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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on November 13, 2014: |
Rudy & Keren
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Our 10 night Juarez trip & Review
This is a detailed review of:
1. The medical exams
2. The appointment at the applicant service center (ASC)
3. The consulate Interview
4. The hotel we stayed at
The Medical exam
Keren wrote this review:
I Will tell about my own experience with Servicios Médicos de la Frontera.
We arrive at 6:00 am when the clinic start to work. You can eat something, because is not necesary arrive fasting directions. They received to you although you dont have an appointment.
First they took a picture of me And my daughter . And you have to fill a form with your datuum ( place where you are staying, phone, And name)
First they make me a radiography of my lungs ( for be sure i dont have tb) after they make me a check of my eyes, If you can, Bring your glasses. After, you have to undress And wear a clothe the clinic gives to you. A doctor ( woman) Makes the questions routine ( smoke, date the last Day menstrual period , sons, surgerys, some sicks) And check your hearth, your lungs, arterial pressure, your skin.
For my daughter was the same, check the eyes, lungs , And some questions about Health in general, the test for her was a little objeción in the left arm ( the purpose is watch If there are some reaction) for my daughter was reaction ( we receive the results 2 days after) she swelling present in the area, as welt but dont worry is not a situation for worry, they explain could be because the kids take much sun, Or have been in contact with tb bacteria some time , they make to my daughter a rx of her lungs And send the pack with Medical instructions, when we arrive to USA we have to give following to the treatment that is for her.
The cost was $5,600 im mexican pesos. And we Pay until they delivered the exam.
Rudy the US citizen wrote:
I went with them for all appointments including this one.
The streets leading up to the different places applicants go are filled with people offering you a wide variety of things for sale and even people from the local restaurants walk up to you with menus!!
I didn’t feel personally uncomfortable with these various men approaching but at one point my fiancee was a little nervous by it and she lives in Mexico City! We just smiled and said no think you and had no trouble.
As you enter the clinic property off the street you have to show ID to the inside grounds which are very secure. Generally the applicants are the ones that go inside the building and family or friends will go to the rear of the property where they have a separate building with a little snack bar, chairs, tables & restrooms.
My fiancée has an 8 year old daughter that is coming as part of the visa. I have seen references to allowing 4 business days for children’s medical exam before consulate interview.
This clinic did have the daughters test results completed in 2 days BUT if there was some slow down on some part of the test in the clinic, could take the full four days.
So if you don’t allow all 4 days between the exam and consulate interview, you are gambling that some thing will not slow the process.
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ASC (Applicant service Center) Review
My fiancée Keren wrote review:
Well, here the activity is so quickly, we had our appointment at 13:30 And we arrive on time. Is not permitted enter with food, cell phone a nos eléctronic devices. Or dangerous things the police man check your bag And your Body before you enter. The things that you Bring you have to let out. The people that works here is very kind And the service is quickly, they asked for the document where is your appointment, passport And asked about the place where you Will receive the visa. After you go with a person that said to you read a words refers : you are saying the truth, And you know the punishment for say lies. After they took the ginger prints in both hands, after the picture And give you a little sheet with the name of the ofice DHL where you pick up your visa. Is easier tramit here.
Rudy the US citizen wrote:
I think we spent no more than 30-45 minutes in total at the ASC. They are just taking your photo and fingerprints so it is very quick.
The ASC is located in the same “mini mall” property that the 1st consulate waiting room is located.
Only my fiancée and her daughter were allowed inside the ASC and they had to show documents to enter.
You want to remember to bring your documents with you especially the DS 160 confirmation page you printed off when you initially filled it in online. This DS 160 confirmation page gets a stamp by the ASC and will need to be seen by the consulate staff before your interview.
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CONSULATE INTERVIEW
My fiancée Keren wrote this review:
Our appointment was programmed at 7:15 am And there are a waiting room área for the family that go with you. I think is good eat something before enter to the consulate. The Day that we had our interview the system failed, And we had to wait more than 3 hours, nervous And Hungry are not recommendable... Inside to the consulate there are so much people working And the interview was very Well.
First you have to wait your turn, And when was mine a woman asked just for documents.
