I had the appointment set up for Monday Jan 3rd 5 pm for finger printing and Tuesday 9 am for Visa interview all in 2011
I parked my car near the border, but it would have been better if i had driven the rental car into Mexico. It was around 2 pm when i was near the border and i had to choose between taking a taxi or driving on my own and getting lost before my finger printing appointment!!! Parked the car for $40 two nights.
I showed the DHL/Finger printing facility (Remember this is the same place where you will pick up the Passport once the visa is issued) address to the taxi driver and asked him to go there. He doesn't know English and i donot know Spanish. Anyways, he took me to the Facility and then i told him to take me to any hotel, then i remembered that crown plaza is close to the American consulate, so told him to drop me at crown plaza and he happily did it for freaking $60 (American)
Then asked the receptionist at Crwon plaza to get me a taxi at 4:10. I hopped on to the taxi for $60 (Mexican DOllars) to the DHL facility. 5 minute job. Just take the passport, $26 confirmation page, confirmed appointment and the CEAC confirmation page. It is unnecessary to take any other document to the finger printing place. I asked the lady about getting a taxi back to hotel and she understood it as Colon Plaza and gave me the printout of instructions to reach colon plaza and the american embassy from the DHL facility. It was broad day light and she said it would be few blocks and i decided to walk!.
Well I reached colon plaza but crown plaza building could be seen from the Colon plaza. So finally I reached Crown plaza hotel. it is a lazy 30 minute walk from DHL facility to consulate/ hotel. I decided to take a walk and see where the American Embassy is and it was very close to the crown plaza and did not even take 5 minutes.
Banamex next to the American consulate was closed by then and i thought they would open at 8 am, so i can get the payment receipt, but the next morning i was waiting there till 9 am for them to open, but by 9.02 I got the payment receipt. It is 1950 mexican peso as apposed to 2025 as shown on the consulate website, it changed as of Dec 13, 2010. I saw about 50 people standing outside the american embassy and probably another 50 people were inside.
I went straight to the security guard and told him my appointment was at 9, he called up a lady from inside and she verified that i have my petition approval notice and other documents/confirmation pages and asked me to come in. So i did not stand in line waiting for nothing with others.
Went in and the VO started talking to me in spanish and then after seeing my passport he asked me if i know spanish, i said no español.
Then he asked me about my employer and where i work and what kind of work. All done.
I had one problem, since i had already used 4 yrs of my H1, he asked me why i have 3 more years in the approval notice. Well my I-140 was approved that is why, but the lawyer who sent me the petition packet did not include a copy of the I-140 approval notice, so he said i can only issue the visa for 2 more years, I said I can bring a copy within an hour, so he gave me same day pass for 2.00 pm. The time was 10:00 when all this had happened.
I came back to the hotel and printed a copy of the I140 approval and went back to the security, same procedure, some lady came out checked why i was there, went back and probably asked the VO if i can come in now. I went in again.
She directed me to sit in front of the same officer's window, so when he was free he just signaled me to come to his window, showed him the copy and he said i will be able to pick up the passport same day but it could take upto 4 days!
Time was around 12:00.
The receptionist had allowed me to check out at 3 pm, so i had lunch at the restaurant next to the consulate. If you are vegetarian you are outta luck!
I left my carry on bag with the security at the hotel and started walking towards the DHL facility at 4 and i was there by 4:20. you can very well take a taxi and wait there because the passports are delivered to the location exactly at 4:30 and you can get yours only around 4:45 or so.
I did not get it on the same day, infact no foreign passports were delivered on that day, So i have to wait for another day and came back to the same hotel and booked a new room.
The room was $90 including tax, again not including currency conversion.
Lessons learnt: If you are flying in/out of San antonio or houston, allow atleast a day of buffer and donot book a return flight for the next day.
Take a printout of the directions from the border to the crown plaza or the DHL facility
Your GPS may not work. My Tom tom was very confused.
It is a 5 minute drive from the border to the hotel so, you can drive your rental car into mexico, nobody asks anything at the border except for the $3 (american) toll. Although you may or may not wish to declare it to the rental agency. One student visa applicant had driven the rental car into mexico without any problem.
Remember YOU CAN ONLY DO RENEWALS as a THIRD COUNTRY NATIONAL and no change of visa can be done. read the Consulate website again and again and donot email me about this!
