I got this update from Shiv on Mar 24th, 2010 who emailed me his recent experience in Tijuana about H1B Stamping. Here is his experience in his own words. Shiv, thanks for your update and sharing your experience with others
Hi,
Your blog is too useful as I recently made a trip to Tijuana for H1B stamping and I got lot of tips from your blog. I would like to share my experience with Tijuana H1B stamping.
This is Shiv, went recently for H1B stamping at Tijuana. Looks like people are avoiding to go to
Tijuana(Mexico) for H1B visa stamping. H1B stamping experience at Tijuana is a piece of cake if
all the paper work is clean. I made the decision to go to Tijuana because of God's grace.
I booked the appointment on 18th March (Thursday) online. One other friend of mine from the same company where I work also booked the appointment along with me. Its easy to book an appointment online after creating a user account for $8. After the appointment is fixed, I printed out the confirmation page along with the appointment letter page. It gave a filled form of DS-15X (which is old one and not needed any more). After fixing the appointment there was a link to fill DS-160 online. It can be filled many times, and I myself filled it twice. No photo was uploaded and I got 'x' mark in the confirmation page for the form filling. I took the print out of the confirmation page. I fixed an appointment for March 23rd(Tuesday).
For PIMs, I had seen in the blogs that an email can be sent so I did sent a mail requesting for PIMs. However I received a mail after few hours stating that "unfortunately nothing can be done before appearing for the interview"
The very next day (March 19th,2010), went to the Mexico consulate in the downtown San Diego and got their visa for $36. They took one PP photo from me, however they took a photo on-spot and that was the one appeared in the visa. I was given visa for 30 days, multiple entry. It took just 15-20 mnts to get the visa. Downtown metered parking costed about $1-$3.
On 22nd March I called the US consulate at Tijuana between 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM. They said did you send any documents? and I told them that I sent an email on thursday. They traced it and said that "Your informations have been received, you can come for the interview tomorrow".
On 23rd March, my friend and me started from San Diego at 7:36 AM towards Mexico. We reached the last exit and parked our car in the parking lot which charged $8 per day. After parking the car, we crossed the border and by 8:10 AM we were inside Mexico Tijuana. There are plenty of cabs (as you see in our cities railway station, airport, bus-stands). Took one cab and we reached Banamax bank near the Lincoln statue. Usually cabs charge $3 per person if more, for us they charged $6.
We reached Banamax bank at 8:17 AM.
We were the first people to stand in line around 8:30 one more person from our company joined us in the line at the Bank. Even at 9:00, the line had hardly 6-8 people standing in the line. Bank
opens at 9:00 AM. It took 5 minutes to get the cashier cheque for the H1B visa. The charge for the cashier cheque now is $146. We were out of bank by 9:05 AM.
From bank the Hotel where we planned to stay was visible. So we just crossed the road and went to the hotel (Real Del Rio) by walk. Checked in into our rooms and kept all the stuffs inside the
room except the needed paper works. Room costs $65 per day. Left the hotel at 9:20 AM and walked towards to US consulate and reached there by just 3 mnts walk.
We stood at the line. There used to be a separate line for H1B, but not anymore. We were allowed into the consulate with 10 mnts as batches of people are sent in. They verify the passport, previous H1B stamps, visa appointment letter, DS-160 barcode, H1B approval I797 on the entrance.
No electronics is allowed. They ask us to remove the belt, wallet and coins, metals before
entering the detecter door. They also give a number token. "Watch for this number on the screen" is the comment given. Then all of us were allowed to sit in 3rd row inside the a big square hall.
There are counters on all the 3 sides. First 4 rows are allocated for this purpose. Number is called within 5 mnts and I went to the respective counter.
The lady officer took my details I797, DS-160 barcode. She asked me to place the first 4 fingers
(except thumb) for the right hand on the finger print reader, and then the same thing for the left
hand. After that she asked me to place both the thumbs side by side on the reader. They she asked me to take a seat and she took a picture of me. Then she gave me the token and all the paper clipped to me and asked me to wait in the waiting hall. I exited the big hall through the same door in which I entered. The guard said please in the seat on the veranda (along with others) and look for your number again. There were about 2 sets of 8-9 rows of seats with each row having 9 seats. Front row of the first set is called inside and the first row of the second set is the last one to be called. People move from one row to other in an orderly fashion till they reach the first 3 rows of the first set. Every time first 3 rows from the first set was called in. We got
our call around 1:20 PM. We again entered the hall through the same door. There is water available for drinking and there are restrooms inside consulate.
Again after entering the room we were seated in the rows from 4-8 (as first 4 were allocated for
the earlier purpose). Then again one by one was called by the 8 counters on the right hand side of the hall. The front and the left side counters were for the initial entry. My number was called
around 2:05 PM. Interview took place for 5-6 mnts. Here is the details of the interview. I handed over the DS-160 barcode printout, passport and H1B I797.
How many stampings you had before?
Hi can I see your employment verification letter?
When did you join this company?
How long you were with the old company?
