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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on May 27, 2015: |
kels430
Rating:  | Review Topic: General Review
Arrival:
My husband's interview was set for a Tuesday, so we decided to do his medical on Friday in order to have a day in between the medical and interview in case they didn't give us the results the same day. I'm glad we did that because some people who had their medical Friday weren't given their results until Monday. It was worth not having to worry about that. We flew into Juarez from Tijuana on Thursday on Aeromexico. Hotels aren't allowed to have shuttles from the airport so you must take a taxi. The taxi from the airport to the area with all the hotels was 250 pesos. You pay inside and give your receipt to the taxi driver who takes you. Its about a 10-15 min drive.
Hotel:
We stayed at the Wyndham Microtel in a “queen suite” which is a larger room with a kitchenette, since we were traveling with our 10 month old son and wanted him to have more room to play. There is a queen bed on one side and on the other is a couch that turns into another bed, as well as an ottoman, a sink, fridge, and microwave and a breakfast bar type deal. If traveling with kids I would suggest this room since its larger and has a kitchenette. Bathroom was your typical hotel bathroom, but there is no hair dryer. Every morning I went downstairs to borrow one from the front desk and left my ID with them. We had requested a crib for our son before our arrival but when we got there, there was no crib. I had to hassle the front desk a bit but later that night they were able to borrow one from another hotel. Although it took them a while, they were helpful in finding another one. There is no lockbox/safe in the room but they have a few downstairs behind the front desk that you can use. They give you the key for it. We used one for our money and passports since we had 3 days without any consulate/visa business. The hotel provides a complimentary continental breakfast every morning from 630-9; it wasn't anything special: two types of cereal, yogurt, semi-brown bananas, bread, chilaquiles, eggs, and some bean type dish. The hotel has a room with computers you can use as well as a gym. They have a driver that will take you to the airport when you leave free of cost. All in all I was happy with the hotel, especially the size/amenities in the room.
Biometrics:
We did our biometrics in Tijuana to have it done ahead of time. Biometrics were done one week before the interview. They just asked for his interview letter, passport and DS-260. He was in and out in 15 minutes.
Medical:
We scheduled his medical at Clinica Medica Internacional for Friday at 9am. I was a little worried at first because everyone says you should go super early but since we had an appointment it didn't matter. I would recommend making an appointment. We got there right at 9, and there weren't many people there, I think because it was Friday and because we went later. You sign in at a desk by the doors, they give you a clipboard to fill out, just information on where you'll be living in the states and where you (the beneficiary) currently lives. They have two waiting areas, divided by a rope, one side for the person getting the exam and the other side for those waiting for their spouses, etc. My husband waited about 5-10 minutes before they called his name. He went to a cubicle and they asked where he was currently staying in Juarez, where he will be living in the states and thats it. You go to a desk next to that one for your eye exam and then wait in another set of chairs. A lady will come by and take all of those who have finished the eye exam to another building where the rest of the medical is performed. My husband came out around 11am, so about 2 hours after we arrived. He said they took his blood, gave him the vaccines he was missing, did a chest x-ray, and had him urinate in a cup (while they watch). He said he would've been done with his exam 40 minutes earlier but was so nervous that he couldn't pee haha. He also said he was brought into the exam room and asked to strip down to his boxers. The nurse came in and asked him if he has done drugs or if he drinks alcohol, asked if he has any tattoos and then instructed him to drop his boxers to his knees, she asked him how many testicles and thats it. They gave him a piece of paper with his exam summary as well as payment receipts when he was all day.
We were instructed to come back at 2pm that day for the results! When we picked up the results there were a lot of women on the street with babies asking for money. Once inside, everyone waits in the same area, where you first sign in and they'll call you by name to come and get your results. As many people have said and as they will tell you at the exam, do not open the black packet they give you; my husband said after the interview that the only thing inside is the same thing that is on the exam summary that they give you. They will also give you a CD (not sure whats on it) but you don't need it for the interview so you can leave it at the hotel.
Misc:
Since we had the weekend in between our medical and the interview, on Sunday we decided to go to the "centro" in Juarez. The taxi was 200 pesos each way, so 400 roundtrip. There isn't much to do or see but I'm glad we got out of the hotel for a while. If we were going to spend that much money being there I figured we might as well go and "sight see". There is a cathedral and an old mission, and a big square with lots of families, food vendors, and stands to buy keepsakes. There are a few markets as well. In the same area there are a few museums but they were all closed when we went. One is the border revolution museum and the other one was like a Mexican history museum, I was bummed they were closed. We walked around, took some pictures, and ate and then headed back to the hotel.
Another one of our free days we went to the mall thats across the street from all of the hotels. It is also your typical mall--food court, movie theater, clothes stores, and a starbucks outside.
We ate most of our meals at Denny's since it was right outside our hotel. I was pleasantly surprised because I hate Denny's in the U.S. but the food and service were both great! Some nights we just bought food at the convince store located next to the pedestrian bridge, located in between the consulate and medical offices, since we had a kitchenette in our room.
Day of the interview:
Our interview time was 9:45am so we decided to get to the consulate around 9:15. I would recommend not getting there any early than half hour because they will not take you back to the consulate until your interview time or even later. If you're looking at the consulate, you will walk the length of it all the way to the left until you get to the sala de espera (next to biometrics, if you do it in Juarez), which is the first place you check in. Here they ask for your passport, interview letter, and your DS-260 with the sticker on it from biometrics. You then sit down in the chairs in front and wait for them to take your row or section of chairs to the actual consulate. They let me wait inside with my husband since I had our baby with us, while most people just wait outside. We waited here until about 10:10, when they directed my husbands row to walk to the consulate. I walked to the entrance with him and then walked back to the hotel to wait for him there. There were a lot of people just waiting outside but since it was hot and I had our son I decided to walk back to the hotel, about a block. I felt safe doing this and did't come across any problems.
I heard a knock on our door around 11:40 and to my surprise it was my husband! Not even an hour and a half after I left him! Approved! Ah the most relieving words I have ever heard in my life!
Inside the consulate:
He said he first went to a window where a woman asked him for our co-sponsors 2014 tax information, asked him if he was married and asked if I was in Juarez with him. He was given a number and told to go wait in the green chairs. Shortly after he was called to another window where he was asked the following: if he had a son, if this was his first marriage, if he had applied for a visa before, when the last time he had crossed into the U.S. was, and if my mom (our co-sponsor) was going to help us financially until we both got jobs. The CO then said congratulations your visa has been approved! Thats it! Kind of laughable that we spent all that money to get to Juarez and time worrying just to be asked such simple questions. But no complaints here!
We flew out of Juarez the next day, and two days after his interview we got an email from usvisa-info.com saying his visa had arrived at DHL! We picked it up that same day  Inside the DHL packet is an envelope with all of the papers you've ever sent to NVC/the consulate, as well as the passport with the visa sticker inside it. DO NOT open the envelope or damage it. It is gold! If it is damaged or opened you have to personally take it back to the consulate in Juarez… no thanks!
POE:
We did POE at San Ysidro/Tijuana border crossing two days after picking up his passport from DHL. We brought his passport and the envelope of papers that came with it. It took about two hours in total, but we also went on a Saturday and there were a lot of people waiting in front of us. My husband said the CBP who helped him was very friendly and didn't ask him anything. He processed his papers and then explained to him how to get a social security number and sent him on his way!
If you have any specific questions about anything feel free to message me and I'd be more than happy to help! Good luck!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #16919