Marisol73

Sorry I can't help you with that.. I filed in Monterrrey Consulate by person and they accept CASH !

I think you better call them and ask directly.

Good Luck !

The NVC now is involved in DCF???? because when I did the petition NVC didnt do anything in the process (supposed was the "saving time" part of doing DCF)

Don't worry about the letter. We never received the letter in our mexican address. When you fill out the forms, did you put a US address? I used one of my friend's address and she scanned the letters for me. So I just printed a copy and that's what we used.

Also You can request a copy of the letter in the Consulate. (its just across the street of the clinics)

I did the process for my son, then for my husband. For my son was almost 4 months (since the I-130 was approved) and for my husband was 3 months.

Good Luck !

Hi Ulises...

In fact he never received the AWB number ... he went directly to DHL hoping that the packet was there. In DHL they told him that the system was down or something like that. But they asked everyone for an ID and they check if the packets were there, And luckily my husband's package was there. The same day we call to consulate in the morning and said that we should call back in 7 days. So dont trust them !...is more reliable to go directly to DHL.

Good Luck !

So Marisol,

Did your husband receive the AWB number on the mexico.usvisa-info.com webpage, or where did he get it from?

My wife went yesterday to the consulate info window in the afternoon, they said the packet was already sent to DHL (that same day), but she went to DHL and they said nothing had been received and that without the AWB they couldn't retrieve anything. I also called the number of information in Juarez, but the same response, that the visa has not been processed by the consulate.

How did your husband get that number?

Hey everyone !

I just want to share how happy I am ! My husband is now with me in Houston. everthing went well.

He had the interview on Wednesday and he received the DHL package on Friday.

Thank you for all your help.!

Now we are just waiting for the SS Card to arrive.

Good luck to all.

Marisol

Hi Ulises !

Well... i dont know yet ! can you beleive that??? he had the interview on wendesday..all process took 3 hours. The interview itself was short. She asked him just how we met and hoe old was our child. That was it. But she said that the system was too slow and he can not give him the result, so we dont know if he is approved or not ! I dont understand. Maybe the system for the fingerprints was slow.. thats the only thing I can think of. Because he wasnt able to get his fingerprint the prior day, so he did the same day of the interview. It supposed that the interview went well... she did not ask for any other proof of bonafide marriage. He had a lot of evidence but she did not ask for anything. So I want to assume that everything went fine. But Im still too worried !!

Then she gave him a paper with 11 steps to register to recieve dhl package. We tried to register but the steps arent exaclty as the paper says. So it is frustrating !.. he will go today to a place next to DHL which has a sign saying that they can register you.

Still we dont know if he is approved or not. I think we have to wait for the DHL package.

Have your heard that before? Im so worried!!

Hi dhudson, I tried to exactly what you want to do (that is have my family examined in the clinics in Sacramento), but I called the US Consulate and they say the only clinics approved would be the ones designated by each consulate. I asked if I could use the approved clinics in Mexico city (currently US Embassy in Mexico city is helping Ciudad Juarez process some cases where a US citizen petitions a sibling), but they said they wouldn't.

The problem with the clinics in the US, is that they direct the results to the USCIS I think, so they would only process cases that go through the NVC.

But in your case, since it is only your wife, you will only need 2 days. Just try to get your appointment for a tuesday. Arrive sunday afternoon to Juarez, go to medical appointment Monday morning (preferably before 6 a.m.), and you'll be out at 8-9 a.m. Go and pick up your results at 4 p.m. (it will take at most one hour), back to the hotel, and then go to the appointment the next day, and take the trip back to Guadalajara.

I think there is a vivaaerobus flight from Gdl to Juarez so if you get your appointment with enough time, you won't need to spend that much on air tickets. Everybody here in Juarez say that during daylight Juarez is safe.

I also recommend to book a hotel near the consulate, Holiday Inn and Suites (Misiones), Ibis, or Microtel are the nearest ones (there is also City Express Junior in front of the Consulate).

If you book on ibis, I think to get to the clinic you can just cross the parking lot and reach the clinic from behind.