Looks like you quit the old company in 2007 and joined this new company in 2008 end. What did you do between that?
What to you do?
Please show me your Degree certificates
Please show me your Tax returns.
What is your green card status? For me through the first company I had I140 approved and the second company had filed I140 and I485 using labor substitution, but then after joining my recent comapany they cancelled it. Now I am back in labor state. I explained this to him and he nodded and it looked like he had all the information earlier and was doing just a cross-check.
Are you renting or own home? Married? Do you have kids?
Please sit for some time, I'll call you.
He came to the counter again in 5 minutes and asked me to come.
You are good, please collect your passport tomorrow after 3:00 PM.
Then we came out, went to the room and kept all the paperworks. Took our cell phone and went for lunch. There are decent eating places in the hotel basement, near the Lincoln statue, ofcourse non-vegetarians have various choices. Each time it costed $10 (max)
We stayed in the hotel and spent time browsing, doing some work logging remotely etc., We did not go out. The next day we went and stood in the line to collect the passport at 2:35 PM. There were already 3 people before us. By 3:00 PM there were about 40 people standing after us in the line. We gave our name and we got our Passport stamped along with I797.
We took a cab from consulate to border. Luckily the queue was less in border and we entered the gate within 5 minutes. There is i94 office on the side and we entered it. Got ourself new I94s by paying cash $6. After that we stood in the line entering US through US customs. Fortunately it was also quicker. By 3:40 PM we were inside US. I heard that the line for crossing the border is huge and it takes like 3 to 6 hours in the queue. But we were fortunate.
Hope this is useful to people thinking about getting H1B stamped at Tijuana. Quick points which I observed in the trip are as below.
1. Getting H1B stamping at Tijuana is 'piece of cake' if you have the necessary documents with you.
2. Its safer in Tijuana (ofcourse near the consulate). There are tales of gang war, drugs, but they are present everywhere
3. Getting the stamping in Tijuana is faster (you get the passport next day itself)
4. PIMs verification is simpler and very convinient.
5. No photo was asked from us.
Hope more people benefit from your blog.
Thanks & Rgds.,
Shiv
Thanks again Shiv;)
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
H1B Stamping Experience
I got this update from Ram on Mar 01st, 2010 who emailed his recent experience in Tijuana about H1B Stamping. Here is his experience in his own words. This is a little different than most of the comments the experiences posted so far. Ram, thanks for your update and sharing your experience with others
Hi All,
I am Ram, here is m experience at Tijuana
I have attended for my H1-B visa renewal at Tijuana on 24rd Feb 2010.
My background
I work as a consultant. My H1-B company is an product based company and they also provide consulting services Their main nature of business is not consulting.
I applied for my H1-B 7th yr extension with the same employer in Jan 2010 in premium processing based on my approved I-140 and got extension for 3 yrs.
I had my prevous visa renewal for Tijuana.
Appointment at consulate was at 9:30AM. Had the interview around 2:00PM.
VO: Hi
ME: Hi Good Afternoon
VO: Is this a renewal with the same Employer ?
ME: Yes Sir
VO: Can I see your passport and I 797 ?
ME: Gave my I 797C and passport
VO:From how long you are been with this XXX company ?
ME: From MM/YYYY (I am with the same employer for past 6 yrs)
VO: What does your company do?
ME: Gave a brief explanation of my employer business
VO: Do you work at your employer location ?
ME: No, I work at the client location.
VO: Who is your client and whats the nature of the business ?
ME: Gave a brief explanation of my client business nature.
VO: Can I see your employment letter ?
ME: Gave employment letter and client letter (letter from my boss at my client location).
VO: Can I see your latest paystubs, W2's Tax returns ?
ME: Gave all the requested documents (6 months paystubs, 2yrs W2's and 2008 tax returns)
VO: What is your role and responsibility ?
ME: Gave a detailed explanation of my day to day activity.
VO: Where did you worked before you worked for this client ?
ME: Gave the details of my previous client and duration of work.
VO: How many employees does your company have ?
Me: XXX employees
VO: Where is your company located ?
ME: Gave the location details
VO: Do they have any other offices ?
ME: Yes Sir, and gave the other offices details
VO: What is your highest level of education ?
ME: Gave the details
VO: Where did you graduated from ?
ME: Gave the details (India)
VO: We need to do some further verification. Come back again tomorrow morning around 10:30 AM and gave me a white slip.
ME: I said thanks to the VO officer and left the consulate.
The white sheet has 221g, and under comments section he wrote Administrative Processing. The VO gave my passport back. He kept my employment, client letters, W2's, tax returns and paystubs.
Next day I went to the consulate around 10:00 AM and informed the security that I am asked to come today at 10:30 AM. He allowed me talk to the initial appointment checking counter, which is next to the security. The lady asked me if the VO officer send any email or called me to come. I said I was asked to come directly at 10:30 AM. The lady spoke to someone and allowed me inside.
I went through the security and informed another consulate associate about my 10:30 AM appointment. He took the 221g letter and asked me to take seat. After a while about 30 mins later, VO (Same guy who interviewed me the previous day) announced my name. I went to the VO counter and greeted him.
