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The major milestone – Greencard
Facts:-
1. Successfully done on Jan 28.
* * * * 2. Got it done from Juarez (mexico)
* * * * 3. Applied in 1999 Aug.
* * * * 4. I was pregnant (8 months) still went to mexico , to be done with it.
* * * *
We started our greencard process in Aug 1999 . Labor and I-140 stages were done by Oct 2000. We waited for our priority dates for almost 1 year.
By that time we had decided to go for CP. As soon as our dates were current we asked our lawyer to apply for CP from India. We did not have the option of applying CP , so we had to file I-824. By that time some how we got packet 3 from Juarez ( Mexico ). The packet 3 was in Spanish , so we couldn’t understand it much, and as our lawyer suggested , Just throw this packet. It is a mistake. We will wait for Packet 3 from India. We waited for 2 months , we did not hear anything . then we read on immihelp.com that processing can be done from Mexico also. And then we started to pursue this Mexico packet. We downloaded all the forms from internet in English. Asked our lawyer to pursue it. She was still hesitant . We convinced her that we are comfortable that route. Then finally she completed the paper work .
Our case reached there by Nov. we had called US consulate in Mexico once in dec , and they said the enquiry is going on and it can take around 6 weeks. And then 6 more weeks for the packet 4 to reach us. So we thought may be by Feb. second week we will here something .
We started to give them a call again in Jan. First call we placed was on 10 Jan and they said they are still doing some enquiry . Then we called again on 14th of Jan , they said the enquiry is done. We requested to expedite the process. They asked for Dr’s letter ( related to pregnancy). We faxed it to them on 15 Jan and on 16 jan we heard from our lawyer that our interview date has come for 28 Jan and Medical is on 25 Jan. we had just one week from taking visa for mexico to prepare all the paper work. On 17 Jan we went to Chicago for Mexican visa. We were disappointed there , they said it will take 3- 4 weeks. By that time we had bought the air tickets too.
Then we found out about victor Garcia. And we decided go through him.
Then we prepared our documents as much as possible.
Our Mexico Journey:-
We bought tickets from priceline and got a real good deal on air tickets. We flew from Peoria to Chicago and then Chicago to El Paso. We flew by American Airlines. One of our luggage got delayed. Luckily it did not had any documents in it.
El Paso :- We stayed in econolodge ( owned by an Indian , well maintained). There van service picked us up from airport. Econolodge no is : 915-778-1097. Econolodge gives special discount for Visa processing Customers. Victor Garcia only comes to econolodge and takes all the clients from there. Victor Garcia’s phone no is : 915-564-3691.
(25 Morning)Next day morning Victor Garcia’s son came . Victor Garcia’s sons name is Marco Garcia. He gave us a small speech of do’s and don’ts in Mexico (for our security). I should say that it was a very wise decision we made of going with victor Garcia. And that is my suggestion to everybody, don’t even bother about visa . just contact victor Garcia. He has a web site and a phone no too.
He charges 70$ per person .
40$ for Transportation.
* * * * 30$ for Visa processing.
Papers for victor Garcia:-
1.* * * * Copy of Passport.
2.* * * * Copy of Appt Letter.
3.* * * * Copy of Visa.
4.* * * * Spanish Letter to authorize Victor Garcia to get permit for You. The Format is on his site.
Just happily give that money and be satisfied of good service.
The best hotel and most convenient hotel is Holiday Inn (Lincoln) in Mexico. Very close to embassy, medical center, buses and Taxis. There’s a mall opposite to Hotel(star Mart). Nice mall for evening time pass. Do buy the Holiday Inn breakfast its worth the cost. Excellent food variety. I being vegetarian had lots of problem. But if you can make them understand, they can customize it for you.
Veg Menu ( what you can ask for):-
Vegetable Soup.
Mexican Plate. ( ask them to customize it)
Toast.
For Breakfast you can get :-
Fruits, cereals, Juices or coffee, Yogurt, Bread and Butter. (and lot more) (for vege’s)
Only drink bottled water. They provide bottled water at holiday Inn.
You have to tell them :- ( if you are a vegetarian)
No Carne ( which means no meat)
No web (which means no egg)
No Beaf
Uniqo vegetarnio (only vegetarian).
In the near by area there is also a burger king , pizza hut and McDonalds.
