|
|
| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on July 24, 2018: |
TeachersJ&L
Rating:  | Review Topic: IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Completed ASC and Medical Appts in Mexico City. Arrived CDJ Consulate 9:45 am for 10:15 am appt and was allowed in with no wait. Was back out on the street at 11:30 am. Spouse could not go in. Note that the "waiting area" outside for family members is no longer open -- under construction perhaps -- but not open now as of this writing (July, 2018). The corner right beside the entrance, in front of the Extra/Circle K (convenience store) has more shade in the morning, but the shade starts to decrease quickly and by noon there is none. Our recommendation (when it's 104 degrees F as it was), since the applicant cannot enter with a cell phone, is to agree on a meeting place (FYI if you are staying at a nearby hotel, that may make the best meeting place; otherwise, Wendy's is a quarter of a block away, Starbuck's is a half block away and across the street; both are good options. Or, what we did was agree that the spouse would come back to the corner by the Extra every hour and wait for five minutes and then go back to hotel to wait. And while we're on the topic, the nearest hotel is the City Express Junior (across the street, by foot bridge), and still very very close are the Microtel and Holiday Inn Express (where we stayed), (4-minute, one long block, away, along sidewalk, on a busy, well-trafficked thoroughfare so felt very safe). Ibis and Courtyard by Marriott are just a bit further away, still easily walkable. And although the US Dept of State has just issued a security advisory for the city, the area right around the consulate has a reputation for being one of the safest areas in the city and we did not feel unsafe walking between our hotel and the consulate.
First Interviewing officer who was business-like, but neither rude nor friendly, took passport, appointment letter and DS-260 confirmation, opened the sealed medical exam package, entered some information from it into a computer, asked a few questions (name of spouse, number of previous marriages of spouse and applicant -- he actually said, "¿este es su tercer matrimonio?" which was not true, which we assume was to see if she would correct him, which she did, intended address in the US, and then assigned her to the "green chair" section. Those assigned to the "blue chairs" apparently did not pass the test and had to wait to go into another room for more questioning. After a 10-min wait on the green chairs, all were brought to the next area to line up and wait for the next interview. Interviews were conducted standing up, through a glass window, with officer asking questions through a microphone that all the other applicants could hear (i.e., not private). There were 10 interviewers behind glass windows conducting interviews simultaneously. Her officer was friendly, asked for a few, but not all of her documents, joked that she had a lot of photos of the relationship and she laughed in agreement, commented something to the effect of, "todo está en orden, no veo ningún problema con los documentos," (which she wanted to respond to with "that's what we've been trying to tell you for 14 months", but she did not) and told her with a smile that her visa was approved and would arrive in 1 to 2 weeks. Both interviews were conducted in Spanish, but when the second officer asked her her profession and she said "maestra de inglés," he joked, "so we could be doing this in English," but then he went back to Spanish. His Spanish was good and accent-free. 14-month wait for an easy and relatively painless experience.
| |
|
Consulate / USCIS Member Review #24283