DCF Mexico

[Richie&Martha 0]

Marisol,

Check the paperwork in packet 4. You may need to be here 4 days ahead I am not sure. I know the baby will need more vaccines and a tb skin test I think. The tb takes 3 days because they will plant the injection under the skin and read it on the third day. You should be here tues night I would think so you can do the medical early wed morning so they can read the tb on friday. Then you should be able to pick up the results friday. My wife told me that there were people that were with her in the medical clinic friday that were not able to get their results until monday.

My wife said that the interview was short. They asked who I was, how we met, how I proposed, and that was it. They just said your visa is approved, welcome, and go to the DHL window. They told her the DHL packet will be ready to pick up the next day after 12. We are just waiting to pick up the packet.

The La quinta is great! The rooms are nice, the service is wonderful, the shuttle is great, etc. We booked like a month in advance and got a rate of $50 USD per night. We booked 5 night and it came to about $285 after tax. The medical we paid in pesos and it was $4350 or something close to that. They gave her 3 vaccines. Tdap, MMR, and varicella. They gave the price in USD and I think it was $334. The visa fee was $404 USD.

We booked tickets on Southwest airlines for Wed afternoon from El Paso. Since everything is on schedule we shouldn't have to make any changes.

We always ordered food to be delivered. There are lots of places that will deliver to the hotel. There is a Wendy's by the consulate, between the consulate and the medical clinic. There were alot of people waiting outside in a plaza at the consulate. I think they also had places to eat. Be sure to have change to use the pay phones or have a telmex card for the card phones to call for the shuttle. We never had to wait long for the shuttle, but some people had to wait a little while. It just depends on how busy they are.

The taxi from the airport to the hotel was $245 pesos. It depends on what zone you are going to, but I am sure all of the hotels by the consulate will be the same zone.

We took the photos across the street from the medical clinic by the mall. We paid $150 pesos. I think there are places cheaper but we had already paid by the time we found that out. You just walk across a pedestrian bridge to cross the street. Beware of all the people outside the medical clinic and the consulate that try to help u with papers, etc.

I will post more when we cross the border. We have a reservation at the La Quinta airport west tonight. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 430 pm. I spoke with a taxi driver from El Paso that brought some people to the hotel and he said it was $15 USD to get from the border after you cross to the La Quinta airport west.

Good luck everyone!

Richie & Martha

The worst part of the monday interview was having nothing to do sat and sunday. We stayed in the pool or the hot tub. Be sure you ask the front desk to heat the hot tub because most of the time it was cold.

[czmjacq 1]

Hi everyone! We were approved too! We are sooooooo happy. I wrote up a really long review of the whole thing that I will post here, and under consulate reviews as well. Just want to make sure we physically have it before I post... more this afternoon!

Congratulations!! Glad to hear you didn't run into anymore kinks...

Congratulations Richie and Martha!!

[czmjacq 1]

Unfortunately my saga continues... I called the US Consulate phone number in the US (a FREE 800 number) and they listened to me and could understand but frustration but said there wasn't anything they could do here to even check into it and gave me the website of state.gov to contact the state department in Washington== they have a number there for VISA info but they were closed when I called. I decided to email the US Consulate representative that worked in Cozumel to see if she could give me any direct contact info for CDJ.... so I'm hoping that is she can't check into it herself for me that I could at least get a real phone number to communicate with someone who could give me more information....... we will see.

[arianak 0]

Ok. Here's the long review, which Im also posting under consulate reviews. Thanks to everyone who shares on this site, I have learned so much here and am glad to return the favor, hope you all do the same ;-)

ACCOMMODATIONS:We arrived on an Interjet flight from Mexico City and took an airport taxi to La Quinta Inn for about 20$. La Quinta Inn is gated and off the main "Consulate Row". The street is still busy, but with the windows closed it is silent. The hotel itself is very nice and clean. The beds are comfortable, flat screen TV, desk, wireless internet, tubs, mini-fridge and microwave,hairdryers, iron etc in every room. Breakfast is extended continental- cereal, yogurt, fruit, milk, juice, coffee, waffles, eggs, and beans. There is no lunch or dinner but many local places will deliver (Denny's, Papa John's Pizza, etc). The hotel has computers, printer,small gym, pool, laundry, parking and the free shuttle that will take you pretty much everywhere you will need to go. We booked on the laquinta website and paid $52 a night, which was well worth it. I highly recommend this hotel for this purpose.

