chuk686

Question for Chuk or anyone who had their visa DHLed to a location outside of Juarez... How were you able to track your shipment? We don't know our number, and on the mexico.usvisa-info.com website it still says there is no information available. Should I be concerned that it hasn't shipped yet?

The way I got my tracking number was through the mexico.usvisa-info site.

I read of someone who got it sent to DF and it the tracking number never showed up on the site. But it was delivered in 4 or 5 days to Mexico City.

Keep your eye on the web site. If not, after 5 days or so head down to the location. In your case, I'd pay a visit to DHL on Friday.

Mine was approved on a Tuesday, and I had it the same week Friday. Also the 703# would be a place to call and inquire.

Thank you for the replies! Yeah I was not sure because Mexico never seems to really go by the books right? They say you are supposed to wait 6 months after getting residency to start petitioning for your spouse, but I read someones experience about not having to wait the 6 months. Cool, I will join the Mexico DCF forum, thank you!

My wife's FM-3 expired around the time we filed. They never asked any questions, or asked to see it renewed. They mostly wanted to see bank statements or bills for the months leading up to filing.

To your question about the downsides of DCF. Having to go to Juarez comes to mind, but with any immigrant visa you'll have to. I really can't come up with a downside. We got ours done in 97 days, could've been a little quicker too. Good luck to you!

Here in Mexico they are flexible. Especially if filing the petition in Person in DF or Monterrey. If you have a valid FM-3 and can show them a few months worth of bills/ banks statements in your name here, or a lease held in your name with your husband that should do it.

Join us in the DCF mexico forum (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/242117-dcf-mexico/) to read all about other peoples experiences. A few of them just went and got their FM-3s to start the process.

ZeeZee, CONGRATULATIONS! It feels so great doesn't it!? Your experience was almost the same as mine. I'm so happy for you guys, have a safe trip back. I am in the process of "lining things up" as well at this moment. It really is quite painless, except for standing in line so much. Best of luck to you and your husband.

Hi Folks,

I received the welcome letters and green cards for both of my kids two weeks after entering U.S.

However my wife's didn't arrive and we called before 30 days, they asked her to wait for 30 days and then call again. She did so, and they found out that they sent it apt 162 instead of 1624, so mail was returned to them.

We went to Mexico for vacations the day after we called, and upon our return, we had no problems, she showed the immigrant visa on her passport and they only asked her a couple of questions to verify it was her visa (they asked her parent's names).

When we arrived home, we finally got her welcome letter, but the green card hasn't arrived yet.

Also, for my youngest son we got his Social Security Card, but not for my eldest kid and nor for my wife.

The question is, should I go ahead and file for their cards in the corresponding SS office, or should I first inquire as if there was a similar error with the address and mail was returned to them? I don't want them to have 2 social security numbers.

Ulises, sounds like they're not very organized. On the sheet I received with my Visa and packet it says: "Call us if you do not receive your Social Secuirty Card after 3 weeks". 1-800-772-1213

For anyone that is interested, I think ZeeZee was inquiring about the "Police Certificate". I was stressed about this too, and brought mine from Canada, after going through many hoops to get it.

Anyways, they never asked for it at all!!!! The other thing they never asked for was the DS-230 part II signed in front of them. I thought this was odd, but I have my visa in hand. So their loss I guess.

I would still bring it, just in case.

Hi JohnnyOOO and welcome to the forum, I have answered your questions as best I can they are in bold below.

I would recommend DCF if your goal is to get a VISA asap. Also something that would speed things up if you were married in the US. Then you don't have to get the Permiso here in Mexico and the medical. And deal with the bureaucracy here. I hope this helps.

DCF or no? Goal is to get VISA ASAP. ( Congrats chuk686 on your fastrack approval... WOW!)

Greetings all. I have been reading through the forum and trying to develop a strategy for getting my fiance and her son to the US. Posting in this forum as we can get married in Mexico and file DCF, actually leaning that way but could use some of your esteemed advice.