VO:Your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you
VO:Took my passport and gave other documents except I797 and small white slip which states to pick the passport on the next business day after 3:00 PM, but the VO strike out the next business and wrote TODAY with a pen. And he said since you are already here yesterday we will try our best to give your passport today evening if not you need to collect tomorrow.
ME: Thank you Sir.
I was out of the consulate by 12:15 PM. I went to the consulate again in the evening around 3:00PM to collect my passport. The lady at the counter searched for my passport and could not find it. I told her that I have attended for my second interview today. She said she will check with the back office and call me again. After 45 mins security guys announced my name to go to the visa pick up counter. The lady at the counter gave my passport. Checked all the information on my Visa and left the consulate.
At the CBP, I went to I-94 office and got my new I-94 and entered SanDiego.
After I came back to my client place, I spoke to my boss, He said he got a email questionnaire from Tijuana consulate on 24rd Feb 2010, the day I had my first interview.And he responded to the the email on the same day. I am not aware of what the questionnaire was about.
Thanks again Ram;)
Hi All,
I am Ram, here is m experience at Tijuana
I have attended for my H1-B visa renewal at Tijuana on 24rd Feb 2010.
My background
I work as a consultant. My H1-B company is an product based company and they also provide consulting services Their main nature of business is not consulting.
I applied for my H1-B 7th yr extension with the same employer in Jan 2010 in premium processing based on my approved I-140 and got extension for 3 yrs.
I had my prevous visa renewal for Tijuana.
Appointment at consulate was at 9:30AM. Had the interview around 2:00PM.
VO: Hi
ME: Hi Good Afternoon
VO: Is this a renewal with the same Employer ?
ME: Yes Sir
VO: Can I see your passport and I 797 ?
ME: Gave my I 797C and passport
VO:From how long you are been with this XXX company ?
ME: From MM/YYYY (I am with the same employer for past 6 yrs)
VO: What does your company do?
ME: Gave a brief explanation of my employer business
VO: Do you work at your employer location ?
ME: No, I work at the client location.
VO: Who is your client and whats the nature of the business ?
ME: Gave a brief explanation of my client business nature.
VO: Can I see your employment letter ?
ME: Gave employment letter and client letter (letter from my boss at my client location).
VO: Can I see your latest paystubs, W2's Tax returns ?
ME: Gave all the requested documents (6 months paystubs, 2yrs W2's and 2008 tax returns)
VO: What is your role and responsibility ?
ME: Gave a detailed explanation of my day to day activity.
VO: Where did you worked before you worked for this client ?
ME: Gave the details of my previous client and duration of work.
VO: How many employees does your company have ?
Me: XXX employees
VO: Where is your company located ?
ME: Gave the location details
VO: Do they have any other offices ?
ME: Yes Sir, and gave the other offices details
VO: What is your highest level of education ?
ME: Gave the details
VO: Where did you graduated from ?
ME: Gave the details (India)
VO: We need to do some further verification. Come back again tomorrow morning around 10:30 AM and gave me a white slip.
ME: I said thanks to the VO officer and left the consulate.
The white sheet has 221g, and under comments section he wrote Administrative Processing. The VO gave my passport back. He kept my employment, client letters, W2's, tax returns and paystubs.
Next day I went to the consulate around 10:00 AM and informed the security that I am asked to come today at 10:30 AM. He allowed me talk to the initial appointment checking counter, which is next to the security. The lady asked me if the VO officer send any email or called me to come. I said I was asked to come directly at 10:30 AM. The lady spoke to someone and allowed me inside.
I went through the security and informed another consulate associate about my 10:30 AM appointment. He took the 221g letter and asked me to take seat. After a while about 30 mins later, VO (Same guy who interviewed me the previous day) announced my name. I went to the VO counter and greeted him.
VO:Your visa is approved.
Me: Thank you
VO:Took my passport and gave other documents except I797 and small white slip which states to pick the passport on the next business day after 3:00 PM, but the VO strike out the next business and wrote TODAY with a pen. And he said since you are already here yesterday we will try our best to give your passport today evening if not you need to collect tomorrow.
ME: Thank you Sir.
I was out of the consulate by 12:15 PM. I went to the consulate again in the evening around 3:00PM to collect my passport. The lady at the counter searched for my passport and could not find it. I told her that I have attended for my second interview today. She said she will check with the back office and call me again. After 45 mins security guys announced my name to go to the visa pick up counter. The lady at the counter gave my passport. Checked all the information on my Visa and left the consulate.
At the CBP, I went to I-94 office and got my new I-94 and entered SanDiego.
After I came back to my client place, I spoke to my boss, He said he got a email questionnaire from Tijuana consulate on 24rd Feb 2010, the day I had my first interview.And he responded to the the email on the same day. I am not aware of what the questionnaire was about.