Don’t worry about medical . go and give the tests – they will take the Physical test and few standard vaccinations required for greencard. I being pregnant , I was very worried about Vaccinations and X-rays. They didn’t take any X-rays. And also for vaccines, they gave only titness . And they drew blood. And of course they took physical exam. Then they asked us to come back at 2:00 , to take the reports. They will give a sealed envelop , don’t open it.
Friday evening we went to a mall little far from hotel but walkable distance. Enquire about all the routes from the front desk of the hotel.
We had 2 extra days in between Saturday and Sunday. On sat we went to open market in downtown . Its nice you can buy some stuff there. But you have to bargain a lot.
Saturday evening we went to the mall opposite to the hotel. It’s a nice small mall. There’s a painter there who makes beautiful pictures. And he makes a painting in 5 minutes. And uses lots of different things to make a painting.
Sunday morning: - Got up late, ate brunch at holiday inn café. Went for a walk. Checked our papers again.
Sunday Evening :- Went to a church in downtown of Juarez. Nice Church. They were offering prayers at that time.
Monday Morning:- The café starts at 7:00 in the morning. We checked out our stuff. Put it the lock room. Had Breakfast. Eat good Breakfast. Because you wont get anything for next 6 -7 hours. Our Appointment was at 8:00 am. We were there by 7:30. And it is a good idea to be half an hour early there.
US Consulate:-
Step 1: - We were standing in a line outside the consulate, they send bunch of people inside at a time. Don’t try to take camera’s and cell phone’s inside.
Step 2: - Once you pass the security, they will ask you to go to Building ‘C’. In building ‘C’ we waited for two hours. Then they called our name, they called our names in English. (just wait patiently) . Checked our documents asked us the information filled in the DS 230 form. (Crosschecked all the information). Then they asked us to sign at two places: -
1.* * * * DS 230 part 2
2.* * * * Photo.
(Don’t sign and take it , you have to sign in front of them).
Paper’s taken from us:-
1.DS 230 I & II.
2.Affidavit of Support.
3.Company Letter.
4.Photo’s – 4
5.Passport
6.Original Birth Certificate.
7.Copy of Birth Certificate.
8.Original Marriage Certificate.
9.Copy of Marriage Certificate.
And from the other couple they asked for w-2’s and did not ask for Affidavit of support.
Step 3:- Then he asked us to go to building ‘B’
We waited for about half an hour and our name was called we thought that it is from the cashier to pay the processing fees which is $260 per person. But the call was from the Interviewer , Interview was unbelievable experience. Didn’t ask much questions. The Questions asked were:-
1.* * * * How did your case came to mexico? You being Indian Citizen.
2.* * * * Some Pregnancy related questions to me. ( very simple)
3.* * * * Salary, companies name,Visa type and occupation.
4.* * * * Degree – Bachelor or Masters.
Then he said your case is approved. And said whenever cashier calls pay 65$ per person. And gave back our Original Birth certificate and marriage Certificate.
Then we waited for 4 hours. But just be relaxed , have patience and just sit and talk or enjoy.
Step 4:- Called by cashier , paid $650.
Again waited to get final packet.
Step 5:- They gave the final packet , sit and check the information on the front page. Do not open the packet. Check the bridge assigned to you. You have to cross only from that bridge. It was 4:00 pm by the time we came out of the consulate.
That’s all , you are done with the US consulate of Juarez.
Last and very imp step :-
At the Border.
It was 6 :00 by the time we were ready to leave Mexico. We asked the taxi driver to drop us at US Consulate at the border and take us from the bridge indicated on the left hand side of the packet. He asked for 30$. We agreed for it because we had two suitcases and one bag. But my suggestion is to cross the bridge by walking instead of taxi. It took one hour to cross by taxi , it would have been much faster by walking and it is less than one mile of walk.
Once we reached there at the border consulate they took the final packet from us and also our finger prints and within half an hour they gave the passports with a stamp on it.
Then we showed our passport’s to the security and crossed the border.
Security asked us at border whether we are taking any apples or oranges with us . If yes you have to through them here.
After crossing we took a cab to econolodge stayed there a night. Next day early morning we had a flight back to Peoria. But it is my advice to book a flight for next day evening. Sometimes US consulate might ask you to come back next day.
And within 10 days we got our card also. The card is valid for 10 years.
That’s how we got our Greencard. A very big achievement of life.
If you have any questions regarding Cp in Mexico, Please post it here. I will be glad to help you all.
Very Good Luck!!!