MEDICAL EXAMMy husband left at 6 and was given a number and then when they began reviewing his documents they said he was missing the letter for the medical exam, he only had a letter with an appointment for the visa interview. He was told to go to the Consulate for this letter, it took them about 1/2 an hour to give him a copy. He returned to the clinic and turned in his documents (passport, letters and hotel information- i just printed our confirmation) and took his pictures. Then they took his chest xrays, then he had his blood drawn. They then separated women/children and men. Then he had blood pressure, vision and hearing checked. Then he was told to wait in his underwear. Then a female nurse came in and inspected his genitals for about 30 seconds. (She did not touch him but had him show her).She asks about drug use, tattoos, criminal history (drunk driving), and if it was his first visit for this purpose. Then she checked his breathing and he received his vaccines. He told them he had chickenpox and tried to show scars but they gave it to him anyway (one in each shoulder and one in the buttox) He recieved Tdap, Chicken Pox, and MMR. It cost about $360 in total. He paid with a US credit card in his name. Save the receipt and bring it when you return. We returned for the results at 4pm (though they didn't ask for the reciept. Check the info on the packet and DO NOT OPEN THE ENVELOPE. (he did not have a urine test)

INTERVIEW

Brought DS230 (unsigned),2 photos,medical packet copy of packet 3, and evidence...Arrived 20 mins before appointment. Security search (no belts, watches, cell phones etc allowed). Had to throw out sandwich, gum, water, hand sanitizer (man in front of him had to throw is watch out!).Though they did say you could rent a locker around the corner. Was asked for pasport and appt. letter. Was given number, walked to back area where he watched screen (they call AFTER your number passes, but sometimes they dont call. must watch screen). 30 mins later number appeared, went to wait in next area. Turned in passport, medical info 2photos (they wanted bigger ones, they seem to be used to the photos they take in front of the consulate) his birth cert and marriage cert (original and copy). At this window asked if it was our first marriage and if we have children together/apart, and where was I (USC wife). Then 30 mins later again for payment (used US credit card in his name- i just had him added as an Amex user with no SS, though they didnt ask for ID. In the event of a problem with a card, they give a pass to allow you to leave to bank and return).30 mins later went for finger prints, woman checked info from his birth cert (were you born in xTown, 19xxx, etc). Then 40-60 mins later he was called for interview. Took oath. Young male interviewer speaking Spanish. Friendly. Asked:

Who is (wife's name?)

Is she a US citizen born there?

Where did you guys meet?

How?

Did you start dating right away?

What was she doing there? (thesis for school...what was her thesis about?)

Where was she born? (he said the place i was born)

Where does she live? (he said my US address but said we have been living together in MExico for last 2 years)

How long have we been married for? (he said we have been together 5 years, but just got married 5 months ago)

Where were we married?

What does she do? (he said teacher, interviewer asked of what?)

Who is XXXXX(wife's mothers name, she was our sponsor)

What does she do for a living?

How long has she been doing it?

Where does she live (wifes mother)?

What do you do for work?

Have you been to US?

Canada? Where in Canada?

Problems with immigration? Police? (in spanish he sadi: entonces si te portas bien?)

Was not asked for ANY other docs.(not my birth cert, nor any copies of anything we'd ever sent, etc). He asked interviewer if he wanted to see pictures, interviewer said no thats fine you've been accepted. Felicidades. He paid DHL and was picked up by hotel shuttle. I stayed at hotel, which I was glad for ;-). Waiting area is seperate building. Whole thing took 3 hours from interview time!(interview was scheduled at 1:15, there was not a lot of people at this time).