Thanks again Ram;)
Thursday, February 11, 2010
H1B Stamping Experience
I got this update from Rekha on Feb 11th, 2010 who emailed her recent experience in Tijuana about H1B Stamping. Here is her experience in her own words. Rekha, thanks for your update and sharing your experience with others
Hi,
Had a successful visa stamping at Tijuana on 9th Feb. 2009:
1 - Parked the car at San Ysidro border. Walked through the gates. No one was checking but had a valid Mexican Visa. Got it in 2 days from Mexican Consulate (costs $36 and pretty simple process)
2. Took a cab from Mexico side to the US consulate for $3 . Went to the hotel (Real Del Rio) and got a room for $63 one night (hotel is behind consulate - 5 mins walking distance). They have a toll free number to call and reserve 1-877-517-6479. Hotel staff were nice. We reached there at 7:30am and they did let us do an early checkin.
3. Kept the stuff at hotel and went to Banamex which is also 5 minutes walking. Bank opened at 9am . Paid the fees by showing my passport (bank receipt will have your passport number) in 5 minutes and went to consulate and joined the queue.
4. Appointment at consulate was at 9:30am. Had the interview and came out at 11:30am.
5. Joined the queue next day at consulate at 3pm and got the passport back at around 3:10pm. Hotel can keep your stuff at counter and give u a receipt. Went back to hotel to collect stuff and then paid $3 to get the taxi back to San Ysidro border
6. Went to "PERMITS" and paid $6 to get a new I-94
7. Went through the US custom and immigration counters . Back in US, picked the car from the parking lot.
(A shopping complex Plaza-Rio is nearby. You can find McDonalds, BurgerKing, Panda Express,... there and can pay in US dollars)
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
RD
Thanks again Rekha.
Thanks again Rekha.
Monday, September 7, 2009
H1B Stamping Experience
I got this update from Ajay on Sep 5th, 2009 who emailed me his recent experience in Tijuana about H1B Stamping. Here is his experience in his own words. Ajay, thanks for your update and sharing your experience with others
Hope this helps.
Just wanted to mention that I had a successful stamping in Tijuana yesterday and give you a overview of how things went.
My appointment was at 9:30 in the morning of September the 3rd, 2009. Parked the car at the border, took a taxi to the consulate. I reached the consulate at 8:30 - the rush at the consulate was mediocre, but started building up later in the day. I was able to get in for the security check at 9:30 and finally had the interview at around 12:30 or 1:00 in the afternoon. The interview was pretty straightforward - lasted for a about 4-5 mins i think. Will brief the questions asked...
me and VO: Pleasantaries exchanged.
VO: What visa are you applying for?
me: Renewal of my H1B visa.
VO: Where do you work and can i see an employee verification letter?
me: company xxx and hold the title xxx. Gave him employee letter and original appt letter.
(He crosschecks my annual salary too)
VO: What does you company do?
me: Briefly explained it.
VO: What are my main responsibilities, job description
me: explained what i do etc.
VO: You application has been approved - please come and collect your passport at 3:00 tommorow.
me: thank you.
I did send an email to consulate asking for PIMS verification and received a confirmation email from them. This was a couple of days before my appt. I heard that Tijuana consulate have stopped issues visas the same day. They are asking everyone to come the following business day. It could be becuase of the rush too i guess. But ppl going to get there visa stamped or renewed must be prepared to stay 1 day atleast. I stayed at Hotel Real Del Rio just behind the consulate. Its about 75$ a night. A nice hotel with courteous staff. Checked out TJ downtown Revolution that evening. Went to consulate in the morning to check out if they have started issuing the passports, but no luck, went back at 3:00 and collected my passport. Crosschecked my info on the visa stamp and took a taxi back to the border. Got my I-94 and headed back into US at about 6:00 or so in the evening.
This was my experience. Please use it to update your blog - if it is helpful to others.
Thanks
AjayHope this helps.
Monday, January 5, 2009
H1B Stamping Experience - PIMS Delay
I got this update from Amit on Jan 3rd, 2009 who emailed me his recent experience in Tijuana about H1B Stamping. Here is his experience in his own words. Amit, thanks for your update and helping others.
Our Visa stamping experience in Tijuana, Mexico.
Key words: Bad experience Tijuana Mexico embassy consulate H1B visa stamping PIMS delay border
Initially I was very apprehensive about my wife going to Tijuana or anywhere in MX for her H1B renewal stamp. But after reading on various sites, official and blogs and talking to a few people, I thought the stamping in Tijuana and the related processes and logistics are smooth and well streamlined. Even after going through some 25 - 30 postings about the stamping there, not a single one had anything negative about it. A few of them talked about the new PIMS verification. Please read about it and understand it.
Everything seemed allright. So she took an appointment for 18th Dec 08, a Thursday morning. We were hoping for it to be a daylong affair but it turned out to be a 5-day ordeal. Here's the summary of how things work there.
- You drive to the US border. It's around 15 - 20 mi from the San Diego.
- If you are driving, park your car on the US side of the border. To drive into Mexico, you need some special insurance.
- There are 2 revolving doors. You walk through them, along with 50 - 100 others and HOLA!!!, you are in Mx.