Everybody here stays at La Quinta, but I stayed sunday and monday on Holiday Inn, so that I could reach the clinic by foot. I am now at La Quinta because its cheaper, but to get anywhere you need to take the shuttle, and at least this week, that has been very busy and we've had a hard time to get a hold of it. Yesterday I ended up taking the bus (it costs 6 pesos, you take it in front of the hotel, and you are at the consulate in roughly 5

minutes).

However breakfast is better here, and wireless is better too. I need a good wireless because I am working remotely.

So if you are only coming for a couple of days I'd go for the hotels around the consulate, there are more places to eat at, and also a nice mall near the consulate, Wendys, Dennis, etc.

Getting nervous now, tomorrow's the decisive day.

Hi Marisol, how did it go for your husband?

Hi Ulises

He did the medical examination on Monday ..it took 7 hours !!! but everything went fine. He got the results same day in the afternoon.

Yesterday he went to the ACS appoinment but they told him if he couldnt file the DS260 online, he will be OK just going to the regular appoinment today.

Actually he is there right know. The appoinment hour is 12.15.

Im so nervous.. but I know I have to be patient, because it seems to be taking too long.

I didnt go with him to Juarez. We receive the letter 8 days prior to the appoinment and the plane tickets are so expensive if we buy them with short notice. So Im waiting in Houston to have news from him. Anyway they wont let me go inside the consulate with him. But I wanted to be there for moral support. Or in case they wanted to speak with me. But as I read in the forums, rarely they ask for the petitioner. So I have my fingers crossed that they dont need me to be there.

I will tell you how thing went later today or tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help and support.

Do you will stay in Juarez until they can do the test to your son??

Good luck.

Marisol

Hi Marisol,

Your husband is on his appointment today right?

Please update with news, was he able to pass without filling up DS-260 form?

At what time his interview was and when did he go out?

I wish very good luck to you guys.

Hi Ulises

You were right. For medical appoinment they asked for the letter that said that he is eligible to schedule an appoinment. (also the passport).

He is in the medical clinic right know. Tomorrow he has the ASC appoinment and wednesday the consular interview.

What I understant is that he can not do the ASC Appoinment right? anyway he will go and I will let you know what they tell him tomorrow.

Good Luck.

Hi Marisol,

Congrats, lucky you guys. I got my family's for April 8th.

So for medical examination what I understand is that you need the letter that you got indicating you the dates you were eligible to schedule an appointment, i.e. the last one you got from them.

EsperanzaXMyS should be able to confirm this. By the way congrats to EsperanzaXMys :=)!!!!!!

Your husband will also need his passport to show them. You don't need an appointment for the medical appointment, just make sure you arrive there 2 days before to cover any eventual delay on the medical examination, and be there preferably early. I'll do as Esperanza, be there at 5:30 a.m. to ensure having the medical results for that same day.

For detailed instructions read Packet 4 instructions.

http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/immigrant-visa-and-fiancee-visa-forms.html

Thank you Ulises !!

I just called...the appoinment for my husband is April 6th.

but what about medical examination?? you dont need a letter to let you go in? what letter will we use?

Thanks for your help !

Marisol

Hi Marisol,

I called us consulate number in the US. 7034392313

They will ask for your case number, and passport numbers. And they will setup both appointments, with ASC and the actual one in the consulate.

But as EsperanzaMx has mentioned, we don't have NVC case/invoice numbers, so probably won't need ASC.

I suggest you to call right away.

I think you can also do it online, you just need your passport number.

http://usvisa-info.com/en/selfservice

I didn't do it that way, cause I wanted all my interviews the same date, and it's better to have someone on the phone to whom you can argue with

Good Luck!

Hello !!

Im sooo confusing ...we received the same letter than you (for my husband).. that says "you are eligible to schedule an appointment from April 1, 2011 to April 12, 2011.

Also I went to the website and dont found anything usefull !!

So you have already your appoinment?? how do you schedule it? please let me know.

Also.. how about the medical appoinment?..shouldnt we received a letter for that?

I did the same process for my son on November 2010 and it seems to be different now.

Regards

marisol

Thank you Sarah.

