My mom has her appt Oct 8th in Juarez - Help with some questions please!

[EL GODFATHER 0]

Hello everyone,

I came across this forum not too long ago as I was trying to do some research about immigration in regards to the petition for my mom. First and foremost I want to thank all of you as it shows how people that have struggle with this immigration stuff and now have successfully overcome their issues are willing to give others a helping hand.

So, I petition my mom who lives in Mexico and after all of the paperwork she has finally received the notice for her appointment in Ciudad Juarez. The appointment is scheduled for October 8th at 1:00 PM and I went to the Visa website to see the medical examination requirements in addition to reviewing the letter that I received via email about the appointment.

My backgound

US citizen, petition my mom about a year ago, Paperwork has been received and on the letter for the appointment it does not indicate that she needs to bring anything but her passport. No issues with deportation or anything like that. My mom was a resident years ago, got married, had me, got divorced a few years later, I lived in Mexico until I was 16 and then I came over to live with my dad.

I'm wondering if someone can help me paint a picture of how things are going to work out so, I have come up with some questions...

***Medical exam***

How long does the medical examination take?

When do you get the results?

Does my mom need to be there a couple of days before the appointment to take care of this?

***About the appointment***

How early does she have to be there if her appointment is at 1:00 PM?

What happens after a successful interview?

What are some of the things that can go wrong?

***Misc***

After a successful interview, is she given a temporary Visa the same day?

I'm planning to go and meet her there but I'm not sure if I will be necessary. If she gets the Visa the same day, then I would like to bring her over for a couple of weeks. If she doesn't because it is not a common practice, I may consider not going. What do you think?

I thank you very much in advance for your time and support.

-B.

[inwayovermyhead 0]

How long does the medical examination take?

It can take up to 4 hours, depends really on your spot in line, but it moves quickly.

When do you get the results?

The same day, its a chronological order, the actual "check up" is a 4 step process and they are very explanatory during the whole process.

first you give your appt letter n shot record to the person at the front desk.

Then they

1.take you to a cubicle, take a pic, they type the info on your passport.

Now they can call you by name to step:

2.blood sample,

3.x ray,

4.check up by nurse, who also applies the shots, then by a dr,

and then of course payment.

after you pay, you are given a receipt and a time to go back. later that same day. then you have a seat and wait for your name to be called. you pick up your results, if there was anything wrong theyll let you know and ask you to go the next day..

THINGS THAT ARE COMMONLY WRONG:

x ray picture didnt come out clear.

wrong name on the results envelope.

Does my mom need to be there a couple of days before the appointment to take care of this?

Well i say, better safe than sorry, I arrived 2 days before the interview, I was able to have my drs. in one day. and thanks to some of the reading i've done, i was careful at the x rays, and i double checked my name on the envelope!!

***About the appointment***

How early does she have to be there if her appointment is at 1:00 PM?

she should arrive at 12:30, your place in line does not determine what time you'll be attended. Sure they give you a slip with a number on it... ONLY for ID purposes. but I was there, my number was 1533 and the old lady next to me was somewhere in the 40's and she was done almost an hour before i was.

What happens after a successful interview?

The officer interviewing her will give her written notice, then she should be directed to the DHL cubicle for further instructions. NOTE: dhl cost 8 dlls, or its equivalent in pesos.

What are some of the things that can go wrong?

Acualy your case seems pretty clean cut. IF your paper work is in order, they usually dont ask too many questions, so advise your mom to be as SHORT with her answers as possible, Yes, No,

***Misc***

After a successful interview, is she given a temporary Visa the same day?

Not exactly, The DHL package should have instructions, and ofcourse it depends on how long it takes for DHL to deliver the package. from what i've read, theres an envelope only to be opened by a US officer at the bridge. Then he would stamp her passport and allow her through.

I'm planning to go and meet her there but I'm not sure if I will be necessary. If she gets the Visa the same day, then I would like to bring her over for a couple of weeks. If she doesn't because it is not a common practice, I may consider not going. What do you think?

well, if she's familiar with the city, I'm pretty sure she can manage her way around the place. but if she's from another town, other than Juarez you might consider, having someone accompany her, They wont let the company in the drs. office or in the consulate, but either way its good to know someone is there.

Hang in there, I wish you and your mom GOOD LUCK!!

Edited September 18, 2009 by inwayovermyhead

[nocturnalbeat 0]

Hello everyone,

I came across this forum not too long ago as I was trying to do some research about immigration in regards to the petition for my mom. First and foremost I want to thank all of you as it shows how people that have struggle with this immigration stuff and now have successfully overcome their issues are willing to give others a helping hand.

