Ciudad Juarez taking forever to assign interviews

[Dianalorena 1,153]

Our scan date at NVC is February 9th, which marks exactly a full year since we started the process. Sarcastic ''yey'' 

And things are slowing down again. We still have at least a few weeks to go before our CC, but I found out that Mexico is now taking up to 4 months to assign interviews, which is just beyond ridiculous and I almost don't want to believe it. The frustrating part is there is nothing we can do apparently,  So incredibly frustrating, dealing with immigration. 

Sometimes it feels like we're ironically being punished for following the legal path, instead of adjusting from a tourist VISA (which I know can be legal if ''it wasn't premeditated'' but it's definitely something that people abuse,  lawyers recommend it all the time and it is a grey legal area/loophole)   

Has anyone had an interview date yet? are they really assigning December approvals for April,? Can it slow down even further? I'm mortified. 

[TexasGuy0101 75]

Hi 

 

I did not have idea about this, We just have obtained tonight the NVC Case number and the status apear like In transit, We thought than maybe we could have our interview in 1 or 1.5 months, I hope you and us could have the interview soon  and not delay 4 months 

 

Do you know when we can start to complete the for I160 form?

Thank you and regards

[Chicagoseal 373]

Where did you get that it's taking four months to get an interview date?

[monica7777 40]

5 hours ago, Chicagoseal said:

Where did you get that it's taking four months to get an interview date?

We also had a very long wait to get an interview in Cd Juarez for my son last year.

 

If it helps, our timeline was:

NOA1: 10/03/16

NOA2: 4/24/17

NVC Scan date: 6/26/17

NVC Case complete: 8/28/17

Interview date (CDJ): 11/29/17

Passport and visa received: 12/07/17

 

So we literally had our interview, 5 months after our scan date. Ten weeks after our scan date I began calling NVC every other day to obtain an update. Until one day they told us our case was complete; but waiting for an interview. A month later, they gave us the interview date. Cd. Juarez is the largest Embassy in the world and handles thousands of cases. There is not much you can do, other than call NVC for updates and be patient.

 

I hope it goes faster for everyone.

[monica7777 40]

17 hours ago, Dianalorena said:

Sometimes it feels like we're ironically being punished for following the legal path, instead of adjusting from a tourist VISA (which I know can be legal if ''it wasn't premeditated'' but it's definitely something that people abuse,  lawyers recommend it all the time and it is a grey legal area/loophole)   

Has anyone had an interview date yet? are they really assigning December approvals for April,? Can it slow down even further? I'm mortified. 

Hi Dianalorena,

I understand your frustration and went through the same path you did. I have heard from others it is possible to adjust from a tourist VISA, however it can be risky. I believe that you made the right decision and will be happy with the results going through the legal path. 

[geowrian 22,337]

18 hours ago, Dianalorena said:

Sometimes it feels like we're ironically being punished for following the legal path, instead of adjusting from a tourist VISA (which I know can be legal if ''it wasn't premeditated'' but it's definitely something that people abuse,  lawyers recommend it all the time and it is a grey legal area/loophole) 

That's akin to saying I'm being punished for not committing identity theft because I can (most likely) get away with it, versus earning my money over time via a job. Maybe that's not the best example (criminal law versus civil law, and directly stealing form somebody else), but I think the core point is the same. It's not a legal gray area...it's clearly fraud for somebody to do it.

Do some people do/abuse it.? Definitely. People abuse all sorts of things, not just in immigration. If it's happening too often from certain countries, they can lose their VWP privileges or make it very difficult for anybody behind them who really is just trying to visit.

 

I understand it's hard to be separated during the process. And while VJ is great place for people to share their experiences, I also suggest to people to never compare your case or timeline with somebody else's if you want to (try to) remain sane. Every case is unique, and some people are luckier than others. Focus on what you need to do next and what you will do once your partner arrives, not how slowly it's going.

 

As for how long it's currently taking, I don't have a whole lot of info on that, sorry. it can always slow down. It can sometimes speed up. There's an ebb and flow to the process across the board.

[Dianalorena 1,153]

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

That's akin to saying I'm being punished for not committing identity theft because I can (most likely) get away with it, versus earning my money over time via a job. Maybe that's not the best example (criminal law versus civil law, and directly stealing form somebody else), but I think the core point is the same. It's not a legal gray area...it's clearly fraud for somebody to do it.

Do some people do/abuse it.? Definitely. People abuse all sorts of things, not just in immigration. If it's happening too often from certain countries, they can lose their VWP privileges or make it very difficult for anybody behind them who really is just trying to visit.

 

I understand it's hard to be separated during the process. And while VJ is great place for people to share their experiences, I also suggest to people to never compare your case or timeline with somebody else's if you want to (try to) remain sane. Every case is unique, and some people are luckier than others. Focus on what you need to do next and what you will do once your partner arrives, not how slowly it's going.

 

As for how long it's currently taking, I don't have a whole lot of info on that, sorry. it can always slow down. It can sometimes speed up. There's an ebb and flow to the process across the board.

 

I mentioned grey area because everytime I see people say that ''staying on a tourist VISA and staying shouldn't be legal'' people tend to get their undergarments in a bunch and say that ''it is legal if that wasn't the intention'' and I know it's highly anecdotal, but from everyone I know that underwent the process they were fully aware of it and entered on a tourist VISA with the sole purpose of getting married. Their lawyers told them to and arranged everything for them. It's incredibly frustrating when my own family members would say ''oh but why didn't you do it this way?'' 

I even know people overstaying their tourist VISAS for years and working without legal status/permits, and now they feel ''scared'' to be there while Trump is president. I can't feel truly sorry for them since they chose to do things this way. 