So where did you find out that DS-260 is not needed for March appointments? I went to DHS.gov website and over there it says that for Ciudad Juarez cases, only those that start with MEP (or EMP I don't remember) would have to do it that way.

I am going by car from LA, it's 4 people in my case (counting me) so tickets would be at least $1500, and besides as our appointment is on friday, it may be the case that we won't have our visa until monday or tuesday of the week after.

Thanks for the map, is very good.

Please don't forget to provide details of how it went for your husband on the medical, the ASC and the appointment (I have to be there 4 days before cause for kids 4 years and older medical has to be at least 4 days before).

Also, let us know if you'll pay your visa in the ASC appointment.

I have read here one case, that for the medical they require you the "letter with the appointment issued by the consulate". I only have letters saying that "you are eligible to schedule an appointment from 1 to 12 of april".

Regards,

Ulises

Thank you ! I will add also the letter explaining that I just got here and Im applying for jobs.

About the SS Card.. we received here in Houston My Son's SS card Before the Permanent Residence Card (and It has the picture we gave in Cd Juarez).

I will fill out the forms (I-864) if I have more questions I will bother you again Thanks for your help

Hey Marisol--

I agree with LaGringa's post. I was looking for a job too when I filled out the I-864, so I was technically unemployed. I filled out an I-864, checked off that I was unemployed and then had my mom fill out an I-854 as my only joint sponsor. Also, I typed up a letter explaining my unemployment just so they could see that it was only a temporary thing (not being long-term unemployed!). I basically said that I had just moved up from Mexico, was looking for a job, what my field was, when I was hoping to get a job by and what I was anticipating the pay to be. I don't know if that helped, but I thought it at least gave them some more background on me! When my husband went down for the interview, I had him take evidence of my new job (check stubs, letters from my employer), but he wasn't asked for any of it.

Also, guess what?! I just got my husband's permanent resident card in the mail!! Ahh! And it IS green! It's funny because they ended up using the picture that we had turned in at the Monterrey Consulate at the beginning of the process, not the nice glossy ones that we fretted over!

Last week we also received two letters from the gov't--one basically saying that they have received notice that his visa was approved and that we'd hear from them within 30 days. That one was postmarked two days after he had crossed the border in CDJ. We also received a "Welcome" letter. It wasn't anything too in depth, but it basically said "welcome" and that it was very important to hold onto all of those letters, which have important numbers on them for him.

Does anyone know if we should be receiving his Social Security card soon? Or will he have to apply for that once he gets to the States (in a month and a half)?

Thank you !!

Hi, Marisol!

Yes, you have to fill one I-864 even if you don't have a job and yes, he checks "I am the only joint sponsor".

Hello..

We are in the process of my husband permanent residence.. we already have the letter of I-130 approved on December 23rd..

We are waiting for the Case Number to send packet 3. But I have a question about the sponsor.

Im not working right now (Im already in Houston but I just got here yesterday..I will look for a job).. so Mi ex husband agreed to be our sponsor.

What forms do we need to file?;; I-864 for him (my ex) and I-864 for me? (even if I have not income??)...Also...in his I-864 will check in Part 1 "d) Im the only joint sponsor"?

How did you do?? Please let me know.. I will appreciate any help !! I just have one day in Houston and already miss my husband a lot !

Yay! Congratulations, Pnewton!

Your detailed review will help others so much!

Congrats !!! and thanks for the detailed review !.. we are waiting for the CDJ case number for my husband, and you review will definitely help us.

Well, it’s finally my turn to contribute a detailed entry about how the visa process has gone for us here in CDJ! This is SUPER detailed, so bear with me! Haha, I just want to give back to everyone at the forum who helped me so much through this process that I figured I’d write down everything to the last detail! We met so many people who had used a lawyer (and many didn’t really have great experiences with them), and I felt so fortunate to have been able to ask all of my questions directly to everyone on the forum. It was stressful at times to get the paperwork ready, but with the help of everyone here, we were able to do it.

