|
|
| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on December 31, 2017: |
crp28
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
First, this review will be quite lengthy, but I know other detailed reviews helped calm my nerves before my husband went for his interview.
November 23, 2017
Based on the recommendations of others, we chose to fly in to El Paso and then cross into Juarez by land. We were very nervous about crossing, so I called around and set up transportation for my husband, our daughter, and me, in advance. We ended up using Amigo Shuttle ( http://amigoshuttle.info/index.html ). Our driver was waiting for us when we landed at the airport and took us straight to our hotel in Ciudad Juarez for $65. Crossing the border was very quick and painless. We were not asked for any documentation whatsoever.
We chose to stay at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites (More on the hotel below, but highly recommended). It is not the closest hotel to the consulate or other buildings, but it is still within walking distance. We did not feel unsafe at any time, but if you do not want to walk, the Holiday Inn can you to your appointments.
November 24, 2017
We set up my husband's medical appointment for 6am at Servicios Médicos de la Frontera. There was not a driver available from the hotel at this time (too early), but free transportation is also provided by the medical place. They will come pick you up for your appointment.
Take your medical appointment confirmation letter, interview appointment letter, DS-260 confirmation, and passport. My husband said he had to fill out some paperwork when he got there. He needed to provide his U.S. address, his address in Mexico (he provided his mom's), the address of the hotel, a phone number, and answered some questions. He was given a full checkup complete with blood work. He was asked about any past surgeries, medication history, if he had an allergies given an x-ray, and vaccinations. He did not have his vaccination record so he ended up getting 4 vaccinations. We opted to pay for everything there, but when I set up his appointment online before we left for Mexico I was given the option to go ahead and pay for the exam in advance.
Someone from the office called my husband later that day to have him return for further examination because they found a spot on his lungs in the x-ray. A different doctor looked at it an asked him a few questions. He had just finished a round of antibiotics a week before we went to Juarez due to pneumonia. The doctor determined the spot was left over from the pneumonia and said everything was fine.
My husband had to go back to the office at 3:30 to pick up his results. They were sealed up in a black plastic bag. Do not open this bag. Take it, still sealed, with you to your interview. The x-ray disc and immunization records are not needed. They are for your personal records.
November 27, 2017
My husband chose to walk to this appointment, but again, the Holiday Inn will take you if desired. We chose to pick his package up in Juarez, so his pick up location was the same building where he had to do his fingerprints. There will be a large display in the window that will tell you the appointment time they are currently accepting. You can take your phone with you, but you will have to prove that it is turned off before you are allowed to enter. You will need to take your interview appointment letter, DS-260 confirmation, and passport.
When it is your turn, a guard will direct you to a window. There is something posted on the wall which you will be instructed to read and agree to the terms. Then your fingerprint and picture will be taken. This picture will be used for your visa and later your green card. The officer will give you a white piece of paper with a phone number. You will be able to call that number to check on the tracking number for your package if approved. Some people say this is a faster way to get the tracking number. The fastest for us was email. Do not rely only on the IV website. We received our package 4 days ago and the website has still not updated.
November 28, 2017
My husband had his interview appointment at 10:15. I walked with him to the consulate, but no one is allowed to go in without an appointment. There is no formal waiting area. Many people will standing on the sidewalk near the consulate waiting for their loved ones. I chose to go back and wait at the hotel. It took my husband about 2 hours to process through. He showed up at 9:45 and they allowed him to go straight in. He said he thought he would have been able to get in earlier if he had tried. Don't take anything but your papers with you. I organized all of my husband's papers in a 3-ring binder with clear sleeves so it would be easy for him to locate what he needed. He said even though papers were easy to locate, the sleeves were annoying and an accordion file folder would have been better.
To enter the consulate my husband had to provide his appointment letter, passport, and DS-260.
He was given a ticket number and sent to a waiting area. When a guard came to get a group of people to move to the next location they were instructed to have their passport, passport photos, marriage certificate, DS-260, and antecedentes de no penales in hand and ready. The group was directed to a different area. My husband said he had to go to a window where he turned in all of the papers he was told to have ready and asked some questions. He was asked:
-Who are you married to?
-When did you get married?
-How long have you been married?
If they are missing any documents, this is the time they will ask for them. In our case, the officer could not locate my identification. I had put a copy of my birth certificate (you may also want to take original if possible) and a copy of my passport. The officer kept both. He spoke with others who said the birth certificate needed to include place of birth and doctor if possible.
