Juarez Consulate

[AgRo 0]

Felicidades Lucy!!

I'm glad your interview is over with Luvinmb and you can look forward to the next step!

We finally got an email response from CDJ confirming that our case was received electronically on Nov 29th but it has not yet arrived physically!!! It's been a month... how long could it take to arrive physically? I called the NVC to make sure they physically sent it, and they said that they tracked the package and it was received at CDJ, otherwise it would show on their computer that it was not received... so it is physically sitting at CDJ, but they either haven't opened it yet, or it's lost somewhere at the consulate. Who knows...

My fiance also called CDJ and the lady told him that it cannot take longer than 6 weeks from the NVC to the processing of the case at CDJ and no more than 2 months from NVC to sending out the packet, so it has to be soon for us Danielle!!

Random question ... how do I go from being "newbie" on VJ to "member" or "gold member"?

Happy New Year everyone!!

[Lucy N Fer 0]

Happy New Year Everyone! Thank you for all the warm wishes. I have a quick update regarding Social Security. We went to our local Social Security office last Friday before we got married. We were there for only about 5 minutes. THe process was very smooth and easy. We proceeded to pick up an application for a new number. Before we even filled it up, our number was called and we went to the window. The nice lady at the window merely asked for an ID. We told her we had not finished filling out the form. She said not to worry that we can do it orally. We handed her his passport and she filled out the form. No questions were asked about anything. About a minute later she printed out a form and asked us to verify name and mailing address. She gave us a letter stating that we had filed for a number and informed us that he should receive the card in about a week. It was a very easy process.

I am expecting good news from everyone soon!

Danielle don't worry about the visa denial. My husband (sounds funny) was also denied a tourist visa. I think it actually helped because they were able to see that he was in fact in Mexico during this process. He was never asked about an overstay or whether he had returned to Mexico on time. I will say this...like KitKat always states...they do know EVERYTHING! So any lies will definitely only worsen a bad situation. Just be truthful about everything...even the visa denials and he should be ok.

THANKS AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING LADIES!!!

[ucla_cutie26 0]

Hi Lucy,

So how's married life? It does seem funny for you to say husband, I see you are connected right now. Are you on vacation still? I am,

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Danielle,

I agree with Lucy about the denials of tourist visas, don't worry. Simply tell the truth in everything and all will be okay. My fiance was also denied a tourist visa back in 2004. He wanted to come visit me, but they didn't give him the visa. This should not be a problem as long as you guys tell the truth in the ds-156 forms and in the interview if it happens to come up.

*****************************************

Agro,

Your membership on VJ changes automatically with the number of posts that you make. The more posts you make, the more your membership is updated!

[kitkat1 5]

Danielle, waivers are required by people who are ineligible to receive visas for a variety of reasons - most common are illegal entry or previous visa overstay. A denial of a tourist visa, as others have said, will have no bearing on his K1 interview so no worries there.

Lucy, glad things are moving along nicely!

[AgRo 0]

Thanks UCLA cutie, I hope I move up from being a newbie soon!

I have a few questions about the DS-156...

25. Nombre y No. de Teléfonos de la persona con la que se estará hospedando o Visitando por placer o negocio .... would this be an N/A or he would put my name and address even though it's not a "tourist or business" visa?

26. ¿Cuánto tiempo planea permanecer en los EE.UU.?

... What did you all put for this one? indefinitely?

27. ¿Cuál es el motivo de su viaje?

... to marry fiance right? nothing about work etc... which brings me to the next question...

32. ¿Tiene intención de trabajar en los EE.UU.? Si No

(En caso afirmativo, escriba el nombre y la dirección completa del empleador en los EE.UU.)

...He plans to work legally once he has the papers, but since this visa is for marriage and not work, we were told by the consulate to write N/A. Should we just mark No and write N/A below?

33. ¿Tiene intención de estudiar en los EE.UU.? Si No

(En caso afirmativo, escriba el nombre y la dirección completa de la Institución de Enseñanza)

...Same as 32, he plans to do his Masters degree here, but again, it's not the purpose of the visa, so N/A right?

A lady at the consulate told us to be careful what we write in our answers for these questions because that is what they may focus on at the interview. Those who have filled this out, what did you write and did they make a big deal of it? She said the "do you plan to work" question is of particular interest to them, but I assume all fiances moving to the US intend to work at some point.

Thanks for your help!! Saludos!

