claireg

Thank you so much for your input! I guess I will have to wait a little bit longer...

Thanks. On the USCIS website it is said:

"Resided continuously in the U.S. for three years in the case of qualified spouses of U.S. citizens"

It doesn't say the LAST 3 years, I cannot find the reference to this. Do you have a link?

Unfortunately - they only count the last 5 years. Do you know if you violated your physical presence or continuous residence?

You may need to wait another year or so then apply based on the 3 year rule.

I have been married for 16 years to a US citizen. I have been continuous permanent resident for 10 years (1995 to 2005), then we left to live in Mexico (2005 to 2010) but returned frequently to the US. Now we are again living in the US and so I became again a continuous permanent resident. Can I qualify for the naturalization process considering my presence in the US from 1995 to 2005 as a permanent resident? Or does it have to be IMMEDIATELY before my application? (which is not really explicitly said anywhere)

Thanks for your input!

The medical is very straighforward, a joke except for the bill...You get the result the same day in the afternoon, at 4pm. Do not open the envelop.

For the consulate, if the appointment is in the morning, then you should have the visa in the afternoon. I had the appointment in the afternoon at 1pm. My visa was ready the next morning at 11am. However, the DHL number was not in the system, and I waited the next day before calling the consulate. They told me to go immediately at the information window where the lady told me the exact time the visa was sent. In this case, she advised to go to DHL and ask them to perform a search by name, instead of a search by number. Of course my visa was there, ready since the day before. This problem of DHL is supposedly "frequent", according to the lady of the consulate. So do not hesitate to go to the information window if the visa is not ready the next day.

We stayed at La Quinta. It's ok, staff is nice, breakfast good. However there is NOTHING to do in CDJ. So take plenty of books and the laptop with you ! I am so happy my family came with me, because it was soooo boring ! Hit the deserted mall, the Starbucks, the good restaurant, but except than that it was a long waiting.

Good luck for your visa !!!

Congratulations!! I have the same questions as jaremedios -- My husband's interview appt is on Wednesday Aug 6 so he is going to fly in on Sunday to be there 2 days prior for medical. I'm just not sure when to book his return -- is one day after appt. enough? Where did you stay? Did your husband go with you? Sorry for so many questions.

Merida has stooped processing immigrant visas. Yes you have to go to CDJ. We are from Cancun, too, and had to stay in CDJ one week...and still counting !!!

Interview itself was very quick, lasted about 1mn. These are questions the CO asked me:

- Your name?

- Who is your petitioner?

- How long have you been married?

- Do you have a child from this union?

- Why do you live here? (I am not a national)

- Show me your residence permit?

- From where did your husband retire?

That was it.

The long part was the waiting before entering about 30mn and after completing revision of papers, payment and fingerprints, at least one more hour and a half. Total of 3hours.

Take a book with you !!!

And good luck to all others.

Hi !! We are staying a la Quinta, too...I have reservations to leave on Tuesday, i think it's enough time to get the visa. My appointment is Monday at 1pm , so I am to go Monday morning to the clinic to see this problem...These plastic envelops do not hold the heat of CJ !!! I was wondering if it is a common problem but it looks like that I am the first...

La Quinta is perfectly fine but not too many things to do around.....Already got all the good deals in Sears and Liverpool and dining out is not very diversified...

Hi Claireg! I'm glad you are doing ok in CJ. I was just thinking about you. Where are you staying? My husband will be at La Quinta and he arrives there the first.

What time is your appt at the consulate? If it is not too early, I would stop by the medical clinic beforehand, if not, I guess you will have to try your luck at the consulate. I think it should be ok, although I've never heard that specific question before. Good luck on Monday and hopefully you will be able to pick up the visa very quickly.

Just had the physical yesterday that went very well. They gave me the envelop which in fact is a black plastic bag sealed at both ends with 2 CD's hanging outside. I realized when I came back to the hotel that one end of the envelop is not properly sealed, only half of it is.

So I get several solutions:

1- Go to the consulate like that on Monday and hope nothing goes wrong. After all, it's not my fault.

2- Try to seal it myself

3- Go back to the medical and explain to them and hope they will not confiscate my exam and that they will gave it back to me in time for the interview which is the same day, and that they will seal the envelop again.

Did something like that already happened to you? What are your experiences?

Thanks!!!

Good luck!!! For the medical , too and let us know how it went....We will be in CDJ in 3 days for med+ interview.