DHL

Checked DHL that night there was something at about 6 that it the confirmation for sending was received or something, but all next morning, nothing!!! Went to DHL at 2pm with a couple who had their interview at same time as us they day before. They said that sometimes it takes an hour or 2 to show up on the computer but its actually there, so we all went to the DHL office on a whim. they got theirs, we didnt . So bummed. Rented antoher room at 5pm, checked again at 6, and it was there!!!!! Went running to DHL before it closed at 6. TIP-CHECK DHL ONLINE UNTIL 6PM FOR UPDATES!!!!!!!!

Off to cross at Zaragoza... (will write about that once we're there!) Good luck to everyone!

[arianak 0]

Border crossing:

We were assigned Zaragoza bridge (most people seemed to get Cordoba). We arrived at 8 pm, the hotel shuttle left us in front of the bridge and we walked across (about 5 mins). Then we entered an immigration building where we went right away to the window, they took the packet and said they would call us. It took about 8 mins for them to call us, and the passport was stamped!!! Then our passports were checked again, then we walked out with our baggage and got an el paso taxi to the airport La Quinta for $30USD (he took us to an ATM on the way). The bridge crossing was so easy and fast, but i heard it really depends on the time of day and the bridge, so make time ! Oh yeah, and like others have said, 5 pesos per person. Only bummer was El Paso Airport Quinta is a DUMP, especially compared to Juarez! who would have thought we would be longing for Juarez...what an adventure ;-)

[arianak 0]

FM3- a side note for any newcomers to this thread. I was told I would need to have my FM3 for 6months in order to do DCF, but I had it for a month before we processed, and we were approved. We also got married 2 weeks before submitting the 130 which was not a problem!

[Marisol73 0]

Arianak

Congratulations again and thank you so much for your detailed review!.. Its a great help.

[Marisol73 0]

Richie&Martha:

Thank you so much for your detailed review !

About the medical for my baby.. I already called the Clinic.. I was trying to talk to someone but it was impossible.. is just a record machine, but the information said: 4 days before interview for children from 2 years old to 14 years old.

And 2 days prior interview for children from 1 to 23 months... my baby is 15 months old. So I think is OK to arrive in Cd Juarez on Wednesday and take the medical exam on Thursday..right? appoinment is on Monday.

Also I had a question.. because the interview is on November 1st... I supposed I will receive the visa next day (november 2nd).. do you think DHL will be open? (Nov 2 is Dead Day, but I dont think is official holiday, there arent classes in schools but Im not sure about DHL, I called them but they didnt know)

Marisol,

Check the paperwork in packet 4. You may need to be here 4 days ahead I am not sure. I know the baby will need more vaccines and a tb skin test I think. The tb takes 3 days because they will plant the injection under the skin and read it on the third day. You should be here tues night I would think so you can do the medical early wed morning so they can read the tb on friday. Then you should be able to pick up the results friday. My wife told me that there were people that were with her in the medical clinic friday that were not able to get their results until monday.

My wife said that the interview was short. They asked who I was, how we met, how I proposed, and that was it. They just said your visa is approved, welcome, and go to the DHL window. They told her the DHL packet will be ready to pick up the next day after 12. We are just waiting to pick up the packet.

The La quinta is great! The rooms are nice, the service is wonderful, the shuttle is great, etc. We booked like a month in advance and got a rate of $50 USD per night. We booked 5 night and it came to about $285 after tax. The medical we paid in pesos and it was $4350 or something close to that. They gave her 3 vaccines. Tdap, MMR, and varicella. They gave the price in USD and I think it was $334. The visa fee was $404 USD.

We booked tickets on Southwest airlines for Wed afternoon from El Paso. Since everything is on schedule we shouldn't have to make any changes.

We always ordered food to be delivered. There are lots of places that will deliver to the hotel. There is a Wendy's by the consulate, between the consulate and the medical clinic. There were alot of people waiting outside in a plaza at the consulate. I think they also had places to eat. Be sure to have change to use the pay phones or have a telmex card for the card phones to call for the shuttle. We never had to wait long for the shuttle, but some people had to wait a little while. It just depends on how busy they are.

