Address and phone number:
US Consulate General, Chihuahua Avenida Lopez Mateos 924N, Ciudad Juarez, Telephone: 52-16-13-40-48; mailing address: P.O. Box 10545, El Paso, TX 79995-0545; fax: 011-52-16-16056 (not for routine correspondence or packet replies).
The consulate is located five minutes from the Bridge of the Americas which links Mexico and the United States and 30 minutes from the El Paso airport (depending on bridge traffic).
Visas to get into Mexico:
Fortunately, Mexican official almost never conduct immigrant documentation checks at the US-Mexican border crossing points between El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Such inspections occur at various border checkpoints south of the major border cities. They also rarely inspect people leaving Mexico at the international bridges. If one is going only to visit the US Consulate, there should be no contact with Mexican immgration officials.
Ciudad Juarez time zone:
Juarez is on central time all year while El Paso is on Mountain Daylight Time in the winter and Mountain Standard Time in the summer (i.e. Juarez is one hour ahead of El Paso during the winter and the same time as El Paso during the summer).
Transportation to Juarez from El Paso:
Taxis are easy to hire both in El Paso and at the US Consulate in Juarez. A cab from El Paso airport should cost about -30. Remember that you will be delayed crossing through US immigration when going back to the US and you may want to pay an additional fee (normally no more than /hour) for the cab to wait for you at the other side of the border (this might not be possible if the wait is unusually long).
Accomodations:
Note that I am not making recommendations with respect to any of these hotels:
La Playa Hotel (across the street from the consulate)
Avenida Lopez Mateos #103
Phone: 01152-16-137188, 114408 or 114409
Calinda Hotel (owned by Best Western)
Hermanos Escobar #3515
Phone: 01152-16-163421, 163229 or 163421
Lucerna Hotel
Paseo Triunfo de la Republica #3976
Phone: 01152-16-133232 or 112911
Holiday Inn
Paseo Triunfa de la Republica #3745
Phone: 01152-16-296000
Nonimmigrant visas:
The Juarez consulate is unusual in that it will adjudicate the case of any nonimmigrant visa applicant who is physically present at the consulate. It is best to arrive at the consulate between 6:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. (the consulate doors open between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m). You can expect to leave the consulate no earlier than 2:00 in the afternoon. The decision on the visa is made at an interview with a consular official that normally takes less than ten minutes and is often completed in just two or three. After being interviewed, a preliminary security check is made and then you are directed to the building where you will pay the visa fee (you will have to pay for the machine readable visa (“MRV”) fee and any fee applicable to your particular kind of visa that applies to nationals of your home country (the fees vary and you will are advised to check with the Department of State or your attorney before leaving)). You will then return and present to the interviewing officer your fee receipt. Your visa will then take two to three hours to process.
If you are applying for an E-1 or E-2 Treaty Trader or Investor visa, you should note that Juarez requires that the applications be submitted for pre-screening about three weeks in advance of the anticipated date of arrival. You also will need to fill out a special questionnaire prepared by the Juarez consulate (note that a standard E visa questionnaire for all consulates is in the planning stage but has not been finalized). I recommend consult an attorney to find out more about applying for the E visa at Juarez since the procedure is fairly complicated.
If you are applying for an F-1 visa, be prepared to demonstrate that you have a sufficient source of funds to support yourself and that you have sufficient reasons to return to your foreign residence upon completeion of studies. This is especially important when you have relatives living permanently in the US. Make sure that you present the I-20, assistantship letter or other evidence of financial support and any documentation of ties to your home country (such as property ownership, close family in your home country, a job offer, etc.) as well as passport. Note that nearly one-fifth of student visas are denied at Juarez usually for failing to meet the requirements noted above.
If you are applying for a J-1 visa, bring your IAP-66 as well as proof of nonimmigrant intent, evidence of financial support and copies of transcripts and diplomas as well as passport.
If you are applying for an H, L, O, or P, be prepared to present the entire I-797 sheet (do not tear off the bottom portion of the approval notice), an updated letter from your company indicating that the job offer and offered salary are still valid, recent pay stubs, an attorney-certified copy of the entire visa application package. A recent tax return and W2 form as well as copies of transcripts, degrees and previously submitted INS forms may be useful if an individual is or was once out of status. However, if you have been out of status, you are strongly urged to consult legal counsel in order to address problems which may result from being out of status.
The overall nonimmigrant visa issuance rate at Juarez is 66%.
Immigrant Visas:
Ciudad Juarez does not except third country immigrant visa applications and Mexican national adjudications are handled by the INS office in Ciudad Juarez.
The Juarez consulate normally does not require any documents beyond those listed in Packet 3. You should plan on having your medical examination on the morning before the day of the interview. The medical examination must be performed by one of the following clinics:
Servicios Medicos
Avenida Lopez Mateos 1091
Ciudad Juarez
Phone: 13-77-77 or 1-915-549-6145
Clinica Medica International
Avenida Lopez Mateos 1035
Ciudad Juarez
Phone: 13-96-11 or 915-549-1030
Holidays:
The Juarez consulate closes for both US and Mexican holidays. Consult the holiday list included elsewhere in this newsletter.
The overall initial approval rate for immigrant visas is 86%.
In case of denial:
Make sure you do not surrender your I-94 card when you leave the US to enter Mexico. US immigration law permits persons to return from territories contiguous to the US if they have an unexpired I-94 and they are returning within 30 days of departure (regardless of whether the underlying visa is expired). If you are denied your visa, you should still be able to reenter without problem if you have retained your I-94. Note that if you are out of status (i.e. no valid visa or I-94), you are risking being prevented from returning to the US and you should consider consulting a lawyer to discuss whether an advance parole can be requested which would permit the alien to return to the US.
Disclaimer: This newsletter is provided as a public service and not intended to establish an attorney client relationship. Any reliance on information contained herein is taken at your own risk. The information provided in this article has not been updated since its original posting and you should not rely on it until you consult counsel to determine if the content is still valid. We keep older articles online because it helps in the understanding of the development of immigration law.