Hi, I didn't get it in the mail yet, but called the 900 number and got a LIVE person very quickly! This is great to know in advance because the mail is so slow, I should receive it in two weeks approx. Now making the plans.... Probably, yes, we will buy only a one way ticket. I have the interview Monday at 13h, so I don't expect receive the visa the same day anyway.

No, sorry...I haven't heard anything like that...Sucks that you got a Monday appointment, but congrats on getting it! Was it mailed to you? Check out Juarez visa forum for ideas for where to stay and where to eat as they have a whole section of the forum dedicated to that. Also, be careful if you buy a return ticket because many people don't get their visa from DHL when they expect it. We are considering buying a one way each way but haven't decided yet. I have had luck finding some flight and hotel packages on orbitz, etc, but from what I've heard they don't continue at the same price if you have to stay longer.

Good luck!

Yes you can enter the US and then return to Mexico. But when you have a green card, you are supposed to spend most of the year in the US, not in Mexico. I had to relinquish my green card after one year passed in Mexico, which is the norm. So I don't think you can spend more than one year in Mexico anyway. The problem after that is that you have to redo the whole process (green card application...etc...) again, and I am sure that none of you want it.....

Perhaps it would be wiser to try to postpone the whole process...but with the recent events in the US you can be sure that the immigration process is not going to become easier in the years to come.

I am USC and my husband is Mexican. We live in Mexico and are doing DCF. We already sent in our I-130 petition for the spouse visa and got our NOA2. We are in the step of filling out the DS-230 and I-864 forms. Here in Mexico, I have the luxury to stay home with our 1 year old because the standard of living is much lower than in the States. My husband and I have been talking about having another child within the next year and I would like to stay home and raise that child as well. We know it won't be possible to do in the States as right now, we both don't have a job lined up there, and we will both have to find work immediately plus leave our child in daycare.

My questions are:

What happens to our I-130 if we don't continue with the process now? Will it expire?

Can we postpone sending in the DS-230 and I-864 to buy us some time?

Can we go through the whole process, get the spouse visa, enter the US within the 6 month period they give us, get the greencard going, but return to Mexico? If so, how long can we stay in Mexico without re-entering US before something happens?

Thanks. Any insight will be helpful. I know this is crazy that we're going for the spouse visa but don't actually want to go but life has its own little twists, no?

I saw that on the website they say it's open only Monday through Friday....I am so excited to have all the week end to visit CDJ..... :( ...so perhaps i was hoping for a recent change?

Just a quick question for the Mexico goers.....Is it possible to do the medical on Sundays? My interview is programmed on a Monday....

If you think it is lost in the mail, it's better to write them. They answered me in the specified delays when I wrote them using the online form.

Hi ladies,

I too am starting to worry about not receiving my case number, not knowing what's next, and really just being all-in-all clueless. My brother-in-law (mexican) is dating an American girl. They live here in Mexico but have hired her sister as a lawyer to help with K-1. He mentioned that he's going for his interview in August. When I asked him if he had a date for his interview, he said it's an open date. I have no idea what that means but am quite jealous to be honest. Here I am waiting for a stupid number (knowing that we started the process before them) and he's already got plans to go to his interview in August to be in the States with his g-friend in Sept.

Lia792,

Have you heard anything about your request to send in Packet 3 downloaded from site without case number? When you find out, pls email me at my personal email. I don't come on here as often as I should.

Ah ah ah....You remember me good times when I got stuck in Washington for three days for a "psychological " examination..... The most difficult question was " is your name really....". Believe me or not I just found at that moment that I was not very sure of it !!! So took three days to solve it....

Anyway they told me to download the packet3 directly from the site (not received anything to date, except the case number), so I will call them to know if we are programmed for an interview...Never know, timing is not good as I am to renew my FM3 and I believe they are going to ask the original. The medical scares me to death and usually I faint as soon as I see a needle (no kidding)!!!

This is more fun than previously thought anyway...

Thanks for your support Lia and I see that you have burned the steps already (sooooo quick!!!! how did you do it?)

Oh, I would also mention that it's good to be flexible with your plans for CJ...They can always add on an psychological evaluation on top of the medical exam at their discretion, which can add on another day, although it's usually in drug or psychological situations, and the visa, as you said, can take an undetermined amount of days. Many people do have to stay extra days, but then there is no guarantee and in a straightforward case you usually get it fairly quickly unless there is a weekend, holiday or administrative day like what happened to dbarker. (It's good to look at the consulate calendar and analyze it carefully before your interview.)