 

I'm definitely not fixating on other people's timeline's specifically, it was more of a general observation. It does seem that many of us get the short end of the stick. I also know my case is definitely not unique, and that many people have it even way worse than I do, it's simply a matter of hormones, tiredness, frustration that resulted in a short rant.

 

I'm actually the one moving to the United States, so on top of the uncertainty of the process my life is pretty much on hold and it has been for the past year and a half. I sold most of my belongings and came back to my parent's house, and I don't have a steady job because everything I start I pretty much will drop in half a year. It helps me that I don't pay rent and they've been really helpful, but it's also incredibly difficult at times. I don't even feel like having a social life or starting anything. I know a lot of people must feel this way as well, some days are just better than others.

 

Thank you for reading by the way!

 

 

 

[Dianalorena 1,153]

4 hours ago, monica7777 said:

Hi Dianalorena,

I understand your frustration and went through the same path you did. I have heard from others it is possible to adjust from a tourist VISA, however it can be risky. I believe that you made the right decision and will be happy with the results going through the legal path. 

thank you, that is really kind of you.

 

We knew that we wanted to do things legally/the right way and not risk it, but after being stuck for over a year (and knowing that it's going to take us like 5 more months) is really testing our patience and empathy, hah. 

I know it will all be worth it in the end, but darn it if we aren't exhausted at this point!

 

 

[Dianalorena 1,153]

9 hours ago, Chicagoseal said:

Where did you get that it's taking four months to get an interview date?

by following the charts from people here/ and calling NVC.

they're currently assigning interviews for April, for people approved in December/Jan. While some January approvals did snatch an April interview, they don't really go in order that much. A friend of mine is still waiting and her case was completed in December.

So at least 3-4 months after CC. It's also taking longer to get a CC to begin with, I'm hoping for 5-6 weeks but it can take up to 11.  

 

[Dianalorena 1,153]

20 hours ago, TexasGuy0101 said:

Hi 

 

I did not have idea about this, We just have obtained tonight the NVC Case number and the status apear like In transit, We thought than maybe we could have our interview in 1 or 1.5 months, I hope you and us could have the interview soon  and not delay 4 months 

 

Do you know when we can start to complete the for I160 form?

Thank you and regards

will you be going to your interview to Ciudad Juarez as well?

I'm sorry to say but getting an interview 1-2 months after starting the NVC process is highly unlikely, at least for Mexico. It took us a full month to complete the DS-261/DS260 and the payments, because they take time to process and unlock things. Then even if you send your documents right away, it takes them at least 5-6 weeks to complete your case, and then you enter a queue for an interview date, which depending on the country can take anything from a few weeks (the extremely lucky and low immigration countries) to us, the unfortunate 3-4 months. A more realistic time frame in NVC for Mexico is 4-6 months, I'm afraid. 

 

[Dianalorena 1,153]

4 hours ago, monica7777 said:

We also had a very long wait to get an interview in Cd Juarez for my son last year.

 

If it helps, our timeline was:

NOA1: 10/03/16

NOA2: 4/24/17

NVC Scan date: 6/26/17

NVC Case complete: 8/28/17

Interview date (CDJ): 11/29/17

Passport and visa received: 12/07/17

 

So we literally had our interview, 5 months after our scan date. Ten weeks after our scan date I began calling NVC every other day to obtain an update. Until one day they told us our case was complete; but waiting for an interview. A month later, they gave us the interview date. Cd. Juarez is the largest Embassy in the world and handles thousands of cases. There is not much you can do, other than call NVC for updates and be patient.

 

I hope it goes faster for everyone.

that's crazy, I'm glad you're done with all of that!

It's ridiculous that they only chose Ciudad Juarez though. Mexico is a big country, Mexico City would make more sense to me, or at least have two embassies working at the same time to divide the workload, since you can have the medical done there. But silly me, it took them almost 11 months to approve our case at USCIS because dividing the workload it's not a priority, of course. Sigh.

 

[AnaidAaron 42]

On 1/3/2018 at 9:46 PM, Dianalorena said:

I'm actually the one moving to the United States, so on top of the uncertainty of the process my life is pretty much on hold and it has been for the past year and a half. I sold most of my belongings and came back to my parent's house, and I don't have a steady job because everything I start I pretty much will drop in half a year. It helps me that I don't pay rent and they've been really helpful, but it's also incredibly difficult at times. I don't even feel like having a social life or starting anything. I know a lot of people must feel this way as well, some days are just better than others

Ugh girl, I feel you. The feeling of uncertainty is the worst, but hey, at least you're at the very last step of this process, and you and your beloved will soon be together for good. Wishing you can get some peace of mind while you wait, we all need it. 

[Dianalorena 1,153]

On 3/5/2018 at 1:16 PM, AnaidAaron said:

Ugh girl, I feel you. The feeling of uncertainty is the worst, but hey, at least you're at the very last step of this process, and you and your beloved will soon be together for good. Wishing you can get some peace of mind while you wait, we all need it. 

thank you that means a lot actually, it's good to know I'm not going crazy alone, haha

and thank you for the good wishes. It will take longer than expected but there's no point in suffering all the way through. gracias y un abrazo!

 

[carina33 1]

After the National Visa Center sends the confirmation letter that they have received all requested document it shouldn't be too long after. My Husband got confirmation on 09-25-17 and was issued an interview date on  12-04-18 for January 25, 2018. Best of luck and wishing you a fast process. 

Edited March 12, 2018 by carina33

[fcl 42]

Ciudad Juarez is currently taking on average 90 days from CC to interview, ours took  more, but as you said, there is no real order of "first in first out" when giving out interview dates,  users with a CC 14 days after ours got the interview one month before ours, so you never know. 

Hopefully you'll get your interview scheduled the last days of April for June.

Our interview took 525 days from NOA1 to Int.