The taxi from the airport to the hotel was $245 pesos. It depends on what zone you are going to, but I am sure all of the hotels by the consulate will be the same zone.

We took the photos across the street from the medical clinic by the mall. We paid $150 pesos. I think there are places cheaper but we had already paid by the time we found that out. You just walk across a pedestrian bridge to cross the street. Beware of all the people outside the medical clinic and the consulate that try to help u with papers, etc.

I will post more when we cross the border. We have a reservation at the La Quinta airport west tonight. Our flight leaves tomorrow at 430 pm. I spoke with a taxi driver from El Paso that brought some people to the hotel and he said it was $15 USD to get from the border after you cross to the La Quinta airport west.

Good luck everyone!

Richie & Martha

The worst part of the monday interview was having nothing to do sat and sunday. We stayed in the pool or the hot tub. Be sure you ask the front desk to heat the hot tub because most of the time it was cold.

[pnewton 0]

Ariana--

Thank you for the great details! Everything is really invaluable to hear before doing the whole adventure ourselves! I'll have more questions later, but for now, I'm just curious if you gathered that the majority of couples you meet/saw were together with the American spouse. We're currently trying to decide whether I'm going to accompany my husband, and I would like to be there to help him, but my family is very nervous about me going. I'm also concerned (perhaps not rightfully so!) that if we say on the 230 that he'll be going alone, he might have harder time of it in the interview. Is there anything in particular you can say about the security situation after having been there almost a week?

[arianak 0]

Hi Pnewton. I understand your concerns about CDJ. I have to say, I felt really safe there. It was really easy to mostly stay in the hotel (the first day there the shuttle took us to the grocery store which you can see from the hotel its probably a block away but we made a pact we wouldn't walk ANYWHERE) so we got some snacks and were fine hanging out at the hotel. The security at the hotel is great and it really is a pleasant place. Everyone there is a bit on edge with safety concerns so people are all really sensitive (the shuttle driver is so cool about taking you ANYWHERE, even if its right across the street...the manager changed my room to a suite bc I didn't want to face the street, stuff like that). Anyway, we also went to the movies in the mall and felt fine...

But I don't know that its a necessity by any means. The only case was CZJMAC (sp?) who had the unique case of being Naturalized MExican and it seemed they would have wanted to talk to her, but in most cases it seems the USC spouse really doesn't need to be there...so it's up to you.

Most people there are doing waiver cases (families with family members who entered the US Without Inspection and/or criminal records. So they are there for a while, and have to make 2 trips. Pretty much everyone at the hotel was doing this...

Hope that helps!

Ariana--

Thank you for the great details! Everything is really invaluable to hear before doing the whole adventure ourselves! I'll have more questions latermade a , but for now, I'm just curious if you gathered that the majority of couples you meet/saw were together with the American spouse. We're currently trying to decide whether I'm going to accompany my husband, and I would like to be there to help him, but my family is very nervous about me going. I'm also concerned (perhaps not rightfully so!) that if we say on the 230 that he'll be going alone, he might have harder time of it in the interview. Is there anything in particular you can say about the security situation after having been there almost a week?

PS- Im not sure why on the 230 you would say he's going alone to the interview...they want to know who would be going to the US with him

Hi Pnewton. I understand your concerns about CDJ. I have to say, I felt really safe there. It was really easy to mostly stay in the hotel (the first day there the shuttle took us to the grocery store which you can see from the hotel its probably a block away but we made a pact we wouldn't walk ANYWHERE) so we got some snacks and were fine hanging out at the hotel. The security at the hotel is great and it really is a pleasant place. Everyone there is a bit on edge with safety concerns so people are all really sensitive (the shuttle driver is so cool about taking you ANYWHERE, even if its right across the street...the manager changed my room to a suite bc I didn't want to face the street, stuff like that). Anyway, we also went to the movies in the mall and felt fine...

But I don't know that its a necessity by any means. The only case was CZJMAC (sp?) who had the unique case of being Naturalized MExican and it seemed they would have wanted to talk to her, but in most cases it seems the USC spouse really doesn't need to be there...so it's up to you.

