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Hopefully I can help some of you who are getting ready to go through the Interview process at the Ciudad Juarez location. Our process took 8 days from arrival to departure, so please plan accordingly if taking time off work, arranging child care, etc.
My wife's interview was scheduled for a Tuesday. In prep for the trip, she had scheduled her Medical Exam at Servicios Medicos de la Frontera for the previous Friday and her Biometrics for Saturday. So right off the bat, we had two empty days to add to the calendar.
Day 1:
Medical Processing: Wife arrived Friday morning at the Juarez airport via Monterrey, Mexico. I drove to Juarez from the U.S. side. A taxi driver from the medical clinic met her at the airport and drove her straight to her appointment at the clinic. We met up at the clinic. Processing through the clinic took almost seven hours. Family members are NOT ALLOWED in the clinic. They have a very uncomfortable waiting room outside the clinic, but I would recommend waiting at your hotel room or other location. Warning: I would advise you NOT to use this clinic. My wife paid for all her vaccines in Nuevo Laredo, brought her shot record with her, but was told at the clinic that the vaccines in Mexico were "different" from the U.S vaccines, gave her an additional three shots that she had already received and charged us an additional $200. Total bill: $391.00, so be prepared. There is a larger, newer, more state-of-the-art clinic next door which seemed to be a lot more efficient and definitely more comfortable. It's the Clinica Medica Internacional and since the rates are set by the U.S. government, your prices are the same as elsewhere.
Hotel Accommodations: I booked online. The Microtel Inn was right next to the Embassy and Medical Clinics, the rates seemed reasonable, and since we were planning on 7 to 8 days, I chose them. Big mistake. Do not stay there! I will post a review online and come back here to add the link. It was a nightmare.
Day 2:
Biometrics at the plaza next to the Embassy. They give you an appointment time. Do not arrive more than 30 minute prior or you will be standing around outside for nothing. Just make sure you bring your appointment letter AND the DS-260 confirmation receipt available online at CEAC after you completed the DS-260. Otherwise, uneventful, appointments don't take very long.
Day 5:
Interview: Again, there is no point in arriving more than 30 minutes prior, otherwise you will just stand outside. The government appointments are not first-come, first-serve. They are actual group appointments (meaning you may share the time with a dozen or so other applicants). Processing times vary and there is no rhyme or reason. Some applicants get interviewed and are our the door within an hour. Others, like my wife, took more than three hours. Again, no one is allowed to accompany the applicant into the embassy unless they have special needs. Family members will wait outside, next door on the plaza patio if they choose to do so.
Hint: Applicants exiting the embassy with a Green Slip have passed the interview and visa is approved.
Receiving your visa (READ CAREFULLY!):
Now, here is where you can avoid a nightmare: How long does it take to receive your visa? Hopefully, when you selected the address to receive your visa from DHL, you selected one of the 3 DHL Express locations in Juarez. This way, if you can wait for 2 or 3 days, you can get your visa and cross immediately. However, you need to read this carefully! When the official approved my wife's visa, he told her it should be ready within 3 days. That fit our schedule so we were excited and ready to go. The instructions you receive are to check your profile at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-mx/iv (the one you created to schedule your appointments with the Consulate). At your profile (they tell you), look for the DHL tracking number next to your case status. When the DHL tracking number appears (they tell you), you can go to the DHL location you selected and check the status of your packet. Newsflash: If you follow those instructions, be prepared to wait at least a week. When we had not received a DHL number by our 3rd day (Friday), we were really upset. I had to be back to work Monday; we had not made arrangements for my wife to travel back to her home in Nuevo Laredo... it was getting tense.
To make matters worse, when we went to the Information window at the Consulate to inquire about our status, the nice lady there told us: "It takes a week-and-a-half to two weeks." "To get our tracking number?!," I asked. "Yes, that's right." At that point, we decided to drive to our DHL office to see what we could find out. There were about 60 people in line inside to get their visa packets, and about 80 family members waiting outside. So we asked one lady, "How long did you wait to receive your tracking number?," we asked. She told us, 7 days. We asked another lady, she told us , 5 days.
But, what we didn't realize at the moment, was that the second lady was in reality, an angel sent from heaven. I told my wife, "Ask her what type of visa she was receiving." But amazingly, the lady then offered up this bit of information: If you call the Consulate help line, they will give you your tracking number over the phone! She gave us the number, and 15 minutes later, we had our tracking number. Another hour in line, and my wife had her visa packet in hand by about 12:30 pm. After a nice lunch to celebrate, we headed for the Yselta-Zarazoga Bridge and by 4:30 we were in the U.S. You can find the number to the Consulate help line here: https://ais.usvisa-i...tion/contact_us .
