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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on March 23, 2022: |
trac3rt
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
I've been meaning to post a review here for the past month, but (even thought I was approved) I was still traumatized from the whole event.
A quick background on my case. I entered the US without inspection in 2003 and received DACA in 2012. I had 6 years of unlawful presence. So I had to bring the I-601A waiver approved with me to the interview.
I had my appointment scheduled for the Feb 8, 2022. Not sure if they still do this, but my appointment was broken up into two days. First day you drop off documents and second day is the actual interview.
Feb 2 (Wednesday), traveled to El Paso, TX and took a taxi all the way to the Hotel Mesaluna. By the way, highly recommended hotel but it is one of the pricier hotels in the area. Still, I barely slept that night. I was sad to leave my wife and my two very young children back home. My lawyer and I went through every detail on my case and assured me there was nothing to worry about, but I was still scare of the worst case scenario.
Feb 3 (Thursday), I had my fingerprint appointment at the CAS in Ciudad Juarez at around 10:30AM. It had snowed (about 1 inch) the night before and it was about 27 degrees F outside. I arrive 45 minutes in advance and they were letting people in as they arrived. Still, there was a long line and waited in line outside for about 30 min. Once inside the building they simply ask you to turn off your phone and they wave you with the metal detector. The line inside moved a lot faster. I believe it took me about 10 min to get to the front of the line. All they asked for was for my passport and DS-260. They took a photo, fingerprints, and put a sticker on the back of my passport with my name and a barcode.
I went back to the hotel, which is only a 5 min walk from the CAS office. I had lunch and called taxi to go get the Constancia de Antecedentes no Penales. I filled out the application online, went to an OXXO to pay the fees and then we picked up the document. It was super fast and easy.
Feb 4 (Friday), I had my medical appointment at 6am at Clinica Medica de la Frontera. I called them the day before and asked them to pick me up at the hotel, which they did. It is only a 5-7 minute walk from the hotel, but it was cold and dark. I am glad they picked me up.
At the clinic they simply asked for my passport, DS-260, consulate appointment letter/email, and record of vaccinations. First, they checked us in and divided us in to two groups: male and female. In the male side, they had us take off our shirts and did a chest X-ray. Next, they did an eye exam. After that, they took me to a private room, asked me to undress (except underwear), and waited for the doctor. Doctor came in a few min later, asked a few questions:
- Do you smoke?
- Do you do drugs?
- Do you have any tattoos?
- Have you had any problem with the police?
Then he lift up my gown and took a quick look to see if I had any tattoos and told me to get dressed again. From there, I was instructed to go to vaccinations. I was missing two vaccines. So they gave me the shots and sent me to pay my bill.
This was on a Friday, so the results weren’t ready until Monday.
Feb 5 (Saturday), there was nothing to do.
Feb 6 (Sunday), there was also nothing to do.
Feb 7 (Monday), was a Mexican holiday so consulate was closed, but the clinic was open so I went to pick up my exam results. They were in a black envelope, which told me no to open and bring it to the consulate.
Feb 8 (Tuesday), the consulate appointment was at 1:30PM. I arrived there at 12:45PM and did not let me until 1PM. The situation inside is very much like an airport. Absolutely no metal, cellphones, or smart watches allowed past security. I only brought my folder of papers.
Once you’re inside, they tell you where to go and which line to get on. Once I was in line, it went pretty fast. The inside looks very much like a bank. Just a bunch of glass windows all right next to each other and there is a ledge when you can put folder and pull documents. They asked me for the following, all original documents:
- Passport
- DS-260
- Marriage certificate
- My wife’s birth certificate
- My birth certificate
- Medical exam results (black envelope)
- Antecendentes no penales
Then they gave me a blue slip with my name on it and the date and time to come back for the second part of the interview. I was in there for maybe 90 minutes.
Feb 9 (Wednesday), the consulate was closed. I don’t know why. My guess is that it is one of those random days they use to catch up. I am speculating.
Feb 10 (Thursday), the interview was scheduled for 7AM. I arrived there at 6:15 and they started letting people in at 6:30AM. Again, went through security and once inside the wait time is longer. About an hour later finally got to my group and put me in another line to be interview. I think I stood there for about 45 minutes. You can hear the other interviews. Some people getting approved and also some getting denied. I tried to get my mind off of it, but it was hard. Pretty sure I was closed to having a panic attack just from hearing the other cases.
I finally go to the front of the line to an officer who had just recently denied the person in front of me, so I was so nervous I felt like I could barely breathe. The officer asked for the blue slip I was given during the first interview and went away to find my documents. When he came back he asked me the following:
• Do you swear that the documents in front of me are true and accurate to the best of your knowledge?
• Who is your sponsor?
• Where was she born?
• Is she still living in the same state?
• Do you have your wife’s original Birth Certificate?
• How did we meet?
• How long did we date before getting married?
• Is this the first marriage for both of us?
• Do we have any children?
• Where were they born?
• What are their ages?
• What does your wife do for a living?
• Do you work?
• What do you do for work?
• Does your wife have any siblings?
• Do you get along with her siblings?
• Do you get along with her parents?
• Do you have any tattoos?
• Have you had any problems with the police?
• When did you enter the US? I said, "October 2003"
• How did you enter the US? "Walking, without inspection"
• Who did you enter the US with? Friends or family? "Family"
• How old were you when you entered? "I was 15"
• So you entered in 2002 and 2003? I said, "No, I only entered in October 2003"
• You were caught once? I said, "yes, I was caught one time in October 2003"
• Okay, so you entered in the same month? I said, "Yes"
Then he pulled out a copy of the I601A waiver we sent to NVC and looked it up on his computer. He never asked for the original document. Then he said "your visa has been approved, congratulations!
I was in there maybe 2 hours an a half. It was pretty fast for me, since i was one of the first ones in line.
Feb 11 (Friday), there was nothing to do.
Feb 12 (Saturday), I received an email from the CAS saying that my passport was ready for pick up. I walked there immediately and picked up my passport and a yellow sealed envelop that they told me not to open and bring it to the port of entry.
I was ready to come home, but the flights were limited and expensive, so I bought a plane ticket for tomorrow and decided to say at the hotel one more night.
Feb 13 (Sunday), called a taxi and took me to the port of entry (the border). I turned in the yellow envelop and passport. They stamped my passport and let me in. Took another taxi (uber) to the airport and the rest is history.
Thank you and good luck!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #30890