Julie Jain
* * * *
Facts:-
1. Successfully done on Jan 28.
* * * * 2. Got it done from Juarez (mexico)
* * * * 3. Applied in 1999 Aug.
* * * * 4. I was pregnant (8 months) still went to mexico , to be done with it.
* * * *
We started our greencard process in Aug 1999 . Labor and I-140 stages were done by Oct 2000. We waited for our priority dates for almost 1 year.
By that time we had decided to go for CP. As soon as our dates were current we asked our lawyer to apply for CP from India. We did not have the option of applying CP , so we had to file I-824. By that time some how we got packet 3 from Juarez ( Mexico ). The packet 3 was in Spanish , so we couldn’t understand it much, and as our lawyer suggested , Just throw this packet. It is a mistake. We will wait for Packet 3 from India. We waited for 2 months , we did not hear anything . then we read on immihelp.com that processing can be done from Mexico also. And then we started to pursue this Mexico packet. We downloaded all the forms from internet in English. Asked our lawyer to pursue it. She was still hesitant . We convinced her that we are comfortable that route. Then finally she completed the paper work .
Our case reached there by Nov. we had called US consulate in Mexico once in dec , and they said the enquiry is going on and it can take around 6 weeks. And then 6 more weeks for the packet 4 to reach us. So we thought may be by Feb. second week we will here something .
We started to give them a call again in Jan. First call we placed was on 10 Jan and they said they are still doing some enquiry . Then we called again on 14th of Jan , they said the enquiry is done. We requested to expedite the process. They asked for Dr’s letter ( related to pregnancy). We faxed it to them on 15 Jan and on 16 jan we heard from our lawyer that our interview date has come for 28 Jan and Medical is on 25 Jan. we had just one week from taking visa for mexico to prepare all the paper work. On 17 Jan we went to Chicago for Mexican visa. We were disappointed there , they said it will take 3- 4 weeks. By that time we had bought the air tickets too.
Then we found out about victor Garcia. And we decided go through him.
Then we prepared our documents as much as possible.
Our Mexico Journey:-
We bought tickets from priceline and got a real good deal on air tickets. We flew from Peoria to Chicago and then Chicago to El Paso. We flew by American Airlines. One of our luggage got delayed. Luckily it did not had any documents in it.
El Paso :- We stayed in econolodge ( owned by an Indian , well maintained). There van service picked us up from airport. Econolodge no is : 915-778-1097. Econolodge gives special discount for Visa processing Customers. Victor Garcia only comes to econolodge and takes all the clients from there. Victor Garcia’s phone no is : 915-564-3691.
(25 Morning)Next day morning Victor Garcia’s son came . Victor Garcia’s sons name is Marco Garcia. He gave us a small speech of do’s and don’ts in Mexico (for our security). I should say that it was a very wise decision we made of going with victor Garcia. And that is my suggestion to everybody, don’t even bother about visa . just contact victor Garcia. He has a web site and a phone no too.
He charges 70$ per person .
40$ for Transportation.
* * * * 30$ for Visa processing.
Papers for victor Garcia:-
1.* * * * Copy of Passport.
2.* * * * Copy of Appt Letter.
3.* * * * Copy of Visa.
4.* * * * Spanish Letter to authorize Victor Garcia to get permit for You. The Format is on his site.
Just happily give that money and be satisfied of good service.
The best hotel and most convenient hotel is Holiday Inn (Lincoln) in Mexico. Very close to embassy, medical center, buses and Taxis. There’s a mall opposite to Hotel(star Mart). Nice mall for evening time pass. Do buy the Holiday Inn breakfast its worth the cost. Excellent food variety. I being vegetarian had lots of problem. But if you can make them understand, they can customize it for you.
Veg Menu ( what you can ask for):-
Vegetable Soup.
Mexican Plate. ( ask them to customize it)
Toast.
For Breakfast you can get :-
Fruits, cereals, Juices or coffee, Yogurt, Bread and Butter. (and lot more) (for vege’s)
Only drink bottled water. They provide bottled water at holiday Inn.
You have to tell them :- ( if you are a vegetarian)
No Carne ( which means no meat)
No web (which means no egg)
No Beaf
Uniqo vegetarnio (only vegetarian).
In the near by area there is also a burger king , pizza hut and McDonalds.