Here’s some background info on us just before I jump into the details:

-We’ve been together for 5 years, did long distance during college and I lived in Monterrey for a year and a half. My husband always visited the U.S. on a tourist visa and when I was in Mexico, I got an FM-3 work visa, which allowed me to file using DCF.

-We got married in August 2010, started the visa process on Sept. 2nd, 2010, and were approved on January 6th, 2011. It was incredibly fast—4 months!—and we’re grateful for that.

Arrival

We left Monterrey in the late afternoon on Tuesday and much to my surprise, the plane was absolutely packed! The flight was smooth and uneventful, and when we arrived, we saw a large plane for the Policia Federal, with lots of agents on the ground, which made us wonder—hmm…coming or going? Well, anyway, we got off and waited for our luggage. One thing that was slightly amusing was that we were all waiting for our luggage to be taken off the little cart and a federal police agent came with a drug-sniffing dog. They first put all of the luggage out and then the dog walked all over each piece, sniffing away! It was actually kind of cute and while I’m sure the crowd just wanted to get their luggage and go, there was some laughter.

After we picked up our luggage, we went to an ATM in the airport and took out some more cash, just in case. We knew that we should have done this in Monterrey, but were so busy, and the airport seemed like it was pretty safe. Then, we went to the taxi stand, ordered our taxi, were met by a guy at the door who led us to the correct taxi and off we went. The ride was maybe 15-20 minutes and I’m sure the taxista was used to having airport passengers with wide saucer eyes looking out the window at the city! All in all, it felt pretty normal—there was some rush hour traffic, and it largely felt like a normal city. Admittedly, we’re always a little jumpy around big trucks and SUVs, especially those that have totally tinted windows and are without license plates, of which we’ve seen a few of in our stay. However, again, I think it did take us a little bit aback to see normal life go on in the city, after reading so much about the violence in the past year.

La Quinta

We got La Quinta around 5:30 and there are definitely lots of other people here getting their visas also, as I imagine is the case in most of the hotels near the Consulate. We checked in, got to our room, which was clean and nice, and ordered in some pizza for the night. It was pretty laid-back, all in all! The hotel seems to be pretty full right now, and the shuttle always is either coming or going. The only down-side that I saw was that because of so many people in the hotel, we experienced some longer waits for pick-ups. It really just depended, but of the 5-6 times we used it, we had to wait 20-30 minutes half the time for a pick-up from the grocery store or the Consulate area. Other times, the shuttle happened to be in the area or was free at the moment and we had quick pick-ups. Also, a side note—the breakfast spread was also far better earlier in the morning than later!

I’d say that staying there worked out just fine, but if we had to do it again, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing what the other hotels were like that were right next to the Consulate. I don’t know if they have shuttle service for DHL, the airport or the border, but if they did, I would also check into them for the sake of comparison.

Medical Exam

After reading from other couples that my husband would first have to go and get his letters from the Consulate before heading to the clinic, he left the hotel at 6:30. He said that there weren’t a ton of people there in line at first, but then more and more people came. He said that while he was waiting in line, someone from the Consulate came and asked him what he needed. He gave her his passport and she came back with his letter a few minutes later. He said he only got one letter, and was able to keep it after the clinic. It basically says that the US Consulate is ready to begin the final processing of his visa and at the bottom it has an area where it says: “Visa Appointment” and then his info on that and next to that, “Medical Appointment”, with no information under date and time.

He went to the Clinica Internacional (the yellow one) by 7:10 am. Apparently, upon entering, there were some of those annoying people as mentioned by La Gringa, who were trying to “help” him and others. One guy told him that the clinic was already full and signaled him to head into some other place that according to my husband looked like a restaurant. He got rid of him pretty quickly and headed straight for the clinic. They asked him if it was his first or second time there. They also asked him for his passport and they gave him a number. He waited 5 minutes in the waiting room with the other people who had arrived there before him. He entered with the letter, his passport, the hotel info, his cell phone and his wallet. Then, the guard came and took everyone to the other clinic, Servicios Medicos de la Frontera. I’m not sure if this was because the first was full (?) but it apparently wasn’t confusing.

