Lia792

They took 2 months for us and we went last week and applied again. Also, look into making an appointment for the office because we had to wait an hour for anyone to see us and they wanted my husband's birth certificate, green card, and passport.

Czmjacq,

I think you should get in contact with your Representative or Senator. Get them to make an inquiry and speed things up. Most of them even have areas on their websites for dealing with immigration matters.

Arianak,

I think La Quinta has a pool, but also there is a mall close by. From what I hear it has a movie theater...I would definitely not go sightseeing within CJ.

We never got the social security card, so we went to wait in line last week. We waited for an hour to talk to someone, and the lady sent us away because apparently we needed his birth certificate, green card and passport and we didn't have the first one with us. So we had to come back the next day. Then they said it will be another two weeks before we even get it. After that, he can get a driver's license.

sorry czmjacq they are being jerks. Here's what their own policy says:

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_778.html

you would have to have taken Mexican citizenship with the intention of relinquishing American. Clearly, you haven't. That's probably what they want to clear up but it's a really dumb thing to make someone go to CJ for.

Jaremedios,

You can see how long they will keep the petition alive for. It should just take an occasional email to get them to hold onto it and I think we had figured out it may be at least a year or two, but you could always get lucky.

He got the green card and now it just means that that is the official documentation and the one in the passport is just the temporary one. We are still waiting for his social security number, though, so I think we will have to go to the office. Luckily, there is one really close by.

Good luck to everyone else, Sorry we don't have internet so I only check once a day really quickly.

Jaremedios, I totally support you in your decision. We decided to come to the US for many reasons, among them that my husband needs to finish his education and that will be easier for him in the US, and that he wasn't able to meet my family until now, but I envy you being able to stay in Mexico.

From what the US Embassy says, you can't get a divorce in Mexico unless you have been a Mexican resident for at least 6 months:

http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/faqs.html#Marriage/Divorce

Hi Jilly and Danny,

My husband didn't have a tourist visa so he couldn't fly into El Paso, but I have heard of people doing that from the US so as not to fly into CJ. From what my husband said, he just went to a sitio/ taxi site and they said that they charged according to zones and for that zone it would be a certain amount (something around 200 pesos; I know I mentioned the amount earlier.)They don't take the tourist visa away until the interview. Also, there are a lot of people on www.smf.juarez-mexico.com who use a specific taxi driver for certain errands such as driving them across the border and many of them recommend him. His phone number and web site are available on that site. I think his name is Victor something, and that could give you a sense of how much the taxi would cost.

Here's a link:

http://www.smf.juarez-mexico.com/index.php?topic=13501.0

Having done a lot of paperwork in Mexico, I infinitely prefer American legal paperwork over Mexican. I don't think you have to get divorced where the marriage took place, but I have no experience in this. You should probably do research into what each one requires.

czmjacq, there are some members from www.smf.juarez-mexico.com in CJ right now and they were saying that on Friday both consulate and clinics were closed, and the consulate is also going to be closed on Monday. I'm sorry you guys are in this difficult situation, and I think the consulate is being entirely irresponsible in advising people they need to be there in CJ anyways "just in case" when there is a bomb threat. Good luck in whatever you choose to do and be safe. I don't know where you guys are staying if you are going, but I would recommend something a little more removed from the consulate like La Quinta.

http://www.smf.juarez-mexico.com/index.php?topic=22090.0

I'm really sorry for you guys that have upcoming interviews, because that just adds more stress to a situation which already has tons of unknowns. In the long run, this may be a really good thing if they finally accept that it is a terrible place for the immigrant visa post.

Keka, the last time they had an unscheduled closing was a couple months ago when a couple consular employees were shot after a party and they closed for one unscheduled day. Before that, I believe the last one was during the flu epidemic and many people had to be re-scheduled last summer.

If the interview letter takes a really long time and looks like it isn't arriving, you can also always call them and see if they will email it to you. We tried but they wouldn't.

Yes

You can find out the interview date by email, and if you never get the letter, you can go to Ciudad Juarez and request the letter at the information window. You still have to have it before you go to the medical.

You got it right, Jaremedios...we did get the interview letter, just 2 weeks after we found out the date by telephone, and before that, the Packet 3 letter arrived about a week or 10 days after we got the email response. (whatever my profile says.)

Hi all,

I don't remember saying that MM or whatever is not enough, but I saw it somewhere else; I have no idea where. What I had seen by reading as many visa experiences as I could find on the web was that those who had come from Mexico (had not had their shots done in the US) did not have luck getting those shots accepted by the medical clinic. I can't guarantee what they will or will not accept; what I am saying is what I have read online. You can also call their phone number listed on the consulate's website. I actually estimated my prices and things from the medical prices listed at the Canadian clinic, which might explain why my husband's actual one turned out cheaper.

Packet 4 is the interview date and tells you what you can bring into the interview. You need the interview letter to get into the medical and the actual interview. You can find out the interview date faster by calling...I think I might have left the N/As blank but I can't really remember. Maybe someone who did it in the last couple weeks remembers what they did?

yup...that is about standard for a CR-1/IR-1 because they generally don't accept vaccination records from Mexico. We did not try, though. I had calculated that cost before - $344 USD, but that comes to about 4500 in pesos. I would be prepared for anywhere from 3500 pesos to 4500 for a CR-1/IR-1 and less for a K-1 because you don't need vaccines.

clinic - Medica Internacional Juarez (or something to that effect) cost - about 3500 pesos approximately.

Hi Marisol,

I gave them about 2 weeks and then sent the inquiry. They replied on the 9th or 10th day, although they did say that they had sent out Packet 3 2 days after I sent my inquiry. That, however, did not coincide with the info that was on Packet 3 - the date was closer to when I got the case number in the email.