[kitkat1 5]

25. Nombre y No. de Teléfonos de la persona con la que se estará hospedando o Visitando por placer o negocio .... would this be an N/A or he would put my name and address even though it's not a "tourist or business" visa?

put your name and address where you plan to live

26. ¿Cuánto tiempo planea permanecer en los EE.UU.?

... What did you all put for this one? indefinitely?

Indefinitely

27. ¿Cuál es el motivo de su viaje?

... to marry fiance right? nothing about work etc... which brings me to the next question...

to marry my finace (and live in the US with her)

32. ¿Tiene intención de trabajar en los EE.UU.? Si No

You can put YES when I receive authorization or NO or N/A

33. ¿Tiene intención de estudiar en los EE.UU.? Si No

NO

I'm sure others will add their comments as well

[ucla_cutie26 0]

I pretty much answered what the example forms state.

25. Nombre y No. de Teléfonos de la persona con la que se estará hospedando o Visitando por placer o negocio .... would this be an N/A or he would put my name and address even though it's not a "tourist or business" visa?

I put my info. down on this one

26. ¿Cuánto tiempo planea permanecer en los EE.UU.?

... What did you all put for this one? indefinitely?

Permanently

27. ¿Cuál es el motivo de su viaje?

... to marry fiance right? nothing about work etc... which brings me to the next question...

marriage and relocation to the USA

32. ¿Tiene intención de trabajar en los EE.UU.? Si No

yes with work authorization; employer unknown

33. ¿Tiene intención de estudiar en los EE.UU.? Si No

we put NO, he will just be enrolling in some english as second language courses

Again, I pretty much just copied what was listed on the example forms. For the question about intent to work in the U.S., I agree with what you said. Most of our fiance's (if not all) will be working here in the U.S. so I would think that we probably all answered yes on this question. I wouldn't believe too much what the woman at the consulate told you. Remember when you call them up, they seem a little bit off sometimes (or a lot). I trust my fellow VJ members.

[Danielle n Uriel 0]

Hi everyone!

I just checked my sent email and found that the 1st email i sent to Juarez was on 12/19/06. I haven't gotten a response from them. So today I sent another one. Hopefully they will get this one and respond to it.

Grrrr... frustration is setting in again. Thanks for letting me vent about it.

By the way... Hermosillo is COLD right now!

[New Yorker 0]

Hello girls, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Ive been far from home, but Im back now

For our paperwork Im usind a big binder and each document and evidence is inside a plastic sleve (don't know the name!) ... Do you think is a good idea keep it like that..? Maybe if the consul wants some documents he/she just pulls it up, keeps it for himself, and keep going thru the whole binder..

ALE, or anyone, what is the order you gave to the documents and other evidence? Pictures are better in photo albums?

KitKat, Lucy.. How big is the space the consul have to spread paperwork and check..? Or they just get the paperwork and get it inside an office? How do they check? right in front of the applicants??

LUCY: Congratulations on you marriage! Wish you the best..

ABOUT THE MEDICAL: Where is the payment? at the bank or directly in the clinic?

Girsl! my best wishes to everybody, I hope this new 2007 brings us a lot of love, health, work and of course a VISA!!!!

[Lucy N Fer 0]

Brenda according to my husband, he was standing in front of the window handing them the documents as they asked for them. He also said they don't have the patience while you fumble around for everything. I would say that you should organize everything so that you can easily find your documents. Hope that helps.

[ucla_cutie26 0]

Brenda,

This is what my Juan is doing, well, it's more like this is what I sent him to present for his interview, He will be going probably the week of Jan. 21st to CDJ.

He is going to have 2 yellow clasp envelopes to present in the interview.

In one of the envelopes, he is going to have the initial petition I submitted and the paperwork I submitted also due to the RFE we received (both of these are identical copies to the ones I submitted). I'm pretty sure he probably won't need this stuff, but I'm still sending him to Juarez with it. It makes me feel better knowing that he has it, just in case.

In the other yellow envelope he is going to have the paperwork they collect right away (DS-156, Ds-156K, his passport, passport pictures, his birth certificate, intent to marry, plus the financial information from myself and my co-sponsor). All of these papers are going to be put together with paperclips. I think for these forms it is best to keep them loose because that way the CO in CDJ can just pick and choose what they want/need.

Now, I am also sending my fiance with a 1 1/2 inch binder full of evidence. This binder contains pictures, emails, letters, phone bills, calling cards. It's just basically full of evidence of our relationship from 2000 to the present. He is also attaching dividers to point out where everything is in the binder. My fiance is becoming familiar with the contents so that he knows exactly what is where in the binder, just in case he needs to point out something specifically.