At the second clinic, they gave him another number and then he waited about 20 minutes before getting his picture taken. After that, they asked him for the hotel’s phone number and his cell phone number. Then, they took everyone in a group to another room where they were divided by women and men. He had to have his chest x-ray taken, in which he had to take off his shirt but kept his pants on. After that, they took the group to another room where everyone waited for about an hour. Here, his blood was taken. Then, they were weighed, had their eyes examined and their blood pressure checked. He says it could have gone quicker, but the doctors and nurses were chatty with each other.

Then, he was taken to another little room where he was asked to take off everything except his boxers. The nurse arrived after that—she checked his eyes, his mouth, asked if he had tattoos, taken drugs, if he had ever been arrested, what he studied and what his job was. He was asked to then lie down on the examining table and to pull his boxers down. She looked at him for a few seconds and then had him pull his boxers back up, stand up and walk to the wall. He said the floor was really cold and had trouble walking on it, and the nurse asked him if he had problems walking, and he told her it was just the cold floor. He was told to put his clothes back on and then was given his injections. He paid $350, which was $4,300 pesos, and he paid with a debit card. He held onto his receipt and was told to come back at 4 pm to get the results. He called me to send the shuttle, and they took about 15 minutes to get him.

We spent time here at the hotel, and even though I hadn’t anticipated us going out, people were taking the shuttle to the mall and ATM machines, and we decided to go to the nearby grocery store (S Mart). It actually was really helpful to get food and water for the room. The only thing was that the shuttle took a while to pick us up again and I was nervous as we waited behind the glass doors for a good while.

After that, my husband took the shuttle at 3:30 to the clinic to get his results. During both his medical exam and the picking up of the results, he chatted with other people going through the process. Everyone that he had talked to was going through the process after having spent some time undocumented in the U.S., so we’re yet to meet others who have the same situation as us, but I’m sure they’re out there! He said that you really do have to be there at 4, not after, because they start calling out numbers then. He got the packet quickly, and then crossed the street to get his two pictures taken at a plaza in front of the clinic. He had already had them taken in Monterrey, but I wasn’t sure that the paper was glossy enough (nor was I sure that this really mattered!), so we decided to get them taken again. The quality of the pictures taken here was definitely not as good, as it was taken with a regular digital camera, but we wanted to be safe. He’ll take all four of the pictures to the interview and see what they prefer. After he got the pictures, he called the shuttle and this time, it came really quickly. It really does just matter on how many people need it at any given time.

Interview

On the day of the interview, I ended up going with my husband to the Consulate, assuming that I was going to be in the waiting room. Truth be told, I was curious to see what it looked like and wanted to make sure he got in ok, but we got there, I realized it probably would be better to go back to the hotel. The waiting room building was a little further down the street and I’m sure it would have been a boring wait, as he was in the Consulate from 1:15 pm until about 5:30 pm. I got the shuttle back and it took some time for them to pick me up (about 25 minutes). There were lots of people outside of the Consulate, mostly looking like they were waiting. There were a few vendors and to my surprise, the whole area had lots of restaurants and cafes close by. I imagined the Consulate being more isolated, but it was really busy over there, with a fair amount of traffic, people and lots of businesses.

My husband was with another guy from the hotel (Grangkm’s husband, actually! ) and they were in line. Someone from the Consulate came and asked them if they had already received their stamp on their papers, and they hadn’t. They were instructed to go down to the Sala de Espera building on the corner and get them.

They returned to the line (which was pretty short), and then they were taken into the building and went through security. My husband had left his watch here at the hotel, and only had all of the documents and his wallet with him. For some reason, the security guard checking thought that he had chewing gum on him and was determined to find it—hah, no such gum existed! Because of this whole gum thing, he actually was the last one to get his number and the last one to be processed.

After security, he got his number and then they all went to a room/patio area that was technically outdoors but had a roof with heaters on it. Apparently, there were lots of people there who had been waiting from different appointment times earlier in the day. There was a big screen in which all of the numbers were changing. He was waiting there about 30 minutes. Each time the numbers changed, there was a little noise. When it was his turn, he was asked for his passport, tourist visa, the medical packet, pictures and birth certificate—an “official” copy and a photocopy. He had 3 different options for the pictures and to be honest, none of them of them were really that glossy! They told him to choose which ever one he wanted.