BACKSTORY - Have been living together since AUG 2010 in Ensenada, B.C. Mexico in a rental house with both names on the lease. I have been semi-retired for 10 years but want to to get back to the US to work, self employed. I do not have my FM-3 but can get it ASAP, do have a valid tourist VISA for Mexico that expires in mid June. I will use financial assets to prove ability to provide for them.

Assuming we get married in Mexico and I have my FM-3 I have the following questions:

What is the correct or best location for getting her CR-1 done ASAP? Mexico Df, Monterrey, Ciudad Juarez, or ????? The Us GOV website is not clear on what consulate would process a DCF from Baja California. Any office that has a USCIS. (Monterrey, Juarez, Mexico DF and Tijuana). http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=a374b363bf568110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextoid=1e09aba06bb09110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD

Our marriage would be recent, does this

1. eliminate the financial savings of DCF? no, since you won't have to adjust status when you get to the US. The date of the wedding has no bearing. With a K-1 you'll still have to adjust status, where with CR-1 you will have a green card and SSN immediately.

2. also a little confused on her status regarding recent married. Am I correct in understanding we will have to file AOS for her after 2 years? Does these mean she is also treated the same as someone who comes in under a fiance VISA? You don't have to adjust your status, just "remove conditions" from the VISA and show them you are still married after 2 years. The cost of that is around $500. Adjusting Status from a K-1 is over $1000

Thank you in advance for your advice.

The bottom line is as soon as you enter the US, your wife will have her SSN and Green Card mailed to her. Where with K-1, you'll have to adjust status, and wait some more till that's done. Only after that she will be able to work.

Or maybe I don´t even need the beneficiary ID. I can print and mail the DS 230 instead of filling out the online application which asks for the ID number. Is that what you all did?

Hi Natalien!

Just pulled up our DS-230 copy. I have never heard of the DS-230 being filled out online, and we just got approved. You might be talking about the DS-260?

Regardless, you need to fill out both. The DS-260 confirmation that is e-mailed to you (after you fill out the form online), you bring that to the interview. You fill out the paper DS-230, mail Part I in and bring Part II in with you to the interview to sign in front of a consular officer.

Never heard of a beneficiary ID. The only thing I can think of is Invoice ID, which I talked about in a previous post. It is required to fill out the DS-260 online.

Hi, at the Clinica Medica Internacional they told me 72 hours for kids'. You may come on Sunday night, get there first thing in the morning on Monday and do your interview on Thursday! Or spend the weekend here. I hope this helps Sarah&Michael

Hi everyone! APPROVED TODAY!!! So excited to fly home tomorrow and get out of this hotel. But it was all worth it. I had a little luck on my side everything went off without any surprises and I did the medical appointment and Interview really fast. I have posted a review if you are interested. Thanks again for all your help! Good luck everyone!

Hi friends!

In Juarez since yesterday. Wanted to share things as I go while they are fresh in my mind.

Arrived in the morning yesterday on VivaAerobus from MEX. Heavily secured airport.

Victor picked me up at the airport, although I had to walk to the main st. because the taxistas do not like him picking up business at the airport. I'd recommend hiring him, very nice man, lots of good advice.

Checked in at La Quinta just off the consulate row. Hotel has been great! Great breakfast, very nice and helpful people, reliable shuttle, fast internet, and very good air conditioning. It's clean and the pool area is very nice. And there is a coupon out there that will save you $10 or more off a night (that I didn't know about). http://www.smf.juarez-mexico.com/index.php?topic=25213.0

ASC Appointment

Yesterday went to my ASC appointment at 1:00PM, the appointment was at 2PM. Stood outside for a while it was hot. Looks like there were people in line waiting alongside the building adjacent. I was confused if I should stand in that line. But at about 1:40 I just went to the front door (when they were accepting the next round of people) and showed the guard my appointment letter and my printout from the usvisa-info site that shows the date and time of my appointment and was let in.

