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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on July 7, 2011: |
Kimchimex
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Review of Cd Juarez Consulate (going with 2 children!)
June 23 Thursday-We flew into Cd J from Cancun, airport was pretty simple to navigate & you can get taxis to hotels for $21usd. It was very hot & dry. The taxi driver was nice & showed us the consulate area on the way to hotel (about 15-20 minutes from airport) I did not feel unsafe on this drive.
We had a reservation at La Quinta hotel (if you use this code HOMEDL when you make online reservations it will save you between $7-10usd per day!!!) Nice hotel with pool, laundry room ($7usd), free excellent breakfast, guarded, free copies & fax if you need it they are so helpful! I cannot say enough good things about the staff at La Quinta! I had an AT&T signal from our room & all around the hotel so my calls to USA were free (cool) also there is free internet service & you do not need a password or code so it is super simple, ice machines , pop machines etc!
We put our name on the list for 6am free van ride to our medicals for the next morning. Put your name on the list way in advance since van fills up!
June 24 Friday-Lupita & her 2 boys got on the 6am van to the medical (I am a friend of the groom & of Lupita & did not realize I could go along so I stayed behind…dumb idea) No time for breakfast since it begins at 6am, I suggest at least grabbing a piece of toast or pastry if they get it out in time.
I warned Lupita about coyotes but she thought they would only be at the consulate & being tired & so innocent, she ended up going with a coyote…they are at the van door as you get out…they dress nice with shirts all matching (they are red some days & tan other days) they have very official looking ID’s attached to their shirts, & clipboards…they say they will put your papers in order bla-bla-bla! These guys are well organized & have no souls!!! WATCH OUT!!! They took her to an office across the street in front of Wendy’s & Denny’s, behind Cabo Grill. At the office they entered her & the boys aged 10 & 14 passport info & CDJ#### into the computer & actually accessed our account & printed out the DS-260!!!! They got phone numbers of her family in Cozumel, her fiancées address, phone number etc…they even got the room number at hotel! These guys are smooth. Hey had her call me at the hotel to fax tax information on her fiancée to a phone number, I knew something was up when she called & had her put the person on the phone…I speak Spanish but could not understand why they needed tax info & told them so!!! The lady got mad at me when I asked her to speak English if she works for the US Gov’t. They told her the interview date was changed to a different day, liars & then charged her $250.53usd gave her a receipt & put Lupita & children in a van & drove them across the street to the REAL medical appointment. She called me after the appointment saying she did not have enough money to pay & could I come with more money??? Oops! I knew what had happened & took the hotel van immediately to the medical building & found her pretty upset waiting for me outside. We went in & I just teased her for being innocent & was just happy she & kids were ok! I realize this is very detailed but I think EVERYONE need to look out for these creeps! The US Gov’t could shut them down if they wanted & so could the Mexican Gov’t but it is a big business there so be careful…I met many others who had lost over $500 or all the money they had & were stuck in Juarez with no one to help them!!!
Actual Medical appointment!-
She brought; Passport, confirmation email, & invitation letter, DS-260 paper that says this is not a visa. FOR EACH OF THEM. They take blood, do an eye test, weight etc. all pretty simple & she said no big deal really. (she removed tongue piercing & nose piercing before going to medical & they did not mention it, she has no tattoos but they do look all over you) They are very nice at the clinic (blue one) The boys had to have the TB test, so they inject some fluid under the skin of your forearm…it hurts a bit so if you have little kids they will cry. Your children can not rub the site or go in the pool until they get rechecked in 72 hours so NO HOTEL POOL! Waaaaaa! Cost for real medical was Lupita $165 boys $135 each plus some tax…close to $500usd. They said Lupita could come back in 2-3 hours for her packet or wait until Monday 11am & check the boys TB tests & pick her packet up then.
Extra Info- there are places in walking distance to hotel La Quinta, Mega tacos in front, Oxxo just down a bit from Mega tacos, S-Mart for more groceries, we walked quite a few times as far as Oxxo but stopped walking to S-Mart after we saw they killed 2 police there on Saturday in broad daylight so ‘yes’ people use the free shuttle!!! Bring Mexican cell phone to call the shuttle!!!
June 25 Saturday- we had our ASC appointments, took the shuttle arrived ½ hour in advance! This is fast & easy, they take your photo & do fingerprints. It is located next to the ‘Sala De Espera’ You need passport, original birth certificate, email confirmation & invitation letter, DS-260 FOR EACH OF THEM. Easy appointment!