They sent back to the patio area to sit and wait after that. He waited another 30 minutes. Then, when it was his turn, he went to pay ***And here’s an important thing—His Mexican debit card didn’t work, as it was Visa “Electron”. *** It worked fine at the clinic, but not at the Consulate!! We had totally not anticipated this, and he did have some cash on him, but definitely not enough! The consular agent told him that he had twenty minutes to run to an ATM and get the money out, which he did. He literally ran, with all of his documents and photo album under one arm, across the street towards the mall (crossing on the pedestrian bridge) and found a Banamex ATM outside, by Liverpool. How stressful! He ran back with 6 minutes to spare, had to go through security again (ughh!) and had the cash ready. He went directly back with the same agent, made the payment ($5252 pesos) and sat down again.

He waited about an hour again, and this time, he got a snack from a little stand that was inside. There are also bathrooms that you could use. He was called to do his fingerprints after that. Finally, they had everyone who was waiting (about 15 people) go inside. At this point, they told them that the interview was next. He was the absolute last (aww!) because of the gum incident, and he had a very nice agent interview him. Actually, he said that everyone he was in contact with was really nice. He felt like the interview got off on the right foot, as he joked around in English with her beforehand about being the absolute last. She asked if he preferred to do the interview in Spanish or English and he opted for English. These were the questions he received after having to swear that he was telling the truth.

1. So you’re ______ (his name), right?

2. How did you meet your wife?

3. When did you guys become a couple?

4. So, your wife is from Minnesota, right? (A trick question!) He corrected her.

5. How did you see each other when you were both in college? (He said we always visited each other during every break we had and explained a lot on this time.)

At this point, they started to discuss the trips that he had made to the U.S. Because we’ve been together for 5 years and made MANY trips, he started confusing the years! She actually got out the sheet that we had attached in Packet 3 and helped him along with the correct years!

6. Does your family like your wife?

7. Have you met her family? What are her parents’ names and what do they do for a living?

8. How many siblings does she have? (He also said their names, too.)

9. When was your wife born?

10. How do you like ______ ? (The city I’m from and where we’ll live)

Then, she said, “Ok, you’ve been approved.” Yay! She told him to go to DHL, where he turned in a paper and paid for the service (around $120 pesos). And that was it! He left and found a pharmacy nearby where there was a public phone and called the shuttle.

DHL Pick-Up/Border Crossing

It seems we haven’t lucked out in this department! My husband was approved on Thursday afternoon, and the package didn’t arrive Friday or Saturday, so he’s still waiting. I had to return to the U.S. for my job, and wish I didn’t have to leave him, but we’re crossing our fingers that it will come on Monday. DHL is closed on Sunday. Some people we met at the hotel were able to pick up their visa as soon as two days after and a few people are going on a week of waiting!!

My husband was told he would probably have to wait 2-4 working days, which means that it really should be in by Tuesday at the latest, but when he last spoke to DHL, they told him even up to Thursday was a possibility. He debated going back to Monterrey and then coming back to CDJ, as DHL told him that they can keep the visa there for 30 days, but he decided to stay and just finish the whole process before leaving. I’ll update the forum once he finally gets it and crosses!

As for me, La Quinta arranged a taxi for me to take me across the border and to the El Paso airport. It was $70, which may have been a bit expensive, but then we didn’t have to worry about anything. They said that they have two trustworthy taxi drivers from El Paso that they call for these types of airport drop-offs, and it went totally fine. The wait at the border took about an hour and 15 minutes by car, and only those passing on foot were able to get through really quickly. It was the Cordova bridge, and it felt safe to me. In retrospect, I probably could have had the shuttle drop me off at the bridge, walked with my luggage and then just gotten an El Paso taxi on the other side (there were plenty), but because I was crossing alone and weren’t sure about safety, we opted for the taxi driver to take me the whole way.