*IMPORTANT* You must have your "Invitation Letter" that was mailed to you from Juarez. They didn't let people pass if they didn't have this. I gave them my passport, invitation letter, and DS-260 confirmation that was e-mailed to me after I filled out the DS-260 form online. They put it all in a zipped folder, gave it to me, did a security check (bring as little as possible - there are many items that are prohibited) - you may bring your cell phone but must remove the battery to show them it is off. After the security check I was sent over to the seating area and waited for an open window. The girl took my photo, fingerprints and that was it.

So far no surprises, so fingers crossed for more good luck. Medical on Monday morning and then my appointment is Tuesday. It's really hot here, like 100+

Hi there, my wife and I both live in Mexico City I am a Canadian citizen. We both have FM-3 visas which has allowed us to do Direct Consular Filing.

I have my medical appt. on Monday, but I had my ASC appointment yesterday. I will ask your question for you, and get back to you.

As far as I know you need 4 days for the results of the kids'. But maybe they will say otherwise.

I'm not going to wait here for the Visa, they will mail it to me in DF. They told me it will be 5-10 business days.

Hi!

Why are you in Juarez and you flag is from Canada?

Are you going to the medical on Monday or you already went? If you haven't could you please ask, since I am taking kids on a K2, how many days it takes for them? What if I went early on a Monday? Early on a Thursday? I would appreciate it so much! I called and they said I would go Monday and I get them Wednesday, but the site says 4 working days, so just to double check could you please ask? And another question for you, are you planning on waiting for your visa there in Juarez? Thanks!!

Can someone give me at outline of their experience with getting this visa? Preferrably someone who is living in Mexico? Thank you so much!!

Hi Sarah&Oscar

We have a whole community of us in Mexico that are going through the process right now. It's called DCF Mexico. Check that out.

At the moment I'm in Juarez, my interview is on Tuesday. The whole DCF process has been very fast and organized. If you have all of your documents, I'd say 3-4 months if your case isn't complicated.

Feel free to post in that forum if you have other questions that aren't answered there.

Cheers!

Chris, best of luck to you buddy. Let us know how it goes and if possible post a review in the embassy section after all is said and done. The more info the better. Sucks you have to spend the weekend in CDJ, but maybe you could make a movie marathon out of it at the hotel.. bring your dvd player J/K but that's probably what I'd do... Anyway, enjoy the pool and let us know all about your stay.

As far as where we're at, our tentative plan right now is to do the move in approx. 1 year so our son can finish his schooling (what they call 'Kinder') here in GDL. So we think Summer 2012 would be a good transition time for us and then he could start elementary school in the Fall there in the states. So I'll have to be keen in order to get the timing right, but I expect that we will file perhaps a month or two before the end of the year. That's the plan right now anyway.

So just to recap and get an idea, when exactly did you file your DFC application?

Will definitely be posting a review, as the process has been ever changing. There's the DS-260 now and ASC appointment. And that god awful usvisa-info site. So I hope I have all my bases covered.

We filed February 24th in Mexico City. Everything has been moving at a great pace, the only thing I regret is not being more proactive about getting my case #. It could've sped things up a few weeks if I had called and found it out rather than wait for the letter.

If all goes well at the Consulate the whole process will have taken 96 days. Not too bad, and soooo glad we chose to take the DCF route!

As to your timing, I think you should be OK. Shoot for 3-4 months for the process to run its course, and then once your wife receives the Visa you'll have another 6 months to make the move. Or if you still need more time, she can cross and come back at her leisure since she'll be a us LPR.

Got a few seasons of TV to catch up on in Juarez this weekend, and I'll get a little time in the sun. So all in all, although I'm a bit nervous to travel there, should be a nice little vacation.

You won't have any problems if the cheque is from a US bank. Check out the DCF Mexico forum, many of people on there have done that. It's the banks here in Mexico that are a little sketchy. Good luck!

Thanks so much for the reply and advice. We haven´t had any luck finding a place here in Mérida, I´m thinking I´m going to have my family send me one from a US bank in AZ and use that...hopefully there won´t be any problems. I was hoping to hear from the girl above in the forum that said she was planning on using one sent from the US....to see if there had been any issues.

Anyways, we can´t wait longer and we aren´t planning on going to Cancun anytime soon...so I think we´ll try the other route.

thanks so much!