Good luck to all going through Juarez, I hope this is helpful to you.
My wife's interview was scheduled for a Tuesday. In prep for the trip, she had scheduled her Medical Exam at Servicios Medicos de la Frontera for the previous Friday and her Biometrics for Saturday. So right off the bat, we had two empty days to add to the calendar.
Day 1:
Medical Processing: Wife arrived Friday morning at the Juarez airport via Monterrey, Mexico. I drove to Juarez from the U.S. side. A taxi driver from the medical clinic met her at the airport and drove her straight to her appointment at the clinic. We met up at the clinic. Processing through the clinic took almost seven hours. Family members are NOT ALLOWED in the clinic. They have a very uncomfortable waiting room outside the clinic, but I would recommend waiting at your hotel room or other location. Warning: I would advise you NOT to use this clinic. My wife paid for all her vaccines in Nuevo Laredo, brought her shot record with her, but was told at the clinic that the vaccines in Mexico were "different" from the U.S vaccines, gave her an additional three shots that she had already received and charged us an additional $200. Total bill: $391.00, so be prepared. There is a larger, newer, more state-of-the-art clinic next door which seemed to be a lot more efficient and definitely more comfortable. It's the Clinica Medica Internacional and since the rates are set by the U.S. government, your prices are the same as elsewhere.
Hotel Accommodations: I booked online. The Microtel Inn was right next to the Embassy and Medical Clinics, the rates seemed reasonable, and since we were planning on 7 to 8 days, I chose them. Big mistake. Do not stay there! I will post a review online and come back here to add the link. It was a nightmare.
Day 2:
Biometrics at the plaza next to the Embassy. They give you an appointment time. Do not arrive more than 30 minute prior or you will be standing around outside for nothing. Just make sure you bring your appointment letter AND the DS-260 confirmation receipt available online at CEAC after you completed the DS-260. Otherwise, uneventful, appointments don't take very long.
Day 5:
Interview: Again, there is no point in arriving more than 30 minutes prior, otherwise you will just stand outside. The government appointments are not first-come, first-serve. They are actual group appointments (meaning you may share the time with a dozen or so other applicants). Processing times vary and there is no rhyme or reason. Some applicants get interviewed and are our the door within an hour. Others, like my wife, took more than three hours. Again, no one is allowed to accompany the applicant into the embassy unless they have special needs. Family members will wait outside, next door on the plaza patio if they choose to do so.
Hint: Applicants exiting the embassy with a Green Slip have passed the interview and visa is approved.
Receiving your visa (READ CAREFULLY!):
Now, here is where you can avoid a nightmare: How long does it take to receive your visa? Hopefully, when you selected the address to receive your visa from DHL, you selected one of the 3 DHL Express locations in Juarez. This way, if you can wait for 2 or 3 days, you can get your visa and cross immediately. However, you need to read this carefully! When the official approved my wife's visa, he told her it should be ready within 3 days. That fit our schedule so we were excited and ready to go. The instructions you receive are to check your profile at https://ais.usvisa-info.com/en-mx/iv (the one you created to schedule your appointments with the Consulate). At your profile (they tell you), look for the DHL tracking number next to your case status. When the DHL tracking number appears (they tell you), you can go to the DHL location you selected and check the status of your packet. Newsflash: If you follow those instructions, be prepared to wait at least a week. When we had not received a DHL number by our 3rd day (Friday), we were really upset. I had to be back to work Monday; we had not made arrangements for my wife to travel back to her home in Nuevo Laredo... it was getting tense.
To make matters worse, when we went to the Information window at the Consulate to inquire about our status, the nice lady there told us: "It takes a week-and-a-half to two weeks." "To get our tracking number?!," I asked. "Yes, that's right." At that point, we decided to drive to our DHL office to see what we could find out. There were about 60 people in line inside to get their visa packets, and about 80 family members waiting outside. So we asked one lady, "How long did you wait to receive your tracking number?," we asked. She told us, 7 days. We asked another lady, she told us , 5 days.
But, what we didn't realize at the moment, was that the second lady was in reality, an angel sent from heaven. I told my wife, "Ask her what type of visa she was receiving." But amazingly, the lady then offered up this bit of information: If you call the Consulate help line, they will give you your tracking number over the phone! She gave us the number, and 15 minutes later, we had our tracking number. Another hour in line, and my wife had her visa packet in hand by about 12:30 pm. After a nice lunch to celebrate, we headed for the Yselta-Zarazoga Bridge and by 4:30 we were in the U.S. You can find the number to the Consulate help line here: https://ais.usvisa-i...tion/contact_us .
Good luck to all going through Juarez, I hope this is helpful to you.
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