- There are cab drivers, yellow cabs, right at the border and they know you are there for the visa. Your first stop is Banamex and they'll take you there for 5 - 6 bucks. The bank location has changed recently, so it'll help if you take the right address. My wife was dropped at the old one and she ended up running to the new one, 15 mins before her appointment.
- After paying the fees, walk to the consulate. It's around a 10-minute walk.
- Around your appointment time, you are asked to be in a specific line. They call you in, ask for a couple of docs. May be a few questions and you are done in 5 mins.
- Make sure you are not carrying anything metallic. Cell phones are old story. My wife was asked to remove the hook on the security badge she has to wear to work to get access to various buildings. The badge was in her folder and apparently she could have caused some serious damage to the security personnel and others there.
- Unless you are missing documents or there is something special about your case, you are asked to collect your passport around 3.00 pm.
- IF, again IF, you get your passport back, you can take one of those yellow cabs back to the border for 8 - 10 bucks.
- There you get into a separate line to get a new I-94, which might take upto 2 - 3 hrs sometimes.
Coming back to our case, after her interview of 5 mins, we thought her visa was approved and all they had to do is print the stamp and return the passport. In the mean time, you can hang out at the mall opposite the banamex. It was a pretty crowded place and looked safe as well. She returned at 3.00 ish and waited till 5.00. They told her, along with a few others, that her visa wasn't stamped because, and I quote "It's stuck in the system, or the system is down. Hence it won’t print".
When I received a call from her, I booked a room at Camino Real (http://www.caminoreal.com/espanol/index.html ), It's a good hotel, a little pricey but it's less than 10 mins walking distance from the consulate and area seemed safe, atleast in day light. Though you might hear a lot of police/ambulance sirens throughout the day. For around $110, we booked a room there. The next day she called them at 9.00 and was told that it's "Still stuck in the system" and that she should call at noon. She then made a huge mistake of calling them at 11.45 instead of noon. She was reminded, firmly, that she was asked to call at noon and not 11.45 am. People are very rude, but then that's true about almost all people working in a US consulate anywhere in the world.
Nothing at noon, and nothing at 3.00 and still nothing at 5.00 pm. Every time she asked for details, all she was told is "It's stuck in the system. If you ask any more questions, they'll point to the board, which says, the whole process may take up to 24 - 48 hours. They even refused to let us talk to the officer who, they claimed, was working on her case.
We live in the SF bay area. I had already flown into San Diego and once it was clear that it wont happen even Fri evening, I went to Tijuana and extended our stay at the hotel. Since I had heard there was a lot of gang activity in Tijuana, we decided to take a cab next morning to Rosarito, which is around 30 - 60 mins by cab, (~$20 - 25). Another option was Real Del Mar, a town 15 - 30 mins drive south of Tijuana. Rosarito is a popular beach destination in summer and hence a lot safer than Tijuana.
After a forced weekend vacation, we came back Monday morning to Tijuana. We got the same answer when we called them at 9.00 am. During the weekend, we had noted down some phone numbers in the US like the INS, Visa and Passport authority etc. I managed to talk to someone (after a 12 - 15 mins hold time). This person was able to answer all our questions. He pulled up her record based on her 797-receipt number. He said that having a 797 and the morning interview at the consulate does not mean your visa is approved. The following is how it works and this is solely based on my best understanding of the limited explanation this rep gave me on the phone.
- When one applies for a visa, the consulate sends approval requests to 3 - 4 departments.
- Only after all of them have approved the request, the consulate people are able to print the visa. In her case, one of them had not approved it yet. He refused to give us the reason for the delay (some security reason) but assured us about someone in the background working on it.
- He also mentioned that if we ask for the passport back, they HAVE TO return it immediately. Though without the renewal stamp, she can only go back to the country of her citizenship, India in our case. Or wait for a few some more time in MX.
- When asked about how much time it'll take, he said he didn’t want to speculate coz it might take 5 mins, a week, a month or more. As unpleasant as it sounded, we atleast had some answers.
We started looking for tickets to India at some Internet cafe in that nearby mall. If we didn’t get the visa that day and the next, the consulate might be closed for a day or 2 for Christmas. So we prepared ourselves for the worst.
It was only around 11.50 am and we DARE NOT call them a minute before noon. Else they might use their SPECIAL powers vested in them by the INS to cause us unimaginable harm. Well, at least they seem to think that way from the way they behave. So after waiting for all the hands on the watch to get into perfect vertical alignment, and a minute more we called them again. Though this time, we heard what we wanted to. She picked up her passport and we rushed back to the border. As I said above, she got into a separate line for a new I-94, which meant we could skip the normal line, a couple of miles long. After around an hour or so, we walked back into US.
Our poor planning, and the expectation of the best case scenario, was going to hurt us further more. The car rental , which was to be for a day but had to extended to 5, cost us $200 total for that. She had parked the car at some mall very close to the border. What we didn’t know is that the cars left there overnight are towed. So we paid another $400 to get the car back. And then book one-way tickets from SD to SFO. And given the way things turned out for us, our return tickets were a LOT MORE than $60.