My pictures 2"x2"
Birthday certificates ( mine And my daughter)
Divorced certificates ( my fiancée And mine)
Form that said about the taxes paid for my fiancée
And the address where I Will live
I was atended for a kind man, that ask to me
How Did you know your fiancé?
Was he marry?
Has he sons?
What is the name of his son?
Which address Will you live?
Was you marry?
The father Of your daughter is agree the girl come with you?
He asked about past visas
He asked If I had problems in my country with the police
He asked how Many time we was in the relation
He asked me the documents that said I am divorced And my fiancée. The documents that check he is available financially.
He was taking notes in her computer And checking the documents. He returned to me the papers he no need.
Finally he said " your visa is approved" was a happy moment. And give me a little brochure for give me the welcome. Some indications about when And where I Will pick up the visa.
Rudy the US citizen who waited while she was inside wrote this:
The day of the interview the applicants (my fiancée & her daughter) you report to what is called the waiting room next door to the consulate.
This waiting room where you start is in what looks like a mini mall next door to the consulate. We arrived at 6:45 am for the 7:15 appointment and there were already maybe 50 people in line.
The people lined up into 2 separate lines and we asked and was told which line to stand in. By 7 am or so we were inside into the next line where they asked to see certain documents, then we all sit.
This waiting room is warm and has small lockers you can rent to store all the things you can’t take into the actual consulate. Overhead is a TV type monitor listing all the things you cannot take into the actual consulate.
They have a small snack bar with a tiny bit of food you can buy. They have restrooms which I believe you need a few pesos to enter- but don’t know for sure.
I think it was about 7:30 am when they called my fiancée name along with some other people and they all got up and sat in a little different area.
The persons inside calling the names was counting people and from this point on only the persons named on the invitation letter are allowed forward. They were fine letting me sit and wait in this room but just asked me and others to go to the rear of room.
Shortly after my fiancée and her daughter went to sit in that certain area, they all got up as a group and walked out the door of this “waiting room”.
They then walked maybe 200 meters to the next line where you actually enter the consulate.
This 200 m walk down the street is on the sidewalk, luckily there was no rain or everyone walking would be soaked as umbrellas are not allowed into the consulate.
As an American citizen this was the first time I had seen a consulate close up and security is very tight. There is a sidewalk everyone walks on past the consulate and there is a private consulate security watching people walk.
If you leave the sidewalk and start walking on the little 2 meters of grass closer to the big consulate wall, security will blow their whistles and wave you off the grass.
So when the applicants walk from the waiting room down to the entrance of the consulate, they speak to someone through what appeared to be bullet proof-bomb proof glass windows.
Then after that one by one they open a steel door and let you in to the finial waiting area.
This final waiting area inside the consulate way hold 500-1000 people from what my fiancée said. Was huge!
So I waited in the waiting room for an hour or so and got bored and finally walked down to wait outside the entrance to the consulate.
Waiting outside the consulate entrance is discouraged and the security will not let anyone stop on the sidewalk in front of the building. But they have no control over the sidewalk next door and that is where I waited.
That day I later learned that the computer system crashed for three hours and everyone just sat inside while they got it repaired. I think 3-4 hours is probably common for the fiancée visa interview wait.
Again we arrived at 6:45 am and it was 12:10 pm when my fiancée finally came out tired but very happy to say all went well.
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The hotel we stayed at in Juarez for 10 nights was the Maria Bonita Consulado Americano! It was fabulous and we both cannot say enough good things about it.
This hotel was just a little bit more per night than some hotels and we believe it is the BEST family hotel OR romantic to stay at in Juarez!!
I hope to post some pictures soon but the hotel is incredibly beautiful inside and it is a little like a Spanish villa style yet the rooms are clean, modern with heat, A/C, cable TV and awesome bathrooms.
Breakfast included:
They have an awesome (free) hot breakfast each morning (7-9am only) included in the room price. I have had included breakfasts before in certain US hotels but this one was not cold cereal and coffee.
I have read reviews of other hotels before that give free breakfast but huge crowds form and take too long. That was not the way it was for us and we arrived each morning and just ate immediately in the dining area just for breakfast.
