posted. In there posting it states you pay 131 us dollars and it says that it was updated on april 2009. But everyone here has been paying around 171 us dollars. I just hope that tommorrow everything will go well.

Is the $1900MN a special fee for the K-1 visas? Is it a separate fee from the $400 paid to the NVC? The consulate website says nothing about $1900MN in the Packet 4 pdf (linked here).

I walked down to the consulate just to scope things out. I see that there are 2 clinics right next to the consulate. I guess I missed that fact. Any recommendations on which one to go to? What time we should be there?

We're going for the medical tomorrow morning (so, in about 12 hours I guess!)

And I will definitely try and post my experiences.

My first impressions of the area are that it was built up around the new consulate. There are many new buildings here and quite a few American restaurants (McDonald's, Denny's, Wendy's) and other stores. I guess we will have to go somewhere for some authentic food

Hi guys,

I made it to the Holiday Inn in Juarez! It really wasn't too bad, but since it was my first time driving in Mexico, I was a little nervous. Tomorrow -- medical, Tuesday -- interview!

Can anyone give me driving directions from El Paso to the consulate and/or the nearby Holiday Inn? Paseo de la Victoria must be relatively new because I can't seem to find it on any maps.

From the Holiday Inn website:

FROM EL PASO, TX: CORDOBA-AMERICAS INTL BRIDGE, TAKE AV A. LINCOLN, TURN LEFT ON P. TRIUNFO DE LA REP. TURN RIGHT ON AV. PANAMERICANA, TURN LEFT ON AV TEOFILO BORUNDA UNTIL P. DE LA VICTORIA, AND TURN LEFT. HOTEL IS NEXT TO STAR MEDICA.

Ok, thanks. I saw that. I just wasn't able to find some of those roads on any map of Juarez.

Can anyone give me driving directions from El Paso to the consulate and/or the nearby Holiday Inn? Paseo de la Victoria must be relatively new because I can't seem to find it on any maps.

Thanks for the info. I had assumed it actually did transmit some data to the consulate so that they could associate the bar code with the case. If not, I guess we can re-fill out the form to correct a couple of mistakes?

We are going for the interview on Monday!

We have a question about the online 156 form used by Juarez. After you fill it out and press "continue" to generate the PDF, do you print it out and then sign the paper copy/copies?

Thanks in advance.

Yes. It's not really online in the sense that you are transmitting data. It's only online so that it can generate a unique barcode for everyone. The new 160 actually sends data but, as far as I know, Juarez still isn't using it. Be sure you print out two copies or photo copy the original before you sign it. You need to have two copies with the same barcode.

Nothing gets transmitted to the consulate, so you're free to fill out the form again and fix anything that you might have messed up. The only "electronic" part of it is that it generates a bar code that gets put on the form that you print out, and the consulate can quickly scan it and won't have to manually enter the info. Best of luck to you on Monday!

Thanks!

Thanks for the info. I had assumed it actually did transmit some data to the consulate so that they could associate the bar code with the case. If not, I guess we can re-fill out the form to correct a couple of mistakes?

We are going for the interview on Monday!

We have a question about the online 156 form used by Juarez. After you fill it out and press "continue" to generate the PDF, do you print it out and then sign the paper copy/copies?

Thanks in advance.

Yes. It's not really online in the sense that you are transmitting data. It's only online so that it can generate a unique barcode for everyone. The new 160 actually sends data but, as far as I know, Juarez still isn't using it. Be sure you print out two copies or photo copy the original before you sign it. You need to have two copies with the same barcode.

We have a question about the online 156 form used by Juarez. After you fill it out and press "continue" to generate the PDF, do you print it out and then sign the paper copy/copies?

Thanks in advance.

DS-160

Question for people who have had their K-1 interview recently in Juarez -- are they still using DS-156/DS-156K, or are they using the DS-160 now?

(see here for more info: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html)

Thanks!

Good morning my AP peeps.

I'm getting all of a dither at the moment trying to sort things out in anticipation of our release from NVC....and wanted to ask a quick question.

Last time I called NVC, they took my email address. Does this mean that they will actually contact me when we break out of jail? Or, like everything else to do with NVC, was it just a way of giving misinformation and false hope to their inmates.

Has anyone actually recieved an email from them when they were released? I dont mind calling, but its putting a hell of a dent in my phone bill, and dave is working so many hours at the moment he doesnt have time to even sleep properly.

Thanks......hoping to see more releases today! wooohooo!!!

nah, they just get the email address. I never received ANY correspondence when we were released on good behavior

NVC now lists email as their preferred form of contact, so after calling them a few times, I tried the email route. I didn't get a response from them right away (except for the automatic response). But they did send me an email when they sent the case to the consulate! I also called them right after that to make sure the email was correct, and it was!