So here are the things we learnt from those 5 days and I hope it helps others plan it better than we did.
- For most of the people it does happen in a day, but NOT FOR everyone. Apart from my wife, I met 2 other desis who were stuck. Another guy with her got it Fri afternoon. And she also mentioned seeing another Asian girl there since Thursday. So that's almost 10 - 15% of the people who applied. Hence a contingency plan, about what to do if you are in that 15%, will help a lot.
- For precisely that reason, renting a car and parking at the border is not the best idea. There is a Jack-in-the-Box where you can park for $5 a day. May be they'll let your car be there until you are back. But the mall will definitely get it towed if it's parked there overnight.
- I don’t know if that was the main reason for the delay, but make sure your PIMS verification is done prior to your arrival at the consulate. I did call the consulate asking them to send her data for PIMS verification and she said she did. You can get some information here. http://www.murthy.com/news/n_pimsvu.html
- If possible, try taking an appointment in the earlier part of the week. That’ll reduce the chances of a spending a weekend there.
This piece was not intended to scare anyone, but just to get you better informed and help you plan a little more thoroughly that what we did.
Our Visa stamping experience in Tijuana, Mexico.
Key words: Bad experience Tijuana Mexico embassy consulate H1B visa stamping PIMS delay border
Initially I was very apprehensive about my wife going to Tijuana or anywhere in MX for her H1B renewal stamp. But after reading on various sites, official and blogs and talking to a few people, I thought the stamping in Tijuana and the related processes and logistics are smooth and well streamlined. Even after going through some 25 - 30 postings about the stamping there, not a single one had anything negative about it. A few of them talked about the new PIMS verification. Please read about it and understand it.
Everything seemed allright. So she took an appointment for 18th Dec 08, a Thursday morning. We were hoping for it to be a daylong affair but it turned out to be a 5-day ordeal. Here's the summary of how things work there.
- You drive to the US border. It's around 15 - 20 mi from the San Diego.
- If you are driving, park your car on the US side of the border. To drive into Mexico, you need some special insurance.
- There are 2 revolving doors. You walk through them, along with 50 - 100 others and HOLA!!!, you are in Mx.
- There are cab drivers, yellow cabs, right at the border and they know you are there for the visa. Your first stop is Banamex and they'll take you there for 5 - 6 bucks. The bank location has changed recently, so it'll help if you take the right address. My wife was dropped at the old one and she ended up running to the new one, 15 mins before her appointment.
- After paying the fees, walk to the consulate. It's around a 10-minute walk.
- Around your appointment time, you are asked to be in a specific line. They call you in, ask for a couple of docs. May be a few questions and you are done in 5 mins.
- Make sure you are not carrying anything metallic. Cell phones are old story. My wife was asked to remove the hook on the security badge she has to wear to work to get access to various buildings. The badge was in her folder and apparently she could have caused some serious damage to the security personnel and others there.
- Unless you are missing documents or there is something special about your case, you are asked to collect your passport around 3.00 pm.
- IF, again IF, you get your passport back, you can take one of those yellow cabs back to the border for 8 - 10 bucks.
- There you get into a separate line to get a new I-94, which might take upto 2 - 3 hrs sometimes.
Coming back to our case, after her interview of 5 mins, we thought her visa was approved and all they had to do is print the stamp and return the passport. In the mean time, you can hang out at the mall opposite the banamex. It was a pretty crowded place and looked safe as well. She returned at 3.00 ish and waited till 5.00. They told her, along with a few others, that her visa wasn't stamped because, and I quote "It's stuck in the system, or the system is down. Hence it won’t print".
When I received a call from her, I booked a room at Camino Real (http://www.caminoreal.com/espanol/index.html ), It's a good hotel, a little pricey but it's less than 10 mins walking distance from the consulate and area seemed safe, atleast in day light. Though you might hear a lot of police/ambulance sirens throughout the day. For around $110, we booked a room there. The next day she called them at 9.00 and was told that it's "Still stuck in the system" and that she should call at noon. She then made a huge mistake of calling them at 11.45 instead of noon. She was reminded, firmly, that she was asked to call at noon and not 11.45 am. People are very rude, but then that's true about almost all people working in a US consulate anywhere in the world.
Nothing at noon, and nothing at 3.00 and still nothing at 5.00 pm. Every time she asked for details, all she was told is "It's stuck in the system. If you ask any more questions, they'll point to the board, which says, the whole process may take up to 24 - 48 hours. They even refused to let us talk to the officer who, they claimed, was working on her case.
We live in the SF bay area. I had already flown into San Diego and once it was clear that it wont happen even Fri evening, I went to Tijuana and extended our stay at the hotel. Since I had heard there was a lot of gang activity in Tijuana, we decided to take a cab next morning to Rosarito, which is around 30 - 60 mins by cab, (~$20 - 25). Another option was Real Del Mar, a town 15 - 30 mins drive south of Tijuana. Rosarito is a popular beach destination in summer and hence a lot safer than Tijuana.