Joseph

Hi All!

I hope everyone is doing great on their journeys. Feeling a little bit nervous because our interview is in Juarez on next Tuesday but I'm traveling there Friday for the medical and ASC appt. Not excited about spending the weekend there.

Thank you for all of your support and help along the way. I will post a review and answer any questions anyone may have to pay it forward to those who have helped us along the way.

zeezee44 - so happy your process is moving quickly!

natalien - thanks for clarifying Casa de Cambio Tiber. I was the one that couldn't find it but it worked out anyways because CI Banco did the trick.

dhudson - where you at with your process? When do you think you will file? Wishing you a quick and painless process. You're an expert now.

Send your questions my way. Going to spend lots of time at the pool at La Quinta where this weekend it will be 106 degrees!

Chris

Hi Lauralbelle, Lia and Chuk...I´m new to the forum, but SO relieved to have found it. I hope by now you´ve all got your K3 visas figured out. I´m just starting the process! I´m living in Mérida with my wife (Yucateca) and can´t find ANY place in town to buy a Money Order...is my only real option to have a family member in the US send me one from there? There´s no problem with a US money order being valid in Mexico? Who does it need to be made out to...USCIS? Department of Homeland Security? I have many questions...but this issue of the money order is my primary headache at the time. Thanks for any help!!

Hey JosephDarnell!

We're actually working on a CR-1 Visa now - not the K-3. But regardless you have to find a place that will issue you a money order for the USCIS fee. Here's what I suggest. Look in Merida for places called Casa de Cambio. Should be a few there and they usually do US Money Orders. If not I would suggest going into Cancun or Campeche. There would surely be one there.

I had the cheque made out to: "USCIS/ Department of Homeland Security" - exactly like that.

Thank you so much for all your help!

I heard from the consulate today that we can schedule an appointment from june 1 to june 15, but we don't have our letter or case # or anything yet!

Chuck 686, you said we can go to http://ciudadjuarez....visa-forms.html to get the letter - does that mean I just print out the letter that opens as a PDF when I click "Packet 3"? If so, do you mind telling me exactly what you sent in with that letter? The letter checked off and signed, the form I-864 without the attached evidence, the DS-230... or what?

For our Packet 3 I sent in:

1. DS-230 Part I Signed and filled out

2. Checklist in the PDF when you open Packet 3 (Signed and all boxes checked).

3. I-864 Affidavit of Support filled out by my wife.

4. 3 Years tax returns.

5. Financial support documents (Bank statements of savings accounts, asset Statements.)

On that letter it says to send DS-230, but on the website it lists DS-260. Should I send both? Fill out both (DS-260 is online and they'll e-mail you the confirmation. Print and bring the confirmation PDF to your interview.) DS-230 only send in Part I. Part II Bring to the Interview you'll need to sign before a consular officer.

If I call the 703 number they'll give me my case number if I have my passport number? If a case number has been assigned, you'll need the beneficiary's passport number to receive it. It's like a security code to be able to identify you as the beneficiary.

Sorry for so many questions! I just wasn't expecting to be given such an early appointment and I want to make sure we don't get delayed because I screwed up the paperwork!

Thanks!

Hope this HELPS! Let us know if you have any more questions. I know at the Packet 3 stage is where I was a bit confused.

Hi All,

I'm a USC married to a Spanish citizen, both living and working in Mexico City with FM-3's. We turned our I-130 application into the Embassy and they told us 36 hours later it was approved and in the mail.

A few questions for those of you familiar with the next steps:

1) What do I do now? Wait for an approval number? Will they send me packet 3? Is there anything I can be preparing now/sending in to speed up the process?

2) I've heard some people have had problems not having the invoice number from NVC when doing form DS-260. Is this a problem?

3) I've also heard we'll be needing a police report? Where/how do we obtain this? If my husband is Spanish but a resident of Mexico, which country does he need the police report from?

Any and all advice is very much appreciated!

Hi zeezee44, welcome!

Here is my advice, we're also two people on FM-3's doing Direct Consular Filing.

