Please pass the following information to your members practicing immigration
law.
The United States Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, wishes to make
you aware of several changes affecting clients applying for immigrant visas, nonimmigrant visas or American Citizen Services at the Consulate General.
Immigrant Visas
*Applicants whose cases have been suspended under INA 221(g) do not need to
schedule a new appointment unless the consular officer has directly asked to
interview them again. If only documents are needed, the applicant may drop off
documents, passport(s) and the 221(g) letter at the Consulate’s information
window or they may be sent to the Consulate via DHL courier at:
Consulado de los Estados Unidos en Ciudad Juárez
Con atención a: Equipo de Casos Rehusados
Paseo de la Victoria #3650, Fracc. Partido Senecú
Cd. Juárez, Chih., México CP 32543
*Visas are now passed back via the DHL courier service; your clients do not
need to wait at the Consulate to pick up their visas. Applicants will make
arrangements with DHL on the day of their interview and pay the courier fee.
Applicants should then call DHL at the number given on the airway bill to find out
if their visa is ready for pickup and from which DHL pass back center. They
should not go directly to the DHL center after their interview.
*Children 2-14 years old require PPT testing for Tuberculosis. They need to go to
one of the two local medical clinics for TB testing 4 days in advance of their
consular interview. There is no testing on Thursday, however the clinics do
readings on Saturday.
*One of the medical clinics has relocated immediately adjacent to the new
Consulate. The other one is expected to relocate shortly but is still near the old
Consulate site.
*All scheduling of immigrant visa cases is done through the National Visa Center.
Once the case has been scheduled, any requests to reschedule appointments
must be made through our call center. (1-900-476-1212 if calling from the US or
01-900-849-4949 if calling from Mexico.)
*Beginning June 1, 2009 all U.S. citizens will require a passport book, passport
card, or other Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative compliant document in order
to cross the border from Mexico into the United States. All U.S. citizen petitioners
who travel to Juarez to accompany their relatives should apply for and receive a
passport before traveling to Mexico.
Immigrant Visa Waivers
*Waiver application appointments will only be accepted after the applicant has
been formally denied at the Consulate. The call center will no longer schedule
waiver appointments before the applicant has been interviewed by a consular
officer.
*DHS is continuing its pilot on-the-spot waiver adjudication program. Qualifying
applicants will submit their I-601 application, waiver fees and supporting
documents, then go to the DHL counter in the Consulate to pay the courier fee.
Adjudications will be done the following day. Whether an applicant qualifies to
have their waiver adjudicated on the spot depends on specific factors in their
case as well as the workload of the waiver adjudications team. The Consulate
will not provide guidance on the likelihood that a particular waiver application will
be adjudicated on the spot.
*All inquiries regarding pending immigrant visa waivers should be made directly
to USCIS at cdj.uscis@dhs.gov.
*USCIS will begin processing waiver cases that are referred for further review to
a new remote office in Los Angeles in the next few months. The goal of the new
office is to reduce waiver processing times.
Non-Immigrant Visas
*All non-immigrant visa applicants applying at the Consulate in Ciudad Juarez
must now use the DS-160 electronic application form (except for those in the K
visa class) and enroll(be photographed, finger-scanned, and complete paperwork
for courier service) at the Applicant Service Center (ASC) prior to their interview
appointment at the Consulate. The DS-160 must be completed in English. The
ASC is located in the old Consulate compound. Click
http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/appointment-process2.html to access the
DS-160 form and for more information on the process of applying for a nonimmigrant visa at the Consulate.
*All U.S. Mission Mexico posts are accepting third country national (TCN)
applications for same category renewals but appointments are made available
secondary to serving Mexican citizens. Click here for Mission Mexico's TCN
policy http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/nivtcns.html.
*Visas are now passed back via the DHL courier service. Applicants make
delivery arrangements at the DHL desk in the Applicant Service Center prior to
the interview. Applicants should then call DHL at the number given on the airway
bill to find out if their visa is ready for pickup and from which DHL pass back
center.
Other Items of Interest
*Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requirements will come into effect on June
1, 2009, requiring all U.S. Citizens to have passports, passport cards or other
documents approved by DHS to cross the Mexico-US land border. Have your
clients apply early.
*Instruct your clients not to bring cash to pay for their visa services. Go to
http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/root/pdfs/paymentoptions.pdf for a list of
available payment options.
*There is no reason for family members to wait on the street outside of the
Consulate. Family members should wait in their hotels or at any of the
establishments near the Consulate. No waiting area is provided by the Consulate
for non-applicants.
Contacting the Consulate
*Attorney inquiries are handled exclusively through our online legal inquiry form
available at http://ciudadjuarez.usconsulate.gov/feedback-form.html. Inquiries
made by fax or mail will face significant delays in processing.
Sincerely,
The United States Consulate General, Ciudad Juarez