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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on March 9, 2018: |
Jadobi
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
IR-1 Visa
Tuesday 2/6/18
Checked out of hotel in El Paso and parked my car at the long-term parking lot at the El Paso Airport ($5/ day). Used the phone app Andale Ride to hire cab to bring us to the hotel across the border. You pay on the app, so no cash needed unless you tip the driver. Only took about 20 min to get from the airport, cross the border and arrive at Ibis hotel in Cd. Juarez.
Checked in to Hotel Ibis. First impression of the hotel was poor. The room was small, however, despite all the reviews, we actually enjoyed the visit. There were some things that could have been better but I would stay again. We didn’t have to leave for food; the food in the hotel was very good and not expensive. The staff was helpful and very friendly. Its central location is great. Everything is in walking distance.
Wednesday 2/7/18
Medical was scheduled for 7am at Clinica Medica Internacional. Show up about 20 min early. Medical was about 2 hours or so, pretty standard exam, ended up paying $450 US as there was no record of shots.
Did a little asking around for information on the Police Certificate. Some say you don’t need it, but we erred on the side of caution. We found that a Certificate can be obtained at the “Fiscalia General del Estado de Chihuahua.†It cost was $91pesos (no US dollars accepted). BEFORE YOU GO, HAVE A DOCUMENT WITH A LOCAL ADDRESS. We used the hotel bill. First you pay the fee for teh Certificate at one building, then get the document at the building next door. While in line in the second building, fill out the "Solicitud" with all the info. We took a cab to get there and back, the cabbie went to the building with us, waited and was very helpful. They want to earn a nice tip, which without his help, we would have not known where to go.There are lines, however they move quickly.
Thursday 2/8/18
Biometrics was scheduled for 7:20am at the Applicant Servicing Center. You only need to arrive a few minutes early. They post the times in large #’s in the window, when you see your scheduled time, get in line. There we were asked if we could come to the Consulate in the afternoon to turn in documentation so the interview process would be faster. Also the interview time was moved from 945am to 730am the following day. Sounded like good news. That afternoon, we arrived at 2p, turned over the following documents: (2)Photos, DS-260 Confirmation Page, Birth Certificate, Meical Exam results, Marriage Certificate, and Police Certificate. Good thing we got the Certificate.
Friday 2/9/18
The interview. Barely slept. Got up early went to Consulate a little early. There is no reason to be very early. Due to documents being turned in the previous day, the waiting was not as long. Waited in the seating area then the line about 1 hour, then interview. Questions were:
Name, Who petitioned you, When were you married, Where did you meet, Any kids, Prior marriages, Any criminal involvement, Do you speak English, Does your spouse speak Spanish, How did you cross into US and how many times....
Sat, Sun, Mon, Tues....
Waited
Wednesday 2/14/18
We assumed the VISAwould be at the ASC today. Turns out besides Valentines Day, it was Ash Wednesday. The Consulate was closed. We gave up hope for today. After settling in and relaxing, my email alert went off, the Visa was at the ASC.We immediatley picked it up, returned to the room and packed up. Used the Andale Ride app again, had some issue this time but they sent another cab within 30 min. Cabbie took us to the border where there was clearly a computer issue. Turned over Passport and packet and waited about 1.5 hours with about 20 others. Everyone got their passport back at the same time, so... Crosses into El Paso by dark, picked up car from tha Airport, was $45.
We did go to the mall a few times, pretty typical of any mall. We were cautious and didnt really venture out. Did find out there is a tour bus that will take you around Cd Juarez, but by the time we heard about it, it was too late. There are a lot of people, most are presumably there for the Consulate. There are a lot of local and federal police. All in all it wasnt bad.
(updated on March 9, 2018)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #23399