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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on March 29, 2017: |
taykay
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Our case was approved by the NVC on January 24th, 2017 after having been received and acknowledged on November 15th, 2016; it took another two weeks until we received our P4 Letter via email (February 3rd, 2017); we never received the physical letter itself and we were able to simply print and use that email for the ASC Biometrics appointment, the medical exam and interview. The interview was scheduled for March 27th, 2017.
As soon as the P4 arrived, I scheduled my ASC Biometrics appointment on the AIS site (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-mx/iv), only one day was available for me (March 21st, 2017) with a few different options in regards to the hour. After updating my desired time and location (I had my prints and eye scan done in my hometown of Guadalajara, Jalisco; for anyone that doesn't want to wait until they're in Juarez to do Biometrics I suggest finding an ASC near you, we had no problems with the information being available to the Consulate on time) I also registered for a Courier Service and chose the DHL nearest to my place of residence back home. My husband and I decided to return to GDL instead of staying in Juarez for the Visa to be printed and issued. We're still waiting on our tracking number and have been told it should be ready in less than 5 business days and after that it takes anywhere from 2-3 business days to arrive at the DHL selected.
The Biometrics appointment went smoothly and we flew out to Ciudad Juarez on March 22nd, 2017. We arrived fairly early at the airport and were advised Uber does not drop in/drop off at that location so make sure you have alternate methods of transport. We stayed at the City Express Junior which has an amazing location but not so great facilities. The hotel was functional but the room was small, unkempt and an eye sore. We were within walking distance of a very nice mall, Plaza Las Misiones as well as just across the street from both the Consulate and the two approved Medical Examination places. We never felt scared or threatened being out on the street and the area was mostly surrounded by people going through the same interview process as us. The places we visited had great options for food and entertainment so we didn't have to be cooped up in the hotel the entire time.
I had previously submitted a reservation for the Medical exam to be conducted on March 23rd, 2017 at 6:30 AM at Servicios Medicos de la Frontera. The Medical facility called the day before and we set up a pick up time of 6:15 AM, their transport was nice and efficient. Once inside their building my documents were reviewed and everything ran like clockwork. I turned over the appointment letter, my passport and my reservation slip and they wrote down all of my information on their internal systems and proceeded to print an armband that was scanned at every post. I had an X-Ray taken of my chest, blood was drawn, a pee test was submitted, vision was tested, I was weighed and measured and then had a short consultation where I was asked if I drank, smoked, had previous health issues or operations, etc. Apparently she found no issues and sent me off to have my vaccines reviewed; I had submitted both a Mexican and U.S.A copy of my vaccination records as a child and they saw I only needed an Influenza shot which cost $30 USD. I was left sitting for 10 min to make sure I didn't react negatively to the shot, given a lollipop and some juice and then sent on my way to pay. I went to get my husband who had stayed behind in the waiting room for the entire process (took about an hour and 30 minutes total) and he paid with a card the total amount of $285 USD. Once paid, I was given my passport back and advised to pick up the results at 3:30 PM. Once we came back the same admissions room I had previously been in was completely full of people picking up their results however it took only a few moments for my name to be called out and I was given a sealed black envelope and was out.
Our interview was conducted on March 27th, 2017 and scheduled to start at 8:45 AM. I arrived at 8 o clock and was let through without an issue. I passed through security (read through the Consulate security warnings, phones are not allowed!), had my passport reviewed and was then sent to a big warehouse type waiting room covered in Plexiglas with rows upon rows of other people waiting for the Immigrant Visa interview; I sat there for around 2 hours. Every so often a row or two of people would be called in to the next building where there were at least 100 or so interview windows, kind of like a bank teller. Of these, only a few windows were in operation and seemed to be divided into two: document submissions and consular officers interviewing. Once inside this building we were seated once more but this waiting period was much less than the other one. People were called up one by one to the documents submission windows and from here I noticed some people receive a response immediately (admin processing, missing documents, denied or approved) and then let out. Most others, however, were asked if they wanted an interview conducted in English or Spanish and sent to another set of chairs to wait for the consular officer to call you over and start the interview. I gave original birth and marriage certificates, my husband's divorce decree, passport, appointment letter and sealed medical exam results to the specialist at the documents submission window. I couldn't tell what was the determining factor for needing to have an interview done or not but I do advise to be prepared to wait even more for an English interview, when I was there only 2 officers out of approximately 30 or 40 windows were doing those interviews so our line went much more slowly compared to those doing a Spanish interview. Once it was my turn, the interview itself lasted less than 10 minutes. He had all my documentation from stage 1 and forward, so our original I-130 submission, the NVC Package, medical exam, etc. He asked my name, my husbands name, how and where we met, when we started dating, when we got married, if wither one of us was previously married, any kids, when I entered the US for the first time and when I had been there last. I answered all the questions truthfully (my parents had crossed me over when I was 4 and we stayed there till I was 12 but this didn't seem to hurt my case) and he appeared to compare against what I had previously submitted as an answer to those questions. He went through each portion of our documentation and since we had a pretty complete case never had the need to ask for additional proof, which I was carrying about 10 pounds of in pure paperwork, pictures, receipts, etc. He then told me I was approved and gave me a green slip with information on how to retrieve my tracking number when it became available as well as an informative package regarding domestic abuse. I had all my original documents given at the previous submissions window returned except for my passport and the medical exam results and was then led out of the building. Now, we wait!
My husband and I had a great experience throughout our entire process; we tried to research, learn and understand as much as we could and for anyone about to start any part of it, i.e. the I-130 submission, NVC, Consular Interview, etc. we highly recommend relying on your peers and everyone's past experiences documented on these vast forums. I hope my review can help our fellow Visa Journeyers, much success for all!
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #21611