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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on September 23, 2016: |
monica7777
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
The visit to Ciudad Juarez was pleasant. We arrived at the airport in Cd Juarez on Thursday, August 11 and took a taxi to the hotel. We paid 260 pesos and stayed at the Microtel Inn & Suites. It is not the cheapest hotel, but walking distance to every appointment. We stayed for 6 nights and paid $400 USD. They offered the free breakfast, but the tables always seemed so crowded that we went to the Dennys, which was right next to the hotel.
I took the medical exam at Medicos de Visa on Friday (Sep 12). They offered a shuttle to pick you at your hotel. However, this clinic was only a block away from the hotel that it was easier to walk. I was able to schedule an appointment for 6 am, all the staff was very professional, the facility looks new and the wait times were minimal. I had two vaccines - Varicela and Tdpa. I showed the nurse my IMSS card with the Td vaccine from 2014 and she said it had to be the Tdpa, which is only given to pregnant women at IMSS. I also told her I had varicela as a young child and she asked for written proof that I was immune to the disease, which I did not have - so the vaccine had to be applied. Both were quite painful, so be prepared for a sore arm for a day or two. There was a teenager next to me who had 4 vaccines and was also complaining of the pain (oh well!). I paid $310 dollars total and the whole process took less than 2 hours. The results were ready that afternoon by the time they asked me to return. Wait time was minimal and I was given a black envelope that is presented at the interview.
During the weekend we visited the Mall in front and took the Turibus for 120 pesos, which drove us around the city to see all the interesting sites. I highly recommend it.
On Monday afternoon, went to the CAS office for the fingerprint scan and photo. My appointment was at 3:45 pm and I was out 15 minutes later. It is very quick and well organized. Just a heads up that the photo they take here is the one to be placed on your immigrant visa.
On Tuesday morning, I had my interview appointment at the Consulate at 7:15 am. I was told to wait in line and those who had later appointments were asked to come back. No cell phones are allowed and some people had problems with that. I only took my documents along. I have to say the security people during the whole process were very rude. I have been at other U.S. Consulates in Mexico and these are the worst. They give out orders as if you have been told 10 times and were not paying attention and the last woman who scanned my entrance docs just threw them back to me and everything fell out of place - very rude!. So be prepared for not very nice people.
We passed through several security points and ended up in a section of the building with several chairs and interview windows that were about to open. We had a 25-30 minute wait, until suddenly the security person asked us to take out all our original documents. He mentioned several that did not apply to any of us, such us your spouse's original U.S. passport, so people started to worry and get nervous. I told the person next to me, that you really just to present the documents contained in your interview letter. The person who took my documents did not ask for anything else.
Afterwards you are asked to sit at the black chairs and hope you choose the correct set of chairs, before the security guy starts yelling at you again for not sitting in the right place. The next step is to get in line for your actual interview. Mine was around 5 minutes. I had a nice lady ask me in Spanish, who is petitioning you? where did you meet your husband? date of your wedding? do you have a visa? mine was expired so I showed a copy of it and she kept it, when and where did you live in the U.S.? and after that she said Congratulations you visa has been approved! I told her in English - I know this does not mean much but THANK YOU! she smiled and said - You are welcome. She was the only nice person at the Consulate. She gave me a green slip with instruction on how to check on my visa package.
During my wait, you could hear other people's interviews and they did not seem to be going as well. Some officer's were yelling and asking rather private questions about tattoos and other things.
My exit was also full of non-friendly security people. Some even yelling how to exit the Consulate, even if you are following the signs correctly. But at this point, who cares! the visa has been approved!!! and you can leave very happy!
We returned to my hometown in Quintana Roo the following day (Wed). I checked the website on Thursday and there was already a DHL tracking number that said they would be at DHL that afternoon. I decided to pick them up on Friday morning. The envelope contained my passport with the I-551 visa stamp and a manila envelope with many documents that was cut on the left had corner. I was a bit worried about this and after consulting with my lawyer's office, they said the Consulate sends them like that, so nothing to worry about. After that I was able to book our tickets to fly back to CA.
The overall experience was good. My only advice is be extremely patient, attentive and do as you are told (regardless of their manners), it is the final step of the process and if you have all your documents and follow the rules, you should have no problems.
I hope this helps. I learned a lot about reading these reviews. So I am happy to answer any questions you have. Best of luck to everyone going through this process!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #20497