General Safety/Food

This was a big concern of mine and the cause of a fair amount of nervousness before the trip! And all in all, I would reiterate what the others have said—we felt safe in our hotel and safe enough whenever we took the shuttle to someplace close by. We never heard or saw anything that scared us. We checked the news daily on the El Diario website and things happened in the city, but the city really is bigger than I had imagined and we never heard anything.

We even ventured out more than I thought we would, with grocery store trips (S Mart and Walmart are close by) and drive-thru restaurant runs. We had Papa John’s and food from a nice Italian restaurant delivered, and then my husband asked the shuttle to take him to Wendy’s one night to pick up some food for us. We weren’t too comfortable going anywhere to eat, but other people doing the process at the hotel definitely went out to eat, or out to church on Sunday morning. The order-in food options do get limited and we definitely had our fair share of Ramen noodles and microwaved flautas!!

One other thing—while it was reassuring to see lots of regular people out and about, going about regular life, I did think that the stores and restaurants were really empty compared to what we were used to in Monterrey. Maybe this in part due to the fact that Monterrey is so big and heavily populated, but I do have the impression that people move about their business briskly in the city instead of taking their time.

Expenses

I haven’t made a final tally of just *how* expensive it’s been from start to finish, but I can see everything adds up. From all of the costs from our wedding in Mexico (the paperwork and fees with that) to the whole visa process, I would say we spent somewhere between $2,500-$3,000 including all of our flights, food and lodging and random other fees.

Flights ended up being expensive for us, because it was still the holiday high season when we flew and I definitely had pricy flights to get to Monterrey first (about $400 for a one way), then El Paso back to the Midwest ($320). We could have saved a good $150-200 on the El Paso flight if we had bought it a month earlier, but we didn’t know when I was coming home due to the DHL thing. I don’t regret paying extra for us to fly into CDJ together from Monterrey just to calm my nerves, but if we ever had to go back, I would be fine with flying into El Paso and having a taxi take me directly to the hotel.

Good Luck !.. everything is going to be fine !

Hey LaGringa--

Thanks so much for the reply. We have two copies of his birth certificate, and I think that should be fine.

And ahh--tomorrow we fly out!! We're nervous, excited, and just trying to pull together all of the little details before we leave. I'll try to update you guys as well as everyone else has!

Hi

We received first the social security card and then the green card. We are also in Mexico, so I havent seen the social security card, but I dont think it has a photo on it. The Green Card I have seen it because my friend scanned to me. But I will ask her today about the SS card.

Marisol,

I'm in Cozumel but my mom said my husband's residency card arrived yesterday - a card with his picture on it. But no Social Security card yet. Didn't you get the SS card first? It's only be just over 3 weeks since his approval so I thought it was strange he got the residency card so quickly. Or maybe the new SS cards have pictures and my mom is just confused on what arrived??

Just checking to see if you have any insight...

Thanks

Happy and Safe Holidays !!

Thank you for all your help ! Without your help I couldn't do all papers by myself and do a successfull process for my son.

Hello Pnewton!

I paid with DEBIT card in the medical clinic and the consulate. As long as it has the visa or marstercard logo is OK.

Hey everyone--

My husband is wondering if it'll be ok for him to use a debit card (or cash) for payments at the medical clinic and the consulate? Because he switched jobs relatively recently, he can't get a credit card yet from his company. I have mine, but I don't know if it'd be problematic for him to use it.

Thanks!

Hi !

Yesterday we receive the permanent resident card for our son !

Thank you !

All went very well.. they accepted all the papers. The only surprise was the price.. it increased.. now is $420 dlls.

About the proof of bonafide marriage they did not take anything..they said it is for Cd Juarez Interview.

Hey, Marisol! We didn't take any proof except our marriage certificate and some credit card bills from both of us showing the same address.

Ulises, I paid cash in Monterrey so I don't know, but if you check Marisol's attachment in the first pages of this thread, it says the money order / cashier check has to be made out to DHS U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Good luck to both of you tomorrow!

Hello Ulises..

I paid for my son I-130 $355 dlls (On July 8th,2010).. but yesterday I was surprised the fee went up !!.. now is $420 dlls .