After a forced weekend vacation, we came back Monday morning to Tijuana. We got the same answer when we called them at 9.00 am. During the weekend, we had noted down some phone numbers in the US like the INS, Visa and Passport authority etc. I managed to talk to someone (after a 12 - 15 mins hold time). This person was able to answer all our questions. He pulled up her record based on her 797-receipt number. He said that having a 797 and the morning interview at the consulate does not mean your visa is approved. The following is how it works and this is solely based on my best understanding of the limited explanation this rep gave me on the phone.
- When one applies for a visa, the consulate sends approval requests to 3 - 4 departments.
- Only after all of them have approved the request, the consulate people are able to print the visa. In her case, one of them had not approved it yet. He refused to give us the reason for the delay (some security reason) but assured us about someone in the background working on it.
- He also mentioned that if we ask for the passport back, they HAVE TO return it immediately. Though without the renewal stamp, she can only go back to the country of her citizenship, India in our case. Or wait for a few some more time in MX.
- When asked about how much time it'll take, he said he didn’t want to speculate coz it might take 5 mins, a week, a month or more. As unpleasant as it sounded, we atleast had some answers.
We started looking for tickets to India at some Internet cafe in that nearby mall. If we didn’t get the visa that day and the next, the consulate might be closed for a day or 2 for Christmas. So we prepared ourselves for the worst.
It was only around 11.50 am and we DARE NOT call them a minute before noon. Else they might use their SPECIAL powers vested in them by the INS to cause us unimaginable harm. Well, at least they seem to think that way from the way they behave. So after waiting for all the hands on the watch to get into perfect vertical alignment, and a minute more we called them again. Though this time, we heard what we wanted to. She picked up her passport and we rushed back to the border. As I said above, she got into a separate line for a new I-94, which meant we could skip the normal line, a couple of miles long. After around an hour or so, we walked back into US.
Our poor planning, and the expectation of the best case scenario, was going to hurt us further more. The car rental , which was to be for a day but had to extended to 5, cost us $200 total for that. She had parked the car at some mall very close to the border. What we didn’t know is that the cars left there overnight are towed. So we paid another $400 to get the car back. And then book one-way tickets from SD to SFO. And given the way things turned out for us, our return tickets were a LOT MORE than $60.
So here are the things we learnt from those 5 days and I hope it helps others plan it better than we did.
- For most of the people it does happen in a day, but NOT FOR everyone. Apart from my wife, I met 2 other desis who were stuck. Another guy with her got it Fri afternoon. And she also mentioned seeing another Asian girl there since Thursday. So that's almost 10 - 15% of the people who applied. Hence a contingency plan, about what to do if you are in that 15%, will help a lot.
- For precisely that reason, renting a car and parking at the border is not the best idea. There is a Jack-in-the-Box where you can park for $5 a day. May be they'll let your car be there until you are back. But the mall will definitely get it towed if it's parked there overnight.
- I don’t know if that was the main reason for the delay, but make sure your PIMS verification is done prior to your arrival at the consulate. I did call the consulate asking them to send her data for PIMS verification and she said she did. You can get some information here. http://www.murthy.com/news/n_pimsvu.html
- If possible, try taking an appointment in the earlier part of the week. That’ll reduce the chances of a spending a weekend there.
This piece was not intended to scare anyone, but just to get you better informed and help you plan a little more thoroughly that what we did.
Friday, December 26, 2008
No change of Status in Tijuana, Mexico
Tijuana, Mexico and most other US Visa consulates no longer process Visa Status Changes. For example, if you are in F1 and now have an approved H1 visa and need stamping on your passport, you will have to go back to your native country for stamping. Even H4 to H1 is no longer processed. So no change of visa status stampings are processed.
It is just not Tijuana, Mexico. Most other consulates don't process change of status anymore.
Tijuana, Mexico only accepts extensions or renewals. Also when you go there it is better to go before your I94/stamping expires so that if something goes wrong, you can come back based on your valid I94/stamping. Keep checking updates.
If you need more details check this Murthy Bulletin Link.
It is just not Tijuana, Mexico. Most other consulates don't process change of status anymore.
Tijuana, Mexico only accepts extensions or renewals. Also when you go there it is better to go before your I94/stamping expires so that if something goes wrong, you can come back based on your valid I94/stamping. Keep checking updates.
If you need more details check this Murthy Bulletin Link.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
H1B Stamping Experience by a recent visitor
I got this update from Chirag on Oct 2nd, 2008 who emailed me his recent experience in Tijuana about H1B Stamping. Thanks Chirag for your update and helping others. Here is his experience in his own words.
First of all I would like to thank for your wonderful post. Its really helpful.
The Banamex bank is moved and now it is just 2 blocks from the consulate. The best way to confirm the bank location is the person should be able to see the Abram Lincoln’s statue from the bank's entrance. Also, the fees is US $135.00. (I paid US $270 for my h1 and my wife's h4).