So I would recommend sending them an email, and that way they will probably send you an email back when they are done processing your case.

We're out of the NVC! Hopefully the interview will be happening soon.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Congratulations!!

35 days --- that's pretty good!

I manually reloaded the statistics page (since I still don't have the cron working).

You are now listed under the "K1 Stuck and Released" section. Welcome to the "alumni"

Good luck with the rest of the process

Thanks! Yes, 35 days was much better than the 400 some odd days we spent in CSC...

Speaking of port of entry and wedding dates, is it important to schedule these before the interview to make the consulate happy? We've been waiting so long that we don't plan to schedule anything until she actually has the visa.

We're out of the NVC! Hopefully the interview will be happening soon.

Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Hi all,

I have a question about the expiration for the NOA2 for the K-1 visa. I just recently noticed that the NOA2 is only valid for 4 months. I was wondering if that meant the interview needed to be over and the visa issued before the NOA2 expires?

The reason I ask in this thread is that we are in AP as well, and if it takes as long as it has for others, there will only be about 1.5 months of validity left by the time NVC sends it to the consulate, which is a smaller window than I am comfortable with.

Thanks.

No need to worry about your NOA2, or any other things expiring - as long as your case is in USCIS, NVC or USEM hands, it can't expire as it'll be automatically extended. We were in the same boat during our AP stay and our interview was postponed to a date just a few days before our petition expiration date, so we checked both with the NVC and the Embassy here in Zagreb. You'll be safe!

Thank you!

Hi all,

I have a question about the expiration for the NOA2 for the K-1 visa. I just recently noticed that the NOA2 is only valid for 4 months. I was wondering if that meant the interview needed to be over and the visa issued before the NOA2 expires?

The reason I ask in this thread is that we are in AP as well, and if it takes as long as it has for others, there will only be about 1.5 months of validity left by the time NVC sends it to the consulate, which is a smaller window than I am comfortable with.

Thanks.

Congrats! I hope that means we will also be released soon

WELL GUYS I JUST MADE THAT 8:30 AM PHONE CALL TO NVC AND TO MY SURPRISE THEY RELEASED FROM NVC JAIL AND THE PETITIONS HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO BOGOTA , COLOMBIA, JUST TO MAKE SURE I CALLED AGAIN AND YES CASE WAS FORWARDED ON APRIL 10TH TO COLOMBIA........

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ONLY 37 DAYS AT NVC...................................

HOPE EVERYONE GETS RELEASED SOON.........

ALSO WANNA SAY THANKS TO MY STUCK@NVC FAMILY FOR THEIR SUPPORT, I STILL BE CHECKING WITH U GUYS

BLESSINGS

LUISH

We are also in "additional processing" at the NVC. There is a thread about it in the NVC forum.

Hello, i am new to visa journey, and i had a question, i recieved my NOA 2 Notice on feb. 17. I finally called the NVC and they said that it is going through additional processing, that is really making me worried, did anyone else get this for thier k-1?

My fiancee will have her interview at the Juarez consulate (if our case ever gets out of NVC that is

The Juarez Consulate has a document on their website listing documents that can be used as evidence. However, the vast majority of them seem to me to only applied to people already married, such as joint property, joint utility bills, joint bank accounts, etc. If one has a fiance(e) in a foreign country, clearly that kind of evidence doesn't exist (yet).

Of course she will bring things to the interview like phone logs, chat logs, emails, airline tickets and photos. My question is, is that sufficient for a K-1 visa?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Well, after waiting about 1 year and 3 months to get our NOA2, I was really hoping we would get through NVC quickly, but tonight I found out that we are also in AP. The person I talked to was friendly, but wouldn't give me a reason or a timeframe in which it would be done. She recommended that I call back every week to check.

YES, you have to talk whit a real person, becouse the automated system dont be able to find the k-1 cases, so the best moment to find someone is around 11 pm, so good luck!!

Thanks for the tip. I was calling last night and couldn't get through. I like how the message tells you to call back after 6:00p. I was 11:00p already!

Anyway, I got through this morning and they have received our case.

So just to be clear, you have to talk to an operator if you are an K-1 filer? I tried that but have not been able to get through yet. So I tried pressing "1" and entering my USCIS case number. It said they have no record of my case yet. But that might just be just because it is a K-1 visa. Could some clarify? Thanks.

We got our NOA2 recently after waiting for over a year. Hopefully that should give you guys some hope.

Hey guys,

I just wanted to let you know that 465 days after CSC received our application and 402 days after the NOA1, I recieved a most unexpected call this morning from my lawyer saying he had received the NOA2! Like others have mentioned, my online status was also not updated to reflect this. Now mind you, I haven't actually seen the NOA2 yet, but I thought I would share the good news.

Hopefully this gives some hope to Sara, Wendy and others who have waited so long. Good luck to all!