In monterrey we can pay in cash (pesos or dollars) or VISA. We only had $355 dlls..and I asked if we can pay the rest on pesos, but we couldnt.. all has to be in pesos or all in dollars. So we paid all in pesos.. ($5460 pesos).

But I think In Mexico Consulate dont accept cash.. Im not sure.

About the photos.. they asked for one of my husband and one of me. They werent picky about them.

Good Luck !

Hello Marisol, so do you remember how you paid (or how you are going to pay for your husband), and what was the check/money order directed to? You are filing in Monterrey, but the payment must be similar right?

I am also going tomorrow to file my wife's and children's I-130 at USCIS in Mexico city.

Hi LaGringa!

Im sorry you have had problems with your husband SS Card !

I already received my son`s social security card, It was really quick. Sooner than I expected.

Tomorrow my husband and I are going to Monterrey to file his I-130... wish me luck !

Did you bring any evidence of the bonafide marriage to MOnterrey Consulate? or save all to Cd Juarez?

I already had a package with mails, pictures, plane tickets, our son birth certificate, sworn affidavits from our family, bank papers showing Im his beneficiary in his account and that he is the beneficiary of my account, papers from the IMSS where it shows that he has medical atention because he is my husband, house`lease agreement showing both names on it.

I`m glad to have you back to the forum

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been so absent!

About the dual citizenship, I think it depends on whether you are mexican by birth or you obtained it later like Czmjaqc (naturalization).I am mexican by birth and did not have any problem, and did not have to go to the interview with my husband. I think Marisol also has dual nationality, but she petitioned for her son so she had to go to the interview anyways.

We are now in the US and have had trouble getting my husband's SSN. We waited about a month after the interview since we did not receive it, and went to the SS office. They told us we had to wait two more weeks (I don't know why), so we went two weeks later and apparently they didn't process in in Juarez, so the lady made a new application and said they had to verify it with DHS so it might take longer than the usual ten days. Today we went again and now they told us the case was still pending so they deleted that application and made a new one. Supposedly this time it does not have to go through DHS. Oh, the thing was that on my husband's passport, they had put both his last names and so on the first application the lady put them both, but the DHS had him only with his first last name and that's why it was still pending. Hope this helps someone!

Good luck to Pnewton and Grangkm on your interviews coming up soon!

Hello Ulises

Tomorrow I wil go to MOnterrey Consulate to file my husband I-130. (I did the same process for my son on July 8th).

When I went to file my son's I-130 I had the photos ready but they did not ask for them..they told me "save them for Cd Juarez"...but now that will file for my husband Im taking again the photos.. I rather be safe than sorry. But I dont think they are very picky

I got the dual citizenship when President Carlos Salinas approved the dual citizenship law (if you are son of Mexican father and/or mother you are Mexican by birth), and I became Mexican in 1998. Anyway, I'll have to travel to the Consulate since I am filing for my 2 children too.

That is why I am hesitating if it would be a good idea to wait to be in Mexico (cause it would be $1260 dls approx $16,000 pesos), so that is quite an amount to be walking in the street even though it is only 1 block.

I'll try to figure out what I can do in this respect.

Now another question is, are they very picky on the photos? I just had them today, the document I-130 says 2x2 inchces and that from chin to hair it should measure 1 inch. Did any of you have any issue with the photos?

I think it will be the right form ...Good Luck !

our daughter is six years old

thanks, I found the I-864W, I´ll just complete it and take it to the interview. Maybe it is the right form for us after all

Thanks for the information !..

pnewton and Marisol - I called one of the clinics and was told they want everyone to have 3 vaccines - Tdap, MMR and Varicella

They don't require you to have a vaccine record from Seguro Social, but if you do and it shows that you have these vaccines, they won't be given there at the clinic. If your husbands have a CARNET from Seguro - there is a page that has Tdap and MMR vaccines - my husband had those stamped, but STILL the Dr. at the medical clinic persuaded him to think that he MIGHT have trouble with his VISA -- so he went ahead and took all 3 vaccines. My husband has 2 receipts from the medical clinic -- $2380.95 pesos for the exam and $1963 pesos for the 3 vaccines.