Most people there are doing waiver cases (families with family members who entered the US Without Inspection and/or criminal records. So they are there for a while, and have to make 2 trips. Pretty much everyone at the hotel was doing this...

Hope that helps!

[pnewton 0]

Hey Ariana,

Thank you for your reply! It really is a relief to hear that you felt safe there, and I think it's just a matter of following the security measures that everyone has recommended. I think I will make the trip down with my husband, whenever our time comes, so long as I can figure it out work-wise! We still haven't heard back from CDJ regarding our case number, but that's ok. Our main goal is to try not to stress out too much about things!

Oh, and you know what? I got that thing about whether the American citizen is accompanying the Mexican spouse from the wrong form--it's on the form for the fiance packet, which I accidently printed out originally.

Congrats again on everything! And everyone else, what's happening with your interviews this month--La Gringa and Marisol, you have yours coming up, don't you?

P.S. In case anyone is curious, I ended up filing my 2010 taxes through H and R Block, which was kinda pricy, but I figured it was worth it just to get it done. Apparently, you can file up until Oct. 15th!

[Marisol73 0]

Hi Pnewton...

In my case the interview is for my baby son. Im not sure if my husband will be present at the time of the interview, anyway he will go with me, I dont want to be alone with my baby in Juarez!. And Also Im not sure if I need a kind of permission signed by him or something like that. So I think is better if he is there in case he needs to sign some papers.

My husband and I decided to obtain first my baby's green card so I can go to USA first and reestablish domicile, so when my husband's interview comes will can be ready. Before I go to USA with my baby I will file I-130 for husband in Monterrey Consulate, then I will leave to USA.

We already have airplane tickets (Viva Aerobus from Monterrey to Juarez..for the 3 of us was $4996 mexican pesos), also we have hotel reservations in La Quinta Inn (everyone said good things about this hotel).

Unfortunately we have to stay in Juarez 8 days !.. The interview is on Monday November 1st...so medical exam for babies under 24 months must be 2 working days before interview, so we will arrive on Wednesday afternoon (Oct 27), go to medical clinic on Thursday, pick up results on Friday, spend all weekend there (inside the hotel if it is possible) and then go on Monday to interview, if all goes well.. pick up DHL package on Tuesday and go to POE..and finally return return home on Wednesday.

We did not receive the appoinment letter, so we have to pick it up in Consulate before medical exam. We will arrive at 4.30 pm on Wednesday.. anyone knows if we can go to the Consulate at that hour..so we can have the appoinment letter ready next morning?

Good Luck to everyone.

[Marisol73 0]

I just received the appoinment letter in USA Address.. is dated September 20, 2010.

Anyway, a friend in USA scanned for me and sent it by email.. but I think in the medical they still will want an original right?

[arianak 0]

Hi Marisol.

As long as it is the one that has MEDICAL APPOINTMENT *************** on the bottom it should be fine. If not, go in the AM. Consulate services is from 7am-1pm.

Jaremedios- I just had Bank of America add my husband as a cardholder when I applied for our amex cards. they didnt ask for anything. I also did it after the fact on a VIsa card, same thing. Just put him as a card holder, no SS... I dont know that it builds credit as there is no SS, but it worked!

I just received the appoinment letter in USA Address.. is dated September 20, 2010.

Anyway, a friend in USA scanned for me and sent it by email.. but I think in the medical they still will want an original right?

[Marisol73 0]

Arianak:

Yes.. the letter has: MEDICAL APPOINTMENT ************* on the botton.

Thanks!

Hi Marisol.

As long as it is the one that has MEDICAL APPOINTMENT *************** on the bottom it should be fine. If not, go in the AM. Consulate services is from 7am-1pm.

Jaremedios- I just had Bank of America add my husband as a cardholder when I applied for our amex cards. they didnt ask for anything. I also did it after the fact on a VIsa card, same thing. Just put him as a card holder, no SS... I dont know that it builds credit as there is no SS, but it worked!