Consulate Review: Juarez, Mexico
Review Topic: K1 Visa
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| Event |
Description |
| Review Date : |
November 11, 2012 |
| Embassy Review : |
We arrived in Juarez on Thursday, February 24th and checked in at La Quinta Inn. I would highly recommend that place! It was somewhere around $50 or 60 per night. The rooms are clean, the staff is uber helpful, and they also have a shuttle service to and from the consulate. They can also take you other short distances from the hotel, so they can possibly pick you up or drop you off at the airport/bus terminal. The only thing is that in the morning, they are often tied up with trips to the consulate, so if you need to go elsewhere plan on doing it in the afternoon. They also have a free (and quite nice) hot breakfast of eggs, beans, bread, fruit, etc… you can also get a waffle, but you have to ask for it.
You have to make your medical appointment at least 2 days in advance of your interview, so we woke up early (6am) to beat the lines at the clinic. They only accept clients until 10am, and they are closed on the weekends. We went to the first Medical Clinic on the corner simply because it was in the front. You have to bring your DS-260 appointment confirmation, passport, and invitation letter to present to the receptionist at the front desk. Luckily it got sent to me while I was still in the states, so we didn’t have to go over to the consulate for them to re-print it. We got lucky that there wasn’t anybody outside, but we still ended up waiting about an hour for my fiancé to be called.
My fiancé told me that after they called his name, he went to another waiting room on the inside where everyone takes off their shirt. Then they took everyone separately to get your height and weight. When they took chest x-rays they tell you to breathe in deep and strong. My fiancé was worried because the doctor told him that if you don’t do it right, you might not pass because they won’t get a good image. After that they send you to another room to undress completely. Unfortunately my fiancé had a woman doctor come in to check him out (awkward!!) She asked him if he has any tattoos, if he’s used drugs, if he smokes… My fiancé never has so we didn’t have a problem, which is good because we heard later that if you admit to smoking pot or doing drugs just once, they can deny you. They also took blood, and watch you while you give a urine sample so you can’t cheat. They took my fiancé to another room to tell him if he requires any vaccinations. BEWARE!!!! Make sure they FILL OUT THE FORM!!! They didn’t do that for us, and we ended up having to redo his appointment and pay another $610 in the USA because the form wasn’t filled out correctly! Finally, you pay your $180 at the desk, and they give you a color-coded wristband (don’t take it off!!!) that determines when you are supposed to come back for your results.
We got lunch at the little complex that was in front of the clinics and then it was time for the fingerprints. They only let you into the ASC building 15 minutes before your interview so we had to wait outside in the big crowd until it was my fiancé’s time. I wasn’t allowed inside. He checked in, and when they called his name to the little window they took his picture and fingerprints. They also changed our visa pick-up office. We had thought to stay and wait in Juarez until the visa came in, and pick it up at the drop office there. But the woman at the desk told my fiancé that it could take several weeks or a month! So she changed the location to Texcoco, Edo Mexico. After that it was time to go back to the medical clinic to get our results. They checked my fiancé’s wristband and his appointment confirmation documents while we waited in the line outside. They only let patients in to retrieve their results. They give you a big black envelope (DON’T OPEN IT! You need to present it at your interview) as well as a CD of your chest X-rays and a Vaccination Summary Report for your records. Again… MAKE SURE THE VACCINATION REPORT IS FILLED OUT, unless you would like to pay hundreds of dollars all over again in the USA.javascript:emoticon(\' \')
The weekend was pretty dull. Nothing was open except for the mall across the street. We saw “The Artist”, shopped a bit, and watched Netflix movies in our hotel room. Don’t order the hotel food. It’s not good at all. Sunday we ended up walking to a store a few blocks down the road to buy a cooked chicken and some tortillas and bread and sodas and such. We had wanted to go dancing on Saturday, but people say it’s pretty dangerous in the downtown (especially at night) so we just stayed home to cuddle, watch movies, and eat popcorn.
Monday’s interview was early so we woke up around 5am to get all our papers ready, and took the hotel shuttle to the consulate. We had to go to a separate building first (near the ASC) so that they could put all our papers in order and stamp them. Then we walked over to the consulate but the guards outside only let my fiancé in line after he showed them his appointment confirmation document. You can’t even stand in front of the consulate, I had to wait off to the side somewhere out in the cold. I ended up going over to the Starbucks across the street to wait. He was in there for about an hour and a half. Once they let my fiancé inside he checked in, passed security and metal detectors, and was given a number. He had to wait in this waiting “room” (really a sorta outdoor carport/garage) until his number showed up on the screen. When you see your number you cross back through security with your papers to get back into the building again. Inside, the security guards tell you to sit and wait… again... until your name is called. Finally, you get to the desk, and they ask for your papers. My fiancé showed his appointment confirmation document, the Notice of Action, your pictures, the Affidavit of Support, etc… and was sent to wait again. When they call your name again you go to a different window where they will give you your interview. They try to intimidate you but as long as you tell the truth and don’t let them frighten you, you should be fine. Don’t lie because if they catch you, you will be denied straight away. They asked my fiancé how we met, if he has ever illegally entered the United States, why does he want to travel to the United States, and what does he intend to do there. Finally, she said “congratulations your visa has been approved”, stamped my fiancé’s paper work, and sent us on our merry way! We went to Denny’s to celebrate! javascript:emoticon(\' \')
A final word of advice: try and make your interview appointment for over the weekend. I know it's boring and there is nothing to do there on Saturday or Sunday, but everyone seems to start the process on Monday and finish on Thursday or Friday. Since we kinda did it backwards, the lines were SIGNIFICANTLY shorter than we were expecting. And the last days there when we were leaving, on Monday and Tuesday we noticed the lines for the Medical Clinic and fingerprints had gotten HUGE! Start this process on a Friday and beat the lines!
We had a little freak-out because they sent my fiancé’s visa to the wrong drop office in Edo Mexico, so it took us a while longer to get the visa than we would have liked. Good thing we had kept our number (they gave it to us at the ASC for fingerprints) so we could track it down! DOA: July 2, 2012. Wedding date: July 19, 2012. Application for Adjustment of Status: August 8, 2012. Employment Authorization and Permission for Advance Parole card received in the mail October 22. Interview for Permanent Resident Visa: October 30. Pending decision extended until November 16… (crossed fingers)
(updated on November 10, 2012) |
| Rating : |
Good |
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