So, I petition my mom who lives in Mexico and after all of the paperwork she has finally received the notice for her appointment in Ciudad Juarez. The appointment is scheduled for October 8th at 1:00 PM and I went to the Visa website to see the medical examination requirements in addition to reviewing the letter that I received via email about the appointment.

My backgound

US citizen, petition my mom about a year ago, Paperwork has been received and on the letter for the appointment it does not indicate that she needs to bring anything but her passport. No issues with deportation or anything like that. My mom was a resident years ago, got married, had me, got divorced a few years later, I lived in Mexico until I was 16 and then I came over to live with my dad.

I'm wondering if someone can help me paint a picture of how things are going to work out so, I have come up with some questions...

***Medical exam***

How long does the medical examination take?

When do you get the results?

Does my mom need to be there a couple of days before the appointment to take care of this?

***About the appointment***

How early does she have to be there if her appointment is at 1:00 PM?

What happens after a successful interview?

What are some of the things that can go wrong?

***Misc***

After a successful interview, is she given a temporary Visa the same day?

I'm planning to go and meet her there but I'm not sure if I will be necessary. If she gets the Visa the same day, then I would like to bring her over for a couple of weeks. If she doesn't because it is not a common practice, I may consider not going. What do you think?

I thank you very much in advance for your time and support.

-B.

Hello ELGODFATHER,

I am also petitioning for my mom and my case will be sent to the Juarez Consulate soon. Hope that our mothers' journey turns out to be a very smooth and painless process. Anyhow, here is the information that I can provide for you based on what I have read and been told from others:

I am not sure on how long the medical exam takes but the clinics take in immigrant visa applicants between the hours of 7-11am Monday-Friday. They do accept walk-ins from what I have been told but it is better to make an appointment by calling the following numbers:

CLINICA MEDICA INTERNACIONAL

Ave. Ramón Rivera Lara #9020

Col. Partido Senecú

Ciudad Juárez, Chih., México C.P. 32543

Phone: (011-52-656) 227-2800

Fax: (011-52-656) 227-2800 ext. 2858

SERVICIOS MEDICOS

Av. Prol. Ramon Rivera Lara #8950

Col. Partido Senecú

Ciudad Juárez, Chih., México C.P. 32540

Phone: (011-52-656) 688-2700

Fax: (011-52-656) 688-2701

The Consulate also states that anyone over 14 years of age should take their medical examination at least one or two days before the appointment. However, I have also come to know that if your mother requires to get the tuberculosis shot, otherwise known as the tdap, then the doctors may need on average 2 days to obtain the results from the test. I will personally schedule my mom's medical exam appointment 2 business days (not saturday nor sunday) before the interview if the interview lands on a monday or tuesday and 3 business days if it lands on wednesday, thursday or friday.

The results are usually given to you in a sealed envelope (do not open it) or forwarded to the consulate directly the same day of the exam unless they require additional examination of for example, the tdap shot.

To answer your other questions, if your mother's appointment at the consulate is at 1:00pm, she should be there at 12:30pm. Please keep in mind that they won't let her in any earlier than that. Don't worry too much about this since people are interviewed by appointment time and not on a first come, first serve basis.

After a successful interview the consulate would do either of two things:

They will make your mom wait a few hours 2-3 typically. If this happens, chances are that she will walk out with a visa in her hands.

If they make her wait about one hour and ask for the name and address of the hotel where she is staying at, they will send her the immigrant visa by DHL and she will get it the following day.

Note that during the interview she will be eletronically fingerprinted and her name, as well as her picture and fingerprints will be checked against the IBIS, and IDENT databases. Check this link out for information on any of those databases.

http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_06-06_Nov05.pdf

Typically the people that appear in these databases are people that have a criminal record, that are security treats to the U.S., that are in the middle of a deportation hearing, or that tried to cross ilegally into the U.S. and where fingerprinted when they were caught by the Border Patrol.

If your mom was not involved in any of the above scenarios, her paperwork is complete, she has paid all of the necessary fees (AOS and IV bills) and got an ok on the medical examination, then there should be no reason why she wouldn't get her immigrant visa.

After she gets her passport back with her immigrant visa, she will also get a sealed envelope (once again, do not open this) which she has to give to the CBS (Customs and Border Inspection) officer, at a port of entry when she arrives.

I will personally walk with my mom to the Juarez-El paso port of entry as soon as she gets her immigrant visa and sealed envelope. Please keep in mind that you and your mom will have to wait another couple of hours before eveything is taken care of. They may also (more than likely actually) fingerprint your mom again and run her through the IBIS and IDENT databases again just to make sure that she is ok to go. Once this is done, she will eventually become a United States Permanent Resdient

She has six months from the date that her Immigrant visa was issued to enter the U.S. otherwise, her visa will expire.

