Interview Guidelines
Sending documents to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez
If you need to send us any documents, please DO NOT mail them to us. Instead, visit ais.usvisa-info.com and ask for information on courier services.
Rescheduling or cancelling your interview
If you cannot attend your appointment, please go to mexico.usvisa-info.com for instructions on scheduling a new appointment date. There may be a significant wait before the next available appointment. For preference visa categories, visa availability is based on the month that the appointment has been scheduled, so we recommend that you attend your original appointment. DV applicants should be aware that visas are numerically limited and must be issued by September 30 of the program year. There is no guarantee that a visa will still be available on the date of your rescheduled interview. Please carefully consult the Visa Bulletin before you request to reschedule your interview. NOTE: You need to register your original NVC appointment online before you can reschedule it. Rescheduling is only possible on a date after your assigned appointment.
Security screening procedures and arrival at the Consulate
All visitors to the U.S. Consulate must follow certain security procedures. Any visitor who declines to be screened by U.S. Consulate security personnel will be unable to enter the consulate. Please read our list of prohibited items before your appointment.
PROHIBITED ITEMS
The following items are not allowed in the Consulate General.
Metal items
Pocket knives
Scissors
Metal ballpoint pens
Belts with big or heavy metal buckles and/or with metal ornaments
Pencil sharpeners
Big or heavy key chains
Tools of any kind
Pins or sharp jewelry
Electronics
Any battery-operated device
Cameras
Video cameras
Cellular phones
Radios of any kind
Portable DVD players or video games
Laptops or personal computers
Magnetic diskettes
Memory stick/thumb drive storage devices
Batteries
Calculators or calculator watches
Any electronic cables or electronic components
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Personal items
Liquids of any kind
Food of any kind, including baby formula
Cigarettes, cigars, lighters and matches
Medications (without prescription)
Lanyard for IDs
Extra clothing including shoes, towels or blankets
Other
Firearms and /or ammunitions
Toy or water guns
Explosives and/or fuel in any form
Glass containers of any kind
Umbrellas
Cosmetics
Eyebrow clippers
Metal nail files
Nail cutters
Any aerosol products
Mirrors
Glass containers (perfumes, cosmetics)
Razors
Toothpaste or toothbrush, combs, brushes and /or lipstick
Large hair holders
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To avoid delaying your entry and that of those in line behind you, please bring only what is required for your interview. The consulate does not provide lockers or storage for personal items. If you leave items in your car, be sure to put them in the trunk and lock your car; do not leave any personal items in the view of the passenger compartment.
On the day of your visa interview, do not arrive at the Consulate more than 30 minutes before your appointment time. For example, applicants with appointments at 8:15 a.m. are allowed in at 7:45 a.m.
Notice for your protection:
Your safety is a high priority for the Consulate. We ask you to avoid waiting on the sidewalks surrounding the Consulate for longer than indicated as it can pose a risk. There have been reports of scammers, and frequent assaults and robberies near the Consulate and the medical clinics where the examinations are conducted. We recommend the following to prevent this happening to you:
- Do not talk to strangers on the street.
- On the day of your appointment, do not arrive at the Consulate before 6:00 a.m. The Consulate opens at 6:30 a.m., and applicants with appointments at 7:15 a.m. are allowed to enter at 6:45 a.m.
- Carry the least amount of money possible in cash.
- Do not allow random individuals in the street to give you advice or review your documents. All visa applications are reviewed and processed by consular staff inside the Consulate on the day of your interview. If you have any questions about obtaining a visa, the Consulate has an information window open Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. No appointment is necessary and the applications and information are free.
- Report any attempted robbery or assault to the Consulate staff.
Immigrant visa fees
If you have not paid all required fees to either the National Visa Center or via the appointment website, please be prepared to pay these fees on the day of your interview. All fees for visa services are collected ONLY inside the medical clinics or inside the Consulate. Neither the medical clinics nor the Consulate staff will collect fees outside – all fees must be paid at the cashier inside the clinics or Consulate. For accurate information about your visa case, Consulate staff is available to answer your questions at the information windows. If you need to pay a fee on the day of your visa appointment, you must pay in U.S. dollars or Mexican pesos. We accept cash and credit or debit cards. If you are found ineligible to receive a visa, the application fee cannot be refunded. A complete list of fees can be found here.
Accompanying persons
Only the following persons may accompany a visa applicant to their interview:
- Interpreter: Applicants may bring one interpreter if they do not speak English or Spanish well enough to particiapte in an interview.
- Special needs visitors: Applicants may bring ONE person to help if they are elderly, disabled, or a minor child (if you are accompanying a child to the interview, please bring a government issued photo ID).
- Minor children:
- Any adult who accompanies a minor to a visa interview must possess a legal relationship to the minor and provide official government photo identification (such as your credencial para votar/tarjeta de elector issued by the Instituto Nacional Electoral – formerly the Instituto Federal Electoral, Mexican Passport or Driver’s License).
- If the accompanying adult does not have a legal relationship to the applicant, in addition to providing official government identification she or he must provide a notarized and signed affidavit from the minor’s parent or legal guardian/custodian authorizing him or her to act as the minor’s proxy.
Should the U.S. citizen petitioner travel to Ciudad Juarez during the interview process, remember that, per the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, all U.S. citizens must have a U.S. passport in order to return to the United States. U.S. citizens are also required to have a valid passport (not a passport card) for all air travel within Mexico as well as any travel in Mexico past the immediate border region. We recommend you secure a U.S. passport prior to your family member’s interview in case you need to travel to or within Mexico. You may access information on obtaining a passport at https://travel.state.gov.
Attorneys are not permitted to accompany clients into the Consulate’s waiting room nor to their interview. Anyone not listed above who accompanies a visa applicant to the consulate will need to wait outside the Consulate and meet the applicant after his/her interview.
Dress appropriately for the interview and for the weather. Some of the Consulate’s waiting area is outside the building. You will not be allowed to bring in food or drink. Snacks and beverages are available for sale in the waiting area.
Do not make travel plans outside of Mexico
A consular officer can make a decision on a visa application only after reviewing the formal application and interviewing the applicant. There is no guarantee that you will receive a visa. Do not sell your house, car or property, resign from your job or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements until you have received your immigrant visa.
If your visa is approved, we will keep your passport at the Consulate while we prepare your immigration packet and print a visa for your passport. We will return your passport and complete visa packet to you by DHL courier at a later date (see Step 1). If you have to travel within Mexico while your passport is still with us, please make sure you have a valid picture ID other than your passport.
If more information is needed
Sometimes a consular officer is unable to make a decision on a visa application because they need to review additional documents or the case requires further administrative processing. When additional documents are requested, the consular officer will give you a refusal letter that asks you to submit additional documents. The letter will include instructions on how to send those documents to the Consulate.
Administrative processing takes additional time after the interview. The timing varies based on the circumstances of each case.
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