When traveling with children, having a way to feed them a good breakfast quickly and easily is like a godsend! For couples traveling without children, well you could pop down for breakfast and be back upstairs for more romance in a half hour if you wanted!!
Shuttle for consulate business included
They give all guests a free one way shuttle ride for consulate business. Meaning if you are going to the consulate or ASC or medical clinic they will drive you one way. They don’t come do pick ups you have to make your own arrangements back.
We used the shuttle twice. Once to go to the clinic, a different day to go to the consulate. Both days we were going out at 6:30 am before the sun was up and with a child we wanted to make it easier so early.
But the hotel is close only, a 15 minute walk to the clinic, consulate or ASC.
The hotel restaurant
I think we ate in the hotel about 2/3 of the nights and the food was great. The taxi driver that drove me from El Paso airport down into Juarez to the hotel told me he sometimes eats at the restaurant even!
Lunch is a one price buffet and they have a good selection at a good price. Dinner is menu based and depending on what you choose some items cost more than others.
They have live performers on different days in the restaurant which I enjoyed.
When traveling with children, easy access to food is so important. They do offer room service but we enjoyed being out of the room.
Across the street from the hotel (500meteres) is a huge shopping mall and food court just like I am used to here in the US. We did eat there a couple times.
The POOL!!
They have an indoor HEATED swimming pool and Jacuzzi open 9 am to 9pm!
This was a favorite of my fiancée’s daughter who would have spent all day and night in the pool if she could have! This is a hotel families choose and so is likely you will find children splashing in the pool making noise and enjoying themselves.
Water is kept high in chlorine (which is good actually) and is recommended you bring and use the swimming glasses.
There is no lifeguard and water is only 5.5’ but you must watch your own children
Game Room
They have a pool table, 2 foosball tables with the rotating soccer men and one air hockey table. These are a bit worn but didn’t matter we enjoyed them ourselves.
There are tables and chairs around if one anted to sit and watch others play or if you brought your own table games to use.
Gym access
Included with the hotel room is free access to the Total Fitness Gym across the street from the hotel. We went a couple days and enjoyed it!! Has the customary machines, different rooms for yoga, dance class and has a suspended running track which was cool to use.
They have a separate men’s and women’s locker room, steam room and Jacuzzi as well as a lap pool.
AND…they have n/c child care while you are using the gym!!
All the staff at the hotel were nice and helpful from the woman who cleaned our room daily to the front desk manager that gave me a roll of tape at 3 am to the restaurant staff.
Again you can find hotels a few dollars cheaper but without all the features of this hotel. So if this is a romantic trip or a trip with children. You should seriously consider this hotel.
If you have been studying what this K1 visa process involves, you know that all you do come down to the consulate interview where the officer forms his own opinion if the person in front of him/her is being truthful and in this romantic relationship.
They are operating off their “gut” and yes mistakes have been made by them before. The best thing one can do before the consulate interview is RELAX so that the consulate officer does not mistake tense or nervous for guilty!
My fiancée was blown away by the hotel and it did relax her for the different things we had to do in Juarez. It was in my mind a cheep investment (that paid off) to pay the little bit more per night at this hotel.
Before I even arrived and saw how beautiful it was I chose the hotel just with the idea that the pool and game room would keep the 8 yo daughter happy. One thing is for sure, if the children are not happy they will make their parents unhappy!!
My fiancée & the daughter saw other children and families in the pool and made friends and that increased their comfort there also. These families were doing similar visa medical exams and consulate interviews and so we would see them out of the hotel also.
Being in town for so many days we did walk and check out other hotel right around the consulate. NONE had anything close to the feel you got at the Maria Bonita.
The Maria Bonita felt like you were staying in a Spanish villa, the other hotels in their lobby seemed like someone built a hotel from standard blueprints with nice square rooms and white paint and decorations ordered from a commercial catalog.
The other hotels can be fine for an individual in town by themselves for a day or two. But the Maria Bonita is where people can create beautiful memories to last.
Well that was our Juarez trip. We did enjoy ourselves, hope you do also!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #15598