LOL No problem, Jaremedios. It's not petty to me. I will have to remember to talk about the clinic when we talk tonight.

Sorry, I don't know what is needed for NVC as I did DCF so we skipped that. The information I gave you only relates to what the consulate expects. Hopefully someone else can verify that information for you or you could also call them to check.

Hi Littlelady7891,

Your profile doesn't say whether you filed from the US or from Mexico. Either way, I'm assuming you're talking about what is needed at the consular level. If you go to the website for the consulate in Ciudad Juarez (just google it), you will be able to find Packets 3 and 4 under Immigrant Visas. You actually don't need the birth certificate translated if it's in Spanish and definitely not the passport. I have no idea what NVC will require, but I know what the consulate needs. They only need to be translated for the consulate if it's in another language besides English or Spanish. The marriage certificate usually has to be translated with the petition, so it should have already been done. You only need a DS-230 for the person going for their interview. Also, make sure you send evidence of the relationship and check over the guides here to see what they recommend you bring to the interview.

Congratulations!

Just to clarify, Lia792, your husband arrived on Thursday night, did the medical all in one day (Friday), interview Tuesday, Picked up at DHL on Wednesday and crossed the bridge the same day. Then flew out Friday night. So what did he do the Saturday, Sunday, Monday before his interview? And Thursday and Friday after his interview? Is it safe to say that 1 week there is too much? Yes, you are correct. He had to go early because he wanted to make sure he had his medical results on time. Since his interview was on Tuesday, he came Thursday to do the medical on Friday so he could have Monday for the results just in case. He was very, very bored. I made sure he brought his computer so we could chat. He was bored on Thursday and Friday, too; we had all that extra time in case the visa wasn't ready on time. I think it just depends what day of the week your appointment was on. I imagine the best case scenario would be to have your appointment on a Wednesday so you can do the medical on Monday and leave on Friday night.

1. So he took a taxi to the medical...and back? I don't remember how he got back...it might have been taxi again or just with the shuttle when it dropped people off. There is a safe taxi at the hotel.

2. Consulate was in front of hotel? So he walked? No...La Quinta is a little distance away. The Holiday Inn Express and City Junior are very close to the consulate. We chose La Quinta for the shuttle and it had the best price with the AAA discount. That would just depend on their specials.

3. Did the shuttle take him to DHL AND the bridge to cross? Yes. 3 other people also did it. They crossed on foot, then crossed back and waited for the shuttle to come back for them.

4. Did he take a taxi when he got in at the airport? Yes, the clerk at La Quinta told us that it should not cost more than 150 pesos but he said it ended up being 210 because supposedly the taxis have set prices for certain zones.

5. Did you check DHL online or by calling? He checked it online and saw that it was there. The plan was for him to go at 2:30 anyways, and he just happened to see that it was updated on DHL's website.

6. Also, just to make sure...he arrived to Consulate at 9am and stayed within the building until after his interview or did he go in and out? He did not leave the whole time. If people left and their name was called, they lost their place in line.

7. Where do you get the barcode for the medical? In the clinic itself or somewhere else before you go to the clinic? They give it you at the medical.

8. Did he have to wait long for his medical? He was in and out in 2 hours, but they also did not send him for any other tests. Many others were sent for urine tests he said. Also, some get sent to the psychologist.

If you can ask your husband which clinic he went to and also how much he had to pay, would really appreciate it. Thanks, hun!

OK I'll try to remember that tonight. We have his official real POE set for August 1.

You mentioned on your timeline that you called the Consulate when you were still in Mexico and they told you 6-8 weeks for interview, but when you got to the States you called and they told you something different. I never called from the US because none of those numbers would work from the phones I was calling from. I had my husband call again from Mexico to the same number. Could you give us the phone number you used to call in the States? Do they just ask for your Case number or something else to check the status of interview? They also asked for my address and maybe one of our birthdates.

Thanks, guys! Here's some answers, too:

On top of the medical, my husband had to have 3 vaccines:

56 Tdap (Adacel)  

40 MMR   Measles, Mumps, Rubella.   ("MR" and "MM" are not enough).  You need MMR

56 Varicella -  If you had "Chicken Pox" disease, no vaccine is needed

152 price + medical fee + IVA = cost

I would have to ask my husband how much they charged him. I'm not sure which clinic he went to...I think he just got in the taxi and told them to take him. He said La Quinta was nice, but he didn't like the fact you had to reserve the shuttle ahead of time and it would take about an hour to pick you up after you called it. One day their radio to the shuttle didn't work, and one day the internet didn't work.

The appointment took forever. He got there at 9am for a 10am appointment and didn't even see the CO until about 5pm. He said that there were 250-300 people still in there when he left.

We checked DHL the next morning around 11am and there had been no change, but he checked it at 2 and it was ready. Then he went with 3 other people to DHL, they all picked up their packets and went to the bridge and crossed together. He was able to reserve the shuttle ahead of time for that and to take him to the airport on Friday. We asked if they could pick him up when he came in and they said the hotels in CJ are not allowed to. We also got a AAA discount with La Quinta which helped make it more affordable. My husband was a little unnerved by the environment, especially one night when there were a lot of sirens. He did go out and eat sometimes at lunchtime at Wendy's or the taco place across the street. I wouldn't reserve a flight to fly out the next day. My husband had his interview on Tuesday and flew out Friday night, and only had extra tiime doing nothing on Thursday and Friday.

That's all I can think of for now.

Oranje!

Thanks! good luck!

Hi guys,

We got approved on Tuesday! My husband got his visa on Wednesday and crossed over into El Paso. Now he's going home for a few days and then he will come join me here in the US. I posted a review on my profile in the timeline, but feel free to ask any questions you might have.