I re-read the experiences of everyone who already went through the process, trying to prepare for the interview, but I am still confused.

It seems that people go to the consulate to get the "open interview letter". But how do they get the date of the interview and why is it necessary to get this letter if you already have an appointment? Do we have to receive an email or a letter before going to the consulate? This is the thread who just got me more confused: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/252826-cdj-approved/page__p__3885188__fromsearch__1entry3885188

After the interview I see that some of us wait a long time in the fabulous Ciudad Juarez, to receive the visa.Is it possible to return home and receive this visa by DHL to your home?

The crossing of the bridge....can it be done by taxi? You go to the POE, this is just to begin to process the green card, but I suppose you can return in Mexico immediately? I saw that for some of us, it took quite a bit of time to receive the green card and without it it is impossible to launch the DMV process or other stuff....

I am in Cancun where most of the mail arrives -sometimes ok sometimes not very quickly-.

It has been more than 3 weeks for me for the letter from CDJ to arrive in Cancun.(dated 25 March - arrived 21 April).

The letter from Mexico City was sent March 8th and I received it on April 12th.....So more than one month....

If you got your NOA2, then it would be better to ask CDJ consulate as they already received your file from USCIS and it them (CDJ) who will generate your case number.

They have a form where you can email them on the site.

Hi!

I filed from Cozumel and on March 5th I received a the NOA2 letter of approval which was dated Feb 18, 2010. However we still have not received a case number letter or packet from Ciudad Juarez over 2 months later. I just emailed uscis.mexico email to ask if they could check -- I am worried that something may have been mailed but since we are on an island and Cozumel is not known for it's fast, reliable mail service, it may have been lost. Where are you in Mexico?

Thanks for any input.

We are not worried about the sponsorship, we meet the requirements....

In your case, you are required the last three years of IRS transcripts returns as well as proof of current employment. This is a tough question as the guidelines are made mostly for people with regular income.I would keep the assets on the side and use them only if you need to. After all, you have proved through your tax returns that during the last three years you have met the requirements..But the gap between last May and one or two months before the interview, isn't that a little bit too long? I have no idea if they look only at the income itself or also into the pattern of employment....Why not ask a lawyer on this one?

Thanks, Claireg! Yeah, I doubt it's that important, but I figured he should have a correct birth certificate anyways so he's going to make the trek to Mexico City to see how much it takes to fix. If we can't fix it, then we'll just have to wait and see if they say anything.

Are you guys worried about sponsorship from DCF?

You have 3 solutions:

1- correct the I130

2- correct your husband's birth certificate

3- try to explain to the US bureaucracy that you are right but that your husband's birth certificate is wrong.(by giving them the Mom's birth certificate)

I would eliminate immediately solution 3. What they want to see is the concordance between what you write on the I130 and the official document provided.

Personnaly i would wait until they notice the discrepancy and then say that it is an error...and correct the I130 so it will give the same info than your husband's birth certificate. It seems the easiest solution IMO.

I received a letter dated from March 25th, mentioning my preference category (IR1-FRA) and my priority date which is the date of NOA2. They just say I should begin to prepare myself for the interview by reading the CDJ website....

Congrats! That's great timing! Do they want you to wait for them to mail you Packet 3 or can you just send it? Out of curiosity, did they mail or email you the case number?

What a timing!!! Just received my case number today!

Thanks for your help and comments !

Thank you so much, I am going to try that!!!

Hi Claireg,

I don't have a lot of timeline data for CJ sending Packet 3, but I do have a nifty contact form:

https://ciudadjuarez.cms.getusinfo.com/public_inquiry_form.html

It does warn me about the security certificate, but if you have ever gone to the SAT's website that one has a warning too LOL. I would find out if they have your stuff yet because sometimes the Packets get lost on the way from CJ.

Thia is a specific question for Mexico CDJ timelines.

I received my NOA2 dated from March 5, so now I am waiting for my NVC case number. It seems pretty long time however. Does anybody have experience in the delay between the NOA2 and the NVC case number given by CDJ? Shall I call them to ask for it? It has been one month and a half now !

Yes me too.....but the phone bill is in both names. You can have any bill in your name even with a FM3

But I`m here with a FM3 dependiente economico of my husband...

If you are renting, probably any kind of contract/ letter from the landlord....

If not, try to get the phone installed for 3 months!

Thanks!!!!! I don`t have bills in my name so I`m a little worry about that. I`ve been living in Mexico for 6 years,so I think I can use another document but don`t know what to use...