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| Juarez, Mexico |  Review on July 9, 2011: |
kolorin
Rating:  | Review Topic: K1 Visa
Wednesday, July 6th
We arrived at 6:45 am to Ciudad Juarez from Monterrey via VivaAerobus. As soon as we arrived, we took a taxi from the airport to La Quinta Inn for $245 pesos. It was about 15-20 minutes away, and the taxi and ride felt relatively safe. There were no problems using this option.
Once we arrived at La Quinta, we checked in, but had to wait for a room to be ready. We requested the shuttle to take Oscar to his medical, but we had to wait for it for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, La Quinta allowed us to have breakfast, which was perfect because we had not eaten yet. Soon, the shuttle arrived and Oscar went to the medical while I stayed and waited for the room (it was ready by 11 am).
MEDICAL:
Oscar arrived to the location where the medical buildings are... they are practically next to each other. He chose the closest one to the street, which was Clinica Medica Internacional. He went into the building where they immediately checked his papers. They looked at: passport (you can have a copy for the first part of the day, but you need the actual passport when picking up results), invitation letter and appointment confirmation. After looking at the papers, he was directed to a window where they took his pictures and placed a wristband on his arm. Then, they gave him a paper with a barcode that was used to pay for the medical at the end.
After the paperwork, he was sent to have his his various medical tests and exams done. Through this part, he was moved into different areas for each different part of the tests. First, he had his blood drawn. Then, his eyes tested. Next, the men and women were separated. He had to take remove all clothing except boxers where he waited for the doctor to come in. He had a female doctor who examined him and asked general questions about diseases, mental health, drug usage, etc. She asked once if he has used drugs, and he said no. Then, later, she said... oh, so how old were you when first tried marijuana?... almost like a trick. At the end of the questions, she asked him to pull his boxers down. Then, she looked at the front and back. He was allowed to then place all of his clothes back on waist down. After this, he was sent for a chest x-ray. And lastly, he had to pee in front of someone.
Then, he had to pay around $183. He was told to keep the wristband on and to bring his original passport at 2:00 or up until 4:00 pm before the closed to get his results. He returned later and received the black enevelope (which is not to be opened) and a disc of the chest x-rays (which he can keep).
ASC:
The ASC appointment was at 2:30 that same day. He arrived at 2:00, which he said seemed like a good time because they started showing right about that time on a sign that they were now seeing appointments for 2:30. So, he really did not have to wait arriving 30 minutes early. He stood in the line and got to a desk where they checked for these papers: passport, DS-260 and he cannot remember if they did any others. Then, when he got to the window, they took his fingerprints and took photos. Then, they put a sticker on his DS-260 and said to turn it in at the interview. They also told him to arrive 30 minutes early to his interview.
INTERVIEW, Friday, July 8:
The interview was scheduled for 7:15 am. Oscar arrived at the Sala de Espera at about 6:35. They checked to make sure he had: the invitation letter, the DS-260, his passport and his appointment confirmation page. They put some kind of notice on his papers that he had been checked to make sure everything was there, and then told to go to the Consulate.
At the Consulate, he got in a short line where they again checked those same papers as well as the 2 copies of the DS-156 and DS-156K. Next, he went through security which is similar to airport security. Then, immediately after, a girl checked his papers again and gave him his number that he would use for the rest of the day. She took his DS-260, confirmation email and invitation letter. She told him to go to a waiting area for him to wait for a number that would appear on a screen and may also be called. He waited for 10 minutes and was called. During this time, the woman asked for his passport, financial support (she took 3 years tax returns, letter from my boss, 1-134), copies of our birth certificates, copies of passports, the form from the CDJ site that says he intends to marry, the DS-156 and DS-156K forms, the medical envelope and 2 passport photos. Even though he had it, she did not ask to see any of the proof of relationship evidence. Then, she told him to have a sit and look for his number again.
About an hour and a half later, his number appeared on the monitor again. This is where she asked the questions. She asked:
• Who is petitioning for you?
• Does she study or work?
• How long have you been together?
• How did you meet?
• Do you have a tourist visa? So, you have been to the US? Then, have you ever been without your visa?
• Where do you plan to marry?
• What work do you do?
• Have you ever had trouble with the police in Mexico or at the border?
Then, she asked for his tourist visa. Then, she said “Welcome to the United States. Your visa has been approved.” She kept his passport and said they will stamp it and send it to him.
Oscar is having it sent to DHL in Monterrey, so he will wait for it there.
GENERAL INFO about staying in CDJ:
As I wrote before, we stayed at the La Quinta. We have really enjoyed it. We got it for a great rate using the HOMEDL code. The rooms are very cozy with a big, comfortable bed; fridge and microwave; plenty of tv stations; and a good US phone signal on the cell phone as well. There is also a good breakfast, nice pool area and a shuttle that takes you most places you need to go. It is not as close as some of the other hotels... too far in my opinion to walk to the consulate in the heat, but with the shuttle and the cheap buses, I do not think it is a problem.
Places we enjoyed eating at: Mega Tacos right across the street from La Quinta and Taco Inn in Las Misiones Mall. We ate at Barrigas too, but it is a little more expensive.
And when we leave, we are trying Victor Garcia. He said he will charge $60 to pick us up from the hotel, drop Oscar off at the Juarez Airport and then take me to the El Paso airport.
OTHER interesting info:
Someone wrote in a previous review about the guys who scammed the woman. It is true! Watch out for them. Oscar realized he was only given one passport photo in Monterrey, so we had to get more made. We were standing in the area by Cabo Grill and this man approached us asking if we needed help with visa stuff. Oscar told him we only needed passport photos. Then, they took us to the building right behind the Cabo Grill. There were a bunch of guys dressed up standing around.Then, the man took Oscar to a desk where a woman was sitting at a computer. He told her he wanted passport photos, and she asked what he wanted them for. He would not tell her he was getting a visa even though she kept trying to get him to tell her. Finally, she let him just have the passport photos, but they would have definitely tried to trick him if they could. It had to have been the same people from the other review because it was the same building.
(updated on July 8, 2011)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #7894