1) You need to get your IV-Case Number to be able to proceed. You'll need that number to go ahead an fill out the DS-260 form (will look like CDJXXXXXXXXXX). And for the DS-230. They will send you in the post a letter with it, but I recommend calling the 703# (See previous posts in this thread to find it) and getting it over the phone; it will be quicker that way. Packet 3 won't be a packet it will be a letter with this link: http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/immigrant-visa-and-fiancee-visa-forms.html you can begin filling out Form DS-230, there is also a checklist of things you need to prepare, and fill it out and sign it, and I-864 affidavit of support. As soon as you find out your case number, you can go ahead and fill out the forms and mail them in. One reason we got set back a few weeks was because I waited on the letter and didn't call to find out our case number. Just follow the instructions on the checklist in the link I provided. As soon as you have a number, send it in.

2) The invoice ID # ( I e-mailed and inquired about this is: beneficiary's year of birth/ month/ day example: 19771122) You will need it to log in and fill out the DS-260. Along with your Case number. (Also in the link)

3) See Dhudson's post for this - he answered it brilliantly.

Hope this helps.

jennie ann. We have the same interview date! Best of luck!

You are free to travel on your Tourist Visa while your case is pending. Bring evidence of ties to Mexico, such as a lease, letter from employer in English (saying you'll return), return ticket.

Juarez is the only post in Mexico that processes Immigrant Visas (K-1 falls into this category), Mexico City at this moment does tourist visas and adoption cases.

http://mexico.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas.html

The bottom line is you have a Canadian passport, and we are the exception. The US does not require a visa to cross the border.

"If your relative is currently in the U.S., complete the following: He or she arrived as a: "B-2 Visitor" ?? (NO because you're a Canadian - Visa-Free travel).

"Arrival/Departure Record (I-94): | | | |-| | | | | | | | |" ---> What in high heaven would I put here? (Date you arrived, And date of departure as per your travel Itinerary).

"Date Arrived:" Would be the day I crossed the border with B2? (Yup)

"Date authorized stay expired, or will expire, as shown on Form I-94 or I-95:" I would assume this would be the 6 month expiry date for B2, however it asks for I-94/95, so...? (Yes, but again your passport allows you to travel Visa Free). So 180 days (6 months).

Hey there, I'll take a stab at it. I studied in Hawaii for two years and met my wife there. Now we're living in Mexico doing DCF!

For a 10 week visit as a Canadian citizen rarely have I encountered getting an I-94. But if you get one, just be completely honest. When he files, again be honest, there is nothing wrong with you going to the States for a visit when he files. You are married after all.

I would bring ties back to Canada, an employment letter, lease, car registration, or if you're in school show that you're enrolled. A ticket back home would be the most important thing.

They shouldn't hassle you, but bring some ties back to Canada, and just be honest. I've crossed 3 times into the US since we filed and never had any issues. Also the fact that you haven't filed yet shouldn't raise any red flags at the border.

I posted this earlier in CR-1 forum but didn't get a satisfactory answer :\

My husband (the USC/Petitioner) will be filing my I-130 (For CR-1) while I'm with him for a summer visit in Hawaii.

If he answers that I'm a visitor in the U.S. at the time of filing, how am I supposed to fill the form? I will be leaving to go back to Toronto after a 10 week visit.

The last two summers I've gone for long visits I got a B2 stamp in my passport (at Pearson customs) without issue, so I'm going to assume it will happen again.

So assuming I get that B2, what would we put in for question 14?

"If your relative is currently in the U.S., complete the following: He or she arrived as a: "B-2 Visitor" ??

"Arrival/Departure Record (I-94): | | | |-| | | | | | | | |" ---> What in high heaven would I put here?

"Date Arrived:" Would be the day I crossed the border with B2?

"Date authorized stay expired, or will expire, as shown on Form I-94 or I-95:" I would assume this would be the 6 month expiry date for B2, however it asks for I-94/95, so...?

Advice? Thanks anyone. I know a lot of people do this for their I-130, it just seems they haven't replied to my first cry for