I did not plan this trip, it was all decided in 1 week. but mexico is one of the place where you can get an appointment within a week or even next day.
I parked my car near the border, but it would have been better if i had driven the rental car into Mexico. It was around 2 pm when i was near the border and i had to choose between taking a taxi or driving on my own and getting lost before my finger printing appointment!!! Parked the car for $40 two nights.
I showed the DHL/Finger printing facility (Remember this is the same place where you will pick up the Passport once the visa is issued) address to the taxi driver and asked him to go there. He doesn't know English and i donot know Spanish. Anyways, he took me to the Facility and then i told him to take me to any hotel, then i remembered that crown plaza is close to the American consulate, so told him to drop me at crown plaza and he happily did it for freaking $60 (American)
Then asked the receptionist at Crwon plaza to get me a taxi at 4:10. I hopped on to the taxi for $60 (Mexican DOllars) to the DHL facility. 5 minute job. Just take the passport, $26 confirmation page, confirmed appointment and the CEAC confirmation page. It is unnecessary to take any other document to the finger printing place. I asked the lady about getting a taxi back to hotel and she understood it as Colon Plaza and gave me the printout of instructions to reach colon plaza and the american embassy from the DHL facility. It was broad day light and she said it would be few blocks and i decided to walk!.
Well I reached colon plaza but crown plaza building could be seen from the Colon plaza. So finally I reached Crown plaza hotel. it is a lazy 30 minute walk from DHL facility to consulate/ hotel. I decided to take a walk and see where the American Embassy is and it was very close to the crown plaza and did not even take 5 minutes.
Banamex next to the American consulate was closed by then and i thought they would open at 8 am, so i can get the payment receipt, but the next morning i was waiting there till 9 am for them to open, but by 9.02 I got the payment receipt. It is 1950 mexican peso as apposed to 2025 as shown on the consulate website, it changed as of Dec 13, 2010. I saw about 50 people standing outside the american embassy and probably another 50 people were inside.
I went straight to the security guard and told him my appointment was at 9, he called up a lady from inside and she verified that i have my petition approval notice and other documents/confirmation pages and asked me to come in. So i did not stand in line waiting for nothing with others.
Went in and the VO started talking to me in spanish and then after seeing my passport he asked me if i know spanish, i said no español.
Then he asked me about my employer and where i work and what kind of work. All done. I had one problem, since i had already used 4 yrs of my H1, he asked me why i have 3 more years in the approval notice. Well my I-140 was approved that is why, but the lawyer who sent me the petition packet did not include a copy of the I-140 approval notice, so he said i can only issue the visa for 2 more years, I said I can bring a copy within an hour, so he gave me same day pass for 2.00 pm. The time was 10:00 when all this had happened.
I came back to the hotel and printed a copy of the I140 approval and went back to the security, same procedure, some lady came out checked why i was there, went back and probably asked the VO if i can come in now. I went in again.
She directed me to sit in front of the same officer's window, so when he was free he just signaled me to come to his window, showed him the copy and he said i will be able to pick up the passport same day but it could take upto 4 days!
Time was around 12:00.
The receptionist had allowed me to check out at 3 pm, so i had lunch at the restaurant next to the consulate. If you are vegetarian you are outta luck!
I left my carry on bag with the security at the hotel and started walking towards the DHL facility at 4 and i was there by 4:20. you can very well take a taxi and wait there because the passports are delivered to the location exactly at 4:30 and you can get yours only around 4:45 or so.
I did not get it on the same day, infact no foreign passports were delivered on that day, So i have to wait for another day and came back to the same hotel and booked a new room.
The room was $90 including tax, again not including currency conversion.
Lessons learnt: If you are flying in/out of San antonio or houston, allow atleast a day of buffer and donot book a return flight for the next day.
Take a printout of the directions from the border to the crown plaza or the DHL facility
Your GPS may not work. My Tom tom was very confused.
It is a 5 minute drive from the border to the hotel so, you can drive your rental car into mexico, nobody asks anything at the border except for the $3 (american) toll. Although you may or may not wish to declare it to the rental agency. One student visa applicant had driven the rental car into mexico without any problem.
Remember YOU CAN ONLY DO RENEWALS as a THIRD COUNTRY NATIONAL and no change of visa can be done. read the Consulate website again and again and donot email me about this!
I did not plan this trip, it was all decided in 1 week. but mexico is one of the place where you can get an appointment within a week or even next day.