June 26 Sunday- Hang around the hotel wishing we could go in the pool…but kids can’t swim until the medical people look at TB tests…
June 27 Monday- Took the shuttle to medical building 11 am appointment (don’t forget to put your name on shuttle list early) here they send you in to wait & they call every kid by name, I went along for all of this…you pass by a door where they cut off the hospital style barcode armband on each kid & check the injection site, then tell you when to pick up the packet! We had to come back at 2pm. At 2 pm we picked up Lupita’s & kids envelopes DO NOT OPEN!!! These are black plastic envelopes the kids were in the same envelop Lupita was separate, & they give you a CD I think it probably has her chest X-rays on it…you can keep this.
June 28 Tuesday- we took the van at 6:30 to the ‘Sala de Espera’ out appointment was at 7:30 am. Don’t forget to bring unopened medical reports! You need all the stuff you have prepared!!! To enter you need passport, confirmation email, invitation letter, DS-260 this is not a visa paper. They will organize you at the sala de espera & put you all in line (I was able to go along everywhere at the sala) Next they send you out the door & down the street to the consulate, here is where I could not go in & had to wait outside. I waited…in about 1 hour Lupita came out & asked me to come over…they could not find our payment (WHAAAAT???) so I had to find a locker (outside consulate $3usd) & I went inside ‘where no Gringa has gone before’ he he he! I walked in through security sort of like at the airport…we walked back to a building way at back of consulate & went to the window to try & understand why they could not see our payment. I said (in English) we paid the K1 fee in the USA here is the MRV#...the girl says “OOOOP’s did you say K1-visa? My fault…I was looking in the wrong place I did not realize it was K1 visa!!!” So be sure to tell them K1, K1, K1 visa duh I can’t believe the girl did not double check this!!! At this point we have now lost maybe 2 hours. I left consulate & went back outside to wait & Lupita just waited for interview. At her interview they asked how long have you known him, how did you meet, why is his name funny is he American? She said he is American but was born in Vietnam & came over before he was 2 years old. They asked about the proposal since they had photos, asked about age difference cuz they thought she was waaaay younger than him…she said I am 29 we are only 7 years apart…they said oh, you look younger! Then the interviewer who was a young woman, said ’well, for all the information you know about your fiancée we are approving your visa today!’ The interview was in Spanish…they did not talk to the kids. As for all the papers you bring, they kept the affidavit of support & all the financial info, they did not look at his passport copy to show he is US citizen, they did not look at emails, skype calls, phone & text info…but I suggest you bring it cuz they could ask. We had a very good original packet of info & the consulate had it at the interview. They tell you to wait for your Waybill# for DHL to show up on the www.usvisa-info.com website. & then you can pick up your visa.
June 29 Wednesday- checked the www.usvisa-info.com website 5 million times, no waybill number appeared…you need; passport number & birthdate to log on…I was happy to have an iPad with me so I could check constantly at hotel though they have computers for you to use near lobby.
June 30 Thursday- Some people who had same day appointment as us at consulate saw they had a waybill # on the website & it said VISA IN TRANSIT (EN TRANSITO) they went to DHL (hotel shuttle goes 2 times a day 11 am & 6 pm) our fiends got their visas…I think they got them a day before us since we were slowed down by the consulate girl not seeing our payment, so we were at consulate interview kind of late & we missed DHL daily delivery pick up from Consulate.
July 1 Friday- 6am I woke up & checked website…saw we had our waybill# YAHOOOO! Lupita went to DHL with Waybill #, birth certificate originals & her electoral card as ID…she left kids at hotel with me, since only one person can go into DHL because it is small office. (she could most likely have brought kids inside but it is easier to leave them at hotel) She came back to hotel with visa’s in hand!!! Also an envelope you cannot open until point of entry, one for her one with both kids names on it. We asked for a shuttle ride to the border, our envelope said Cordova Bridge (if you enter at Juarez they will tell you which bridge) & the hotel gave us a free ride at 5pm. So we packed up & hopped a shuttle to the border. The shuttle cannot drive you across so we walked from where they dropped us off lucky we each had a backpack & suitcase with wheels or it would have been impossible…long walk over a covered walkway above the Rio Grande…once you cross you do not need to wait in line just ask the official & show him your passport with the visa & they direct you to a room to wait (forever…like 2 hours of musical chairs…maybe because less people were working for July 4th) here you give your passports & the envelopes from DHL, they explain theK1- visa is a onetime entry for marriage only etc… you need to pay a $6 per person administration fee in dollars! Then you go through a metal detector they ask if you have anything to declare, and BINGO you are in USA where a 5 minute taxi to the American La Quinta costs a whopping $20 bucks!!! But wow…in El Paso, Texas USA Hello America! We stayed one night here & were in time to catch a plane to Minnesota & celebrate Independence Day!
Now to get them Married…we have a wedding to finalize!!!
Sorry for such a long review but I hope it gives you some extra details you might be looking for!
Kim
Lupita & Rip, Chucho & Kevin
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7876