It may be a bit too much I am sending him with, but I just want to feel confident that he has absolutely everything he may need. He tells me that this process is driving me crazy and sometimes I feel like it is.

[kitkat1 5]

Brenda,

This is what my Juan is doing, well, it's more like this is what I sent him to present for his interview, He will be going probably the week of Jan. 21st to CDJ.

He is going to have 2 yellow clasp envelopes to present in the interview.

In one of the envelopes, he is going to have the initial petition I submitted and the paperwork I submitted also due to the RFE we received (both of these are identical copies to the ones I submitted). I'm pretty sure he probably won't need this stuff, but I'm still sending him to Juarez with it. It makes me feel better knowing that he has it, just in case.

In the other yellow envelope he is going to have the paperwork they collect right away (DS-156, Ds-156K, his passport, passport pictures, his birth certificate, intent to marry, plus the financial information from myself and my co-sponsor). All of these papers are going to be put together with paperclips. I think for these forms it is best to keep them loose because that way the CO in CDJ can just pick and choose what they want/need.

Now, I am also sending my fiance with a 1 1/2 inch binder full of evidence. This binder contains pictures, emails, letters, phone bills, calling cards. It's just basically full of evidence of our relationship from 2000 to the present. He is also attaching dividers to point out where everything is in the binder. My fiance is becoming familiar with the contents so that he knows exactly what is where in the binder, just in case he needs to point out something specifically.

It may be a bit too much I am sending him with, but I just want to feel confident that he has absolutely everything he may need. He tells me that this process is driving me crazy and sometimes I feel like it is.

This is all very good. It's unlikely that you'll need the original petition paperwork but a good idea to have it. Same for evidence - I would include a small photo album that is easy to flip through in case you get one of the mean ladies who questions your relationship.

For the medical - pay at the clinic, cash only. All the information is here: http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/wwwfmexwide202k.pdf

[AgRo 0]

Thanks Kit Kat and UCLA Cutie for answering my questions!

I thought you may find this article interesting.. even though it is from 2005 it sheds some light on the process and volume at CDJ...

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2005,1215-wheeler.shtm

in particular (except some numbers may have changed):

"The consulate currently employs 17 officers in the IV section (up from 8-10 officers a year ago), but hopes to be fully staffed at 20 officers soon. Over the last year, the USCIS service centers have increased the number of petitions they have approved and forwarded to the NVC. The NVC in turn has increased from 300 to 450 employees and moved to double shifts, thus resulting in a surge of cases being sent from the NVC to the consulates. The consulate in Cd. Juarez processes all of the IV applications for Mexico and approximately one third of all IV applications worldwide. It currently processes about 500 cases per day with a goal of processing 800 cases per day. It is the only consulate that performs its own review of the I-864 (affidavit of support) and the DS-230 (immigrant visa application); for all other consulates, the NVC performs an initial screening of these forms.

The consulate has out-sourced the telephonic information that it used to provide in-house, although it still schedules its own interviews. The call center is now run by a private company located in Leon, Guanajuato. The consulate provides it with updated information once a day through a computer up-link. Applicants in the United States who want information on the status of their case should call 900-479-1212 ($1.25/minute). Applicants in Mexico should call 01-900-849-4949 (12 pesos/minute). To contact the consulate by fax from the United States, the number is 011-52-656-616-9388 or 011-52-656-616-9027. To contact the consulate by e-mail, the address is cdjimmigrantvisas@state.gov."

Anyway, I understand they are super busy, but I hope they understand that the cases in the boxes or laying on their desk are people's lives. I'm really going to miss Roberto this New Year's!! I'm happy for those of you who will ring in the new year with your honey!

[Danielle n Uriel 0]

Don't get too frustrated, at least you received an email reply. I have emailed twice now and can't get anyone to respond to me. Maybe we can blame it on the holidays??? Who knows.

I guess all we can do is pray... and wait....

I'm praying for an interview sometime in January for both of us!

[AgRo 0]

Don't get too frustrated, at least you received an email reply. I have emailed twice now and can't get anyone to respond to me. Maybe we can blame it on the holidays??? Who knows.

I guess all we can do is pray... and wait....

I'm praying for an interview sometime in January for both of us!

Thanks Danielle, I will pray for both of us as well!

Don't worry if you haven't gotten email replies yet; the replies I have received have not been that helpful and they basically just said to have patience. I am definitely learning to be patient in this process.

Btw, I see that you have changed your picture, it's so adorable, I love it! How do I change mine? I thought I updated my pic in my profile yesterday, but it doesn't show up on my posts.