Hope this was somewhat helpful to you.

Note: She will be the only one allowed to go into the consulate. You can wait for her at the hotel. Make sure that she buys a pre-paid LADATEL telephone card so she can call you to your hotel. They have a mexican public telephone inside the consulate's lobby, and this is best advisable to do since she will not be able to take her cell phone with her. Also, make sure that she carries with her some extra money to pay for the DHL service. I would say that $40 should do. Hence, you don't want her to carry too much money in Juarez.

Also, please make sure that she doesn't talk to any strangers about her case, and that if she does have any questions, to ask the people that work inside the consulate.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. The best of luck to you and your mother,

Sincerely,

Nocturnal Beat

Edited September 18, 2009 by nocturnalbeat

[nocturnalbeat 0]

Hello everyone,

I came across this forum not too long ago as I was trying to do some research about immigration in regards to the petition for my mom. First and foremost I want to thank all of you as it shows how people that have struggle with this immigration stuff and now have successfully overcome their issues are willing to give others a helping hand.

So, I petition my mom who lives in Mexico and after all of the paperwork she has finally received the notice for her appointment in Ciudad Juarez. The appointment is scheduled for October 8th at 1:00 PM and I went to the Visa website to see the medical examination requirements in addition to reviewing the letter that I received via email about the appointment.

My backgound

US citizen, petition my mom about a year ago, Paperwork has been received and on the letter for the appointment it does not indicate that she needs to bring anything but her passport. No issues with deportation or anything like that. My mom was a resident years ago, got married, had me, got divorced a few years later, I lived in Mexico until I was 16 and then I came over to live with my dad.

I'm wondering if someone can help me paint a picture of how things are going to work out so, I have come up with some questions...

***Medical exam***

How long does the medical examination take?

When do you get the results?

Does my mom need to be there a couple of days before the appointment to take care of this?

***About the appointment***

How early does she have to be there if her appointment is at 1:00 PM?

What happens after a successful interview?

What are some of the things that can go wrong?

***Misc***

After a successful interview, is she given a temporary Visa the same day?

I'm planning to go and meet her there but I'm not sure if I will be necessary. If she gets the Visa the same day, then I would like to bring her over for a couple of weeks. If she doesn't because it is not a common practice, I may consider not going. What do you think?

I thank you very much in advance for your time and support.

-B.

Hello ELGODFATHER,

I am also petitioning for my mom and my case will be sent to the Juarez Consulate soon. Hope that our mothers' journey turns out to be a very smooth and painless process. Anyhow, here is the information that I can provide for you based on what I have read and been told from others:

I am not sure on how long the medical exam takes but the clinics take in immigrant visa applicants between the hours of 7-11am Monday-Friday. They do accept walk-ins from what I have been told but it is better to make an appointment by calling the following numbers:

CLINICA MEDICA INTERNACIONAL

Ave. Ramón Rivera Lara #9020

Col. Partido Senecú

Ciudad Juárez, Chih., México C.P. 32543

Phone: (011-52-656) 227-2800

Fax: (011-52-656) 227-2800 ext. 2858

SERVICIOS MEDICOS

Av. Prol. Ramon Rivera Lara #8950

Col. Partido Senecú

Ciudad Juárez, Chih., México C.P. 32540

Phone: (011-52-656) 688-2700

Fax: (011-52-656) 688-2701

The Consulate also states that anyone over 14 years of age should take their medical examination at least one or two days before the appointment. However, I have also come to know that if your mother requires to get the tuberculosis shot, otherwise known as the tdap, then the doctors may need on average 2 days to obtain the results from the test. I will personally schedule my mom's medical exam appointment 2 business days (not saturday nor sunday) before the interview if the interview lands on a monday or tuesday and 3 business days if it lands on wednesday, thursday or friday.

The results are usually given to you in a sealed envelope (do not open it) or forwarded to the consulate directly the same day of the exam unless they require additional examination of for examp,e, the tdap shot.

To answer your other questions, if your mother's appointment is at 1:00pm, she should be there at 12:30pm. Please keep in mind that they won't let her in any earlier than that. Don't worry too much about this since people are interviewed by appointment time and not on a first come, first served basis.

After a successful interview the consulate would do either of two things:

They will make your mom wait a few hours 2-3 typically. If this happens, chances are that she will walk out with a visa in her hands.

If they make her wait about one hour and ask for the name and address of the hotel where she is staying at, they will send her the immigrant visa by DHL and she will get it the following day.

