kool_maverik
Registered Users (C)
Hello friends,
Time to PAY BACK!!! (for all the answers and tips I got from this forum).
Yesterday I successfuly got my visa stamped from Tijuana. Here's how it went down -
My family and I reached the San Ysidro border at about 7:40. (Take the last US exit, turn left at the light. Go over the freeway, and the next light, turn right. What you are looking for is a Jack in the Box, and right behind that, there is a parking - $5 for 8 hrs. This parking lot is the best in my opinion because it is closest to both the entry and the exit from the border).
Anyways, after parking, went into JITB for a coffee and breakfast (there's no hurry at this point because it was only 7:45 am - the bank in Mexico does not open until 9, so even if you get there at 8, there's no use).
Left JITB at 8:15, walked across the border into Mexico. Takes about 10 mins to walk across. There is no need to get a Mexican visa (you can get one, but nobody asked for it). Soon as you walk out on the other side, there are a lot of cabs who will approach you. Most of the guys who approach you are yellow cab drivers, the more expensive kind. If possible, get the white cabs with the red stripes. They are roughly half the cost of yellow cabs. Just tell the cab driver to go to US consulate. Yellow cab will be $10, white cab will be about 4-5. All cab drivers, shops, restaurants, etc accept USD and return change in USD, so not a problem.
Tell the cab guy to actually take you to the banamex near the consulate. We got there at 8:50, and there were like 4 people in line. Bank opened at 9 am, we went in and it took about 20 mins to get the cashier's check.
Came out and walked to the consulate - takes about 1 min. There is a store next to the consulate where you can keep your cell phone for $5.
Walked into the consulate, stood in line, went inside. Once inside, first we had to wait in a waiting area. Then we were called into a buidling to show our appln forms, passport, I-797, etc. Here they took our photo and fingerprint. After that we were asked to wait in line for the interview.
The interview went smoothly. She asked the name of the company where I worked, what I did there and how long I had worked there. Then she asked to see letter of employment and paystubs. Then she asked if my wife worked, and she asked if my wife had a passport from XXXXXX (which is where she was born), and if she was a dual citizen. Basically, all were simple questions. Then she asked to go and pay the visa issuance fee.
We were out by 11:30 am. After that we went to Revolucion Ave, just to pass some time. Its a touristy kind of area - lots of souvenir shops, strip clubs (for the single people on this board!), restaurants, pharmacies(you can get medicines w/o prescription if you so desire) etc. Its a $5 cab ride from the consulate. We spent a couple of hours there, ate lunch, then headed back to the consulate to collect our passports (we were asked to come at 3).
At 3, they started calling out people's names. They do it in batches, as the passports get readied. I got mine at abt 4, but my wife's was not there in that batch. Finally by about 6, there were only 2 people left along with me. In the last batch of the day, my wife's PP was there. But one of the other Mexican gentlemen who was waiting with me was asked to come back the next day at 11 (his was the only PP that was not processed, because the consulate basically closed at 6 before his could be done). So in short, my wife's was the last PP that they processed that day. Bottomline is, be mentally prepared to stay overnight. I was. Its not a big deal - doesn't mean you wont get it, its just that the consulate staff could not get to it by the end of their day. There are plenty of good hotels/motels where you can get accomodation.
Took a cab back to the border. The cab drops you off and then you have to walk about 300 m. Just before you enter the building that houses the border checkpost, you will see a green building to the right. It says 'Special Processing' and 'Permits' or something like that. Make sure you stop there to get a new I-94. Once you get that, proceed to the checkpost. When we went, there were hardly any people at either the checkpost or the I-94 office, and it was a breeze to get through.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to make it as informative as I could.
Let the questions roll!
-KM
Time to PAY BACK!!! (for all the answers and tips I got from this forum).
Yesterday I successfuly got my visa stamped from Tijuana. Here's how it went down -
My family and I reached the San Ysidro border at about 7:40. (Take the last US exit, turn left at the light. Go over the freeway, and the next light, turn right. What you are looking for is a Jack in the Box, and right behind that, there is a parking - $5 for 8 hrs. This parking lot is the best in my opinion because it is closest to both the entry and the exit from the border).
Anyways, after parking, went into JITB for a coffee and breakfast (there's no hurry at this point because it was only 7:45 am - the bank in Mexico does not open until 9, so even if you get there at 8, there's no use).
Left JITB at 8:15, walked across the border into Mexico. Takes about 10 mins to walk across. There is no need to get a Mexican visa (you can get one, but nobody asked for it). Soon as you walk out on the other side, there are a lot of cabs who will approach you. Most of the guys who approach you are yellow cab drivers, the more expensive kind. If possible, get the white cabs with the red stripes. They are roughly half the cost of yellow cabs. Just tell the cab driver to go to US consulate. Yellow cab will be $10, white cab will be about 4-5. All cab drivers, shops, restaurants, etc accept USD and return change in USD, so not a problem.
Tell the cab guy to actually take you to the banamex near the consulate. We got there at 8:50, and there were like 4 people in line. Bank opened at 9 am, we went in and it took about 20 mins to get the cashier's check.
Came out and walked to the consulate - takes about 1 min. There is a store next to the consulate where you can keep your cell phone for $5.
Walked into the consulate, stood in line, went inside. Once inside, first we had to wait in a waiting area. Then we were called into a buidling to show our appln forms, passport, I-797, etc. Here they took our photo and fingerprint. After that we were asked to wait in line for the interview.
The interview went smoothly. She asked the name of the company where I worked, what I did there and how long I had worked there. Then she asked to see letter of employment and paystubs. Then she asked if my wife worked, and she asked if my wife had a passport from XXXXXX (which is where she was born), and if she was a dual citizen. Basically, all were simple questions. Then she asked to go and pay the visa issuance fee.
We were out by 11:30 am. After that we went to Revolucion Ave, just to pass some time. Its a touristy kind of area - lots of souvenir shops, strip clubs (for the single people on this board!), restaurants, pharmacies(you can get medicines w/o prescription if you so desire) etc. Its a $5 cab ride from the consulate. We spent a couple of hours there, ate lunch, then headed back to the consulate to collect our passports (we were asked to come at 3).
At 3, they started calling out people's names. They do it in batches, as the passports get readied. I got mine at abt 4, but my wife's was not there in that batch. Finally by about 6, there were only 2 people left along with me. In the last batch of the day, my wife's PP was there. But one of the other Mexican gentlemen who was waiting with me was asked to come back the next day at 11 (his was the only PP that was not processed, because the consulate basically closed at 6 before his could be done). So in short, my wife's was the last PP that they processed that day. Bottomline is, be mentally prepared to stay overnight. I was. Its not a big deal - doesn't mean you wont get it, its just that the consulate staff could not get to it by the end of their day. There are plenty of good hotels/motels where you can get accomodation.
Took a cab back to the border. The cab drops you off and then you have to walk about 300 m. Just before you enter the building that houses the border checkpost, you will see a green building to the right. It says 'Special Processing' and 'Permits' or something like that. Make sure you stop there to get a new I-94. Once you get that, proceed to the checkpost. When we went, there were hardly any people at either the checkpost or the I-94 office, and it was a breeze to get through.
I apologize for the long post, but I wanted to make it as informative as I could.
Let the questions roll!
-KM