My husband now had all the papers he needed and was given a green mark and directed to the green chairs. Green means everything is ready to go.
When it was time to line up for the interview he and a group of applicants were directed to line up in front of another set of windows. He said you can hear everything. You know what those around you are being asked, and their answers. You also hear if they are approved or denied.
When it was my husband's turn he said he had to swear an oath that his answers were true. His interview began in Spanish. After a few questions the officer asked him what language(s) I speak. I am not fluent in Spanish, so we speak English in our home. When he told this to the officer she decided that he would do his interview in English. She said that if he spoke English with me then he should be able to do his interview in English. I believe this was a way to test the authenticity of our marriage. She started over from the very beginning with the swearing of the oath in English. He was asked the following questions:
-Who is petitioning for you?
-Where is she?
-What language does she speak with you?
-How did you meet your wife?
-Where does she work?
-How many kids do you have? Names? Birthdays?
-When did you get married?
-How many divorces have you had? How many divorces has your wife had?
-Do you have any tattoos? (The will already be documented at the medical, so answer truthfully)
-When did you cross to the US? How? With Whom?
-How many times have you been to Mexico?
My husband was approved and given a green piece of paper with directions on how to access the IV website to get his tracking number. They told him his visa would be ready in 5-10 business days. Unfortunately there was a system crash the week of my husbands interview and the people who interviewed that week endured a long wait to receive their packages. He received his package on Dec 26th, exactly 4 weeks later. There are a few still waiting. In this case, many who interviewed the days after my husband did were given both the green approval letter and the blue 221g AP letter due to the extended wait time. People interviewing now are not having any problems and many are receiving their packages in 3-4 days.
Because our wait was longer than expected, I had to take our daughter and come back to the US to work. I once again called on Amigo Shuttle. The owner of the company came and picked me up and took me to the El Paso airport. He charged $70. He was very professional. He offered to let me stop for breakfast before we got to the airport so it would be cheaper. He even called my husband after he dropped my daughter and me off at the airport to let me know we made it safely.
We were told that Juarez was the best place to wait for the package because it comes so quickly. Normally this is the case, but this is not a guarantee.
I was fortunate enough to be able to go back and spend Christmas with him so he would not be alone in a hotel room. I had planned to use Amigo Shuttle again because I was so impressed with them the first time, but there weren't any drivers available. Based on another review I found here on Visa Journey, I set up an account on Andale Ride and secured a taxi from the Border Taxi company. Someone from the company sent me text messages before I left to assure me that my ride had been secured. I was given the name of the driver and the cab number. I received text message when I got in the car and one after I was dropped off at the hotel. Again, this was a very professional service and at no time did I feel unsafe. The text messages assured me that the driver was being tracked.
When my husband and I were able to come home the driver from the hotel arranged a taxi for us. Our taxi driver was very nice. He prayed for us before we got out of the car at the air port in El Paso.
Holiday Inn and Food
This hotel is more expensive than some of the other area hotels, but it is well worth it. Our cell phone service was spotty in the area (Verizon), but it worked best at the hotel. It is a very clean hotel and the staff is very knowledgeable about the process. When we checked in they told us to let them know when our appointments were and the hotel driver could take us where we needed to go. The driver will take you anywhere you need to go, I believe within 15 minutes of the hotel (for a tip, of course). There is a free hot breakfast every morning from 6-10. There was always eggs, beans, fresh papaya, cantaloupe, and watermelon, bread, yogurt, and cereal, along with several drink options. There were a few other dishes the were different from day to to day, and on Sundays they serve menudo. The coffee and hot tea were available all day
The driver, Jesus, is fantastic. He will take you wherever you need to go and is extremely helpful. He knows where to find good barbacoa tacos and other good, but cheap food. Anything you need, he can help you. He even took us to the Port of Entry when my husband received his package to get his visa stamped. It was obvious Jesus had done this before as he knew exactly where to go. We chose to do this the night before we left. We had already paid for the hotel that night before we received the email with the tracking number. It was nice to have that out of the way so that we could just cross with ease when we were ready to go to the airport. It took us over an hour and a half to cross the border, so we were happy to have already had the stamping out of the way.
There is a nice mall right across the road from the hotel. You can walk up the sidewalk and cross over the road on a bridge, or you can run across the road. We did both, depending on how we were feeling. There is a movie theater, trampoline park, a play area for kids, and a nicely sized food court. We ate at the food court almost every day.
There is also a convenience store next to the consulate where we would buy snacks and large bottles of water to have in our hotel room.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #23043