Note that during the interview she will be eletronically fingerprinted and her name, as well as her picture and fingerprints will be checked against the IBIS, and IDENT databases. Check this link out for information on any of those databases.

http://www.dhs.gov/xoig/assets/mgmtrpts/OIG_06-06_Nov05.pdf

Typically the people that appear in these databases are people that have a criminal record, that are security treats to the U.S., that are in the middle of a deportation hearing, or that tried to cross ilegally into the U.S. and where fingerprinted when they were caught by the Border Patrol.

If your mom was not involved in any of the above scenarios, her paperwork is complete, she has paid all of the necessary fees (AOS and IV bills) and got an ok on the medical examination, then there should be no reason why she wouldn't get her immigrant visa.

After she gets her passport back with her immigrant visa, she will also get a sealed envelope (once again, do not open this) which she has to give to the CBS (Customs and Border Inspection) officer, at a port of entry when she arrives.

I will personally walk with my mom to the Juarez-El paso port of entry as soon as she gets her immigrant visa and sealed envelope. Please keep in mind that you and your mom will have to wait another couple of hours before eveything is taken care of. They may also (more than likely actually) fingerprint your mom again and run her through the IBIS and IDENT databases again just to make sure that she is ok to go. Once this is done, she will eventually become a United States Permanent Resdient

She has six months from the date that her Immigrant visa was issued to enter the U.S. otherwise, her visa will expire.

Hope this was somewhat helpful to you.

Note: She will be the only one allowed to go into the consulate. You can wait for her at the hotel. Make sure that she buys a pre-paid LADATEL telephone card so she can call you to your hotel. They have a mexican public telephone inside the consulate's lobby, and this is best advisable to do since she will not be able to take her cell phone with her. Also, make sure that she carries with her some extra money to pay for the DHL service. I would say that $20 should do. Hence, you don't want her to carry too much money in Juarez.

Also, please make sure that she doesn't talk to any strangers about her case, and that if she does have any questions, to ask the people that work inside the consulate.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. The best of luck to you and your mother,

Sincerely,

Nocturnal Beat

[EL GODFATHER 0]

Thank you "inwayovermyhead" and "nocturnalbeat". Your answers and advice give me a pretty good picture of how things should go.

A couple of more questions?

I'm from the bay area and I'm undecided whether to drive or take a plane to El Paso. What do you recommend?

How is the drive in Juarez? (I've driven in Tijuana and Rosarito without any issues, so I know that is a little more rough and I have to be more alert) is it the same in Juarez?

The only savings would be on the way back as I wouldn't have to pay for a ticket for my mom, but the drive will at least be 17/18 hours each way.

Is having a car helpful while in Juarez? or cabs and public transportation are just as convenient?

What Hotels are good to stay at? what do you recommend? I'm looking at a 4 night stay.

I looked at hotel Maria Bonita online at $59. dollars/night. should I make reservations prior to going or will I find something less expensive once I'm there?

Thank you again for your help

-B

[inwayovermyhead 0]

A couple of more questions?

I'm from the bay area and I'm undecided whether to drive or take a plane to El Paso. What do you recommend?

17hr drive? personally i would take a plane on any trip that is more than 10 hrs. because you still have to stay over night somewhere.

How is the drive in Juarez? (I've driven in Tijuana and Rosarito without any issues, so I know that is a little more rough and I have to be more alert) is it the same in Juarez?

pretty much. we always drive with our doors locked and eyes on the back of our heads!!

The only savings would be on the way back as I wouldn't have to pay for a ticket for my mom, but the drive will at least be 17/18 hours each way.

Is having a car helpful while in Juarez? or cabs and public transportation are just as convenient?

well, you can find anything within reasonable walking distance from the consulate. food, hotel, mall.

also, there is no such thing as free parking around here. even in public places you always have to leave at least a tip. taxi's are reliable, buses are crazy!!

What Hotels are good to stay at? what do you recommend? I'm looking at a 4 night stay.

sorry, i dont know.

I looked at hotel Maria Bonita online at $59. dollars/night. should I make reservations prior to going or will I find something less expensive once I'm there?

wow really?? this is a good hotel to stay in. but is pretty far from consulate, either way, its on a heavy traffic avenue, so again you can also find nearly everything within walking distance from hotel. the mall near to the hotel is not so near... but its in the same avenue. it shouldnt be more than a 7 minute cab drive. the thing about these hotels though, most have shuttles that take you to consulate & to the clinic.. you may want to look into that

to make your hotel selecion easier.

Thank you again for your help

[EL GODFATHER 0]

Thank you

[estrella 14]

A good hotel and not so expensive as far as i could tell was i was there, was the "Microhotel" it was right there next to the consulate.

Also your mom could use your help, and not being alone in Juarez is a good idea, also going to the bridge to get the passport stamped and all that would be better to do it with her, also If she is a senior citizen they would let you in with her in the consulate during her interview.

Good luck!!!