Don’t worry about medical . go and give the tests – they will take the Physical test and few standard vaccinations required for greencard. I being pregnant , I was very worried about Vaccinations and X-rays. They didn’t take any X-rays. And also for vaccines, they gave only titness . And they drew blood. And of course they took physical exam. Then they asked us to come back at 2:00 , to take the reports. They will give a sealed envelop , don’t open it.
Friday evening we went to a mall little far from hotel but walkable distance. Enquire about all the routes from the front desk of the hotel.
We had 2 extra days in between Saturday and Sunday. On sat we went to open market in downtown . Its nice you can buy some stuff there. But you have to bargain a lot.
Saturday evening we went to the mall opposite to the hotel. It’s a nice small mall. There’s a painter there who makes beautiful pictures. And he makes a painting in 5 minutes. And uses lots of different things to make a painting.
Sunday morning: - Got up late, ate brunch at holiday inn café. Went for a walk. Checked our papers again.
Sunday Evening :- Went to a church in downtown of Juarez. Nice Church. They were offering prayers at that time.
Monday Morning:- The café starts at 7:00 in the morning. We checked out our stuff. Put it the lock room. Had Breakfast. Eat good Breakfast. Because you wont get anything for next 6 -7 hours. Our Appointment was at 8:00 am. We were there by 7:30. And it is a good idea to be half an hour early there.
US Consulate:-
Step 1: - We were standing in a line outside the consulate, they send bunch of people inside at a time. Don’t try to take camera’s and cell phone’s inside.
Step 2: - Once you pass the security, they will ask you to go to Building ‘C’. In building ‘C’ we waited for two hours. Then they called our name, they called our names in English. (just wait patiently) . Checked our documents asked us the information filled in the DS 230 form. (Crosschecked all the information). Then they asked us to sign at two places: -
1.* * * * DS 230 part 2
2.* * * * Photo.
(Don’t sign and take it , you have to sign in front of them).
Paper’s taken from us:-
1.DS 230 I & II.
2.Affidavit of Support.
3.Company Letter.
4.Photo’s – 4
5.Passport
6.Original Birth Certificate.
7.Copy of Birth Certificate.
8.Original Marriage Certificate.
9.Copy of Marriage Certificate.
And from the other couple they asked for w-2’s and did not ask for Affidavit of support.
Step 3:- Then he asked us to go to building ‘B’
We waited for about half an hour and our name was called we thought that it is from the cashier to pay the processing fees which is $260 per person. But the call was from the Interviewer , Interview was unbelievable experience. Didn’t ask much questions. The Questions asked were:-
1.* * * * How did your case came to mexico? You being Indian Citizen.
2.* * * * Some Pregnancy related questions to me. ( very simple)
3.* * * * Salary, companies name,Visa type and occupation.
4.* * * * Degree – Bachelor or Masters.
Then he said your case is approved. And said whenever cashier calls pay 65$ per person. And gave back our Original Birth certificate and marriage Certificate.
Then we waited for 4 hours. But just be relaxed , have patience and just sit and talk or enjoy.
Step 4:- Called by cashier , paid $650.
Again waited to get final packet.
Step 5:- They gave the final packet , sit and check the information on the front page. Do not open the packet. Check the bridge assigned to you. You have to cross only from that bridge. It was 4:00 pm by the time we came out of the consulate.
That’s all , you are done with the US consulate of Juarez.
Last and very imp step :-
At the Border.
It was 6 :00 by the time we were ready to leave Mexico. We asked the taxi driver to drop us at US Consulate at the border and take us from the bridge indicated on the left hand side of the packet. He asked for 30$. We agreed for it because we had two suitcases and one bag. But my suggestion is to cross the bridge by walking instead of taxi. It took one hour to cross by taxi , it would have been much faster by walking and it is less than one mile of walk.
Once we reached there at the border consulate they took the final packet from us and also our finger prints and within half an hour they gave the passports with a stamp on it.
Then we showed our passport’s to the security and crossed the border.
Security asked us at border whether we are taking any apples or oranges with us . If yes you have to through them here.
After crossing we took a cab to econolodge stayed there a night. Next day early morning we had a flight back to Peoria. But it is my advice to book a flight for next day evening. Sometimes US consulate might ask you to come back next day.
And within 10 days we got our card also. The card is valid for 10 years.
That’s how we got our Greencard. A very big achievement of life.
If you have any questions regarding Cp in Mexico, Please post it here. I will be glad to help you all.
Very Good Luck!!!
Julie Jain
* * * *
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