Once done at Banamex, go on the road (Lincoln’s Right Hand side and right side of the road). The consulate is at the end of the road. (You will see few photo and copy shops before consulate). At consulate their are few guards, ask them can you go inside, because sometimes they allows entering even half an hour before you appointment.
There were about 9 h1b (8 indian, 1 chinese) peoples on the same day. There is no any separate line for H1b persons, all are called in sequence, and the day we go there (wednesday) it looks like busy. It almost took 1:30 hour. Everybody's interview goes smooth except mine. The consular who took my interview looks like strict. He take almost 45 minutes for the every person's who go to his window, while other consular just take like 5 or 10 minutes. During my interview he told me to seat and wait until he call me back, and he return after 45 - 50 minutes, then he told me to come back at 3:00 to get my passports with visa. (during that 45 minutes he called my company to verify its existence. he also told the accountant who picked up the phone, that they will not issue me the visa if my company doesn't give the financial documents immediately, but no body had sent those documents - I didn;t even know about this things until next day when I go back to my work, so I think they just call my company to confirm the company's existence and my position).
Also, usually they returns passport early even they tell us to come at 3:00. I get my passport at 2:30.
At the border, as soon as you pass the rotating door you will see a building (Border Security) on right hand side, go there for new I-94, and pay US $6.00 (They issue me I-94 with the same exact information which I had on I-797 bottom part, I don’t think that I is required but I looks like the officer which check my documents are under training so they process them again and issue me i-94 (white card)). and then go ahead there you will see lots of people in queues, and join them. Here officer will just verify information again.
Pretty much it was a good experience except that 45 minutes waiting time at consulate. The information you give such as directions, parting lot, crossing border, taking taxi to banamex, banamex to consulate, consulate to border, and processing at border, are really worderful help.
One more thing is PIMS.
They don't verify the details when you email them, it is better to call the consulate between 3:00 PM and 4:00PM (if you call any other time they will tell you to call at this time) and they will ask for you I-797 petition number. I called about 3 times and it was verified before 3 days of my appointment. I suggest starting calling them before 2 weeks. (The guy which also was there for H1B told me that he just called them once before 2 days of interview and his PIMS was verified, so I think consulate does this for all the petitions, but all want us to call them and verify this before going for interview, so its better to call them before 3 days)
Thanks again for this post.
Chirag
I hope this post helps everyone.
First of all I would like to thank for your wonderful post. Its really helpful.
The Banamex bank is moved and now it is just 2 blocks from the consulate. The best way to confirm the bank location is the person should be able to see the Abram Lincoln’s statue from the bank's entrance. Also, the fees is US $135.00. (I paid US $270 for my h1 and my wife's h4).
Once done at Banamex, go on the road (Lincoln’s Right Hand side and right side of the road). The consulate is at the end of the road. (You will see few photo and copy shops before consulate). At consulate their are few guards, ask them can you go inside, because sometimes they allows entering even half an hour before you appointment.
There were about 9 h1b (8 indian, 1 chinese) peoples on the same day. There is no any separate line for H1b persons, all are called in sequence, and the day we go there (wednesday) it looks like busy. It almost took 1:30 hour. Everybody's interview goes smooth except mine. The consular who took my interview looks like strict. He take almost 45 minutes for the every person's who go to his window, while other consular just take like 5 or 10 minutes. During my interview he told me to seat and wait until he call me back, and he return after 45 - 50 minutes, then he told me to come back at 3:00 to get my passports with visa. (during that 45 minutes he called my company to verify its existence. he also told the accountant who picked up the phone, that they will not issue me the visa if my company doesn't give the financial documents immediately, but no body had sent those documents - I didn;t even know about this things until next day when I go back to my work, so I think they just call my company to confirm the company's existence and my position).
Also, usually they returns passport early even they tell us to come at 3:00. I get my passport at 2:30.
At the border, as soon as you pass the rotating door you will see a building (Border Security) on right hand side, go there for new I-94, and pay US $6.00 (They issue me I-94 with the same exact information which I had on I-797 bottom part, I don’t think that I is required but I looks like the officer which check my documents are under training so they process them again and issue me i-94 (white card)). and then go ahead there you will see lots of people in queues, and join them. Here officer will just verify information again.
Pretty much it was a good experience except that 45 minutes waiting time at consulate. The information you give such as directions, parting lot, crossing border, taking taxi to banamex, banamex to consulate, consulate to border, and processing at border, are really worderful help.
One more thing is PIMS.
They don't verify the details when you email them, it is better to call the consulate between 3:00 PM and 4:00PM (if you call any other time they will tell you to call at this time) and they will ask for you I-797 petition number. I called about 3 times and it was verified before 3 days of my appointment. I suggest starting calling them before 2 weeks. (The guy which also was there for H1B told me that he just called them once before 2 days of interview and his PIMS was verified, so I think consulate does this for all the petitions, but all want us to call them and verify this before going for interview, so its better to call them before 3 days)
Thanks again for this post.
Chirag
I hope this post helps everyone.
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