Thanks to N N for sharing your experience in detail.
Had interview on Sep 27 at 9:30 am. I live in midwest but had a friend in San Diego, so, flew to San Diego on Saturday and spent the weekend. Border is only about one hour from San Diego downtown. On Monday morning took the trolley (blue line towards San Ysidro - http://www.sdmts.com/Trolley/Trolley.asp) from Old Town Transit Center to San Ysidro Transit Center, one-way fare was $2.50. Took about an hour to reach San Ysidro Transit Center and by then I was already running late for my interview.
As soon as I got off the trolley I walked about couple of minutes to the front of the trolley and there was a big tunnel/bridge to the right. Asked an officer (immigration?) to confirm that it was indeed going to take me to Tijuana, Mexico. Took the tunnel and walked for about 10 minutes to be stopped by a mexican official (by that time I was in Mexico) she asked me routine questions like what I was carrying in my bag. Kept walking again until I exited using revolving doors and noticed taxi drivers waiting outside. Took the taxi to banamex for $5 and reached banamex around 9:10 am. Upon arriving banamex I told the bank official that I was there for H1B visa receipt. They asked me to stand in line 6. Guy in that line took my passport, made a copy and asked me to take a token. There was a token machine near the entrance and I had to press "1". Took the printed token and then sat until it was my turn. Paid money at the counter and took the receipt (whole process at bank took about 15 minutes). Walked to the consulate which is 5 minutes walk from banamex (came out of the bank, turned left, crossed the road and walked for about 3 minutes to reach the consulate. Consulate will be to the right side just before the stop sign that says "Alto". You will not miss it as there will be security guards outside)
As I approached the consulate I could see mexican security guards who were directing the applicants. Showed the guard my interview confirmation letter, DS 160 confirmation. He directed me to one of the two counters. The lady at the counter asked me if I was carrying anything that was not permitted inside the consulate like cell phones etc. I said yes. She asked me to drop them off at a facility close to consulate called "cita visa center" and come back. I went and dropped them off and came back to the same guard who allowed me inside. Lady at the counter saw my DS 160, interview confirmation and passport. She asked me if I was renewing my H1B and I said yes. She gave my DS 160 with token number pasted to it - by now the time was 9:48 am. (I would suggest everyone to carry only the necessary documents before entering the consulate i.e. even before approaching the guard outside. In that way you can save some time and be ahead in line by getting a better token number. Go to the "cita visa center" close to consulate and drop off your baggage for $5. Visa center is only couple of buildings before the consulate.)
You can carry wallet, cash into the consulate. Do not worry if you are running late by few minutes. If you want to come out early, be on time. There is water inside the consulate and I did not get sick drinking it :)
After I left the first counter, I had to empty my belongings and paperwork into a box and go through detector (similar to the one you will see at airports) Once I went through the security check, real wait began. There was a big shed where I had to wait for a while. Current token that is being called (token number along with counter) was displayed in the LCD screens at the front of the shed. I was called inside for fingerprints and photo (here the lady will check your petition and write down a number on your confirmation). Once it was done I was again directed to outside shed. After about couple of hours, we were again called inside where I had to wait for about 15 minutes before the real interview happened.
VO: What do you do at XYZ company?
Me: Answered
VO: Did you work for ABC before?
Me: Answered
VO: Did you do your masters at ABC and Bachelors at ABC?
Me: Answered
VO: Can I see your degrees?
Me: Gave him
VO: What do you exactly do at XYZ.
Me: Had to explain in detail
VO: Can I see your job letter?
Me: Gave him my employment letter
VO: How much is your salary?
Me: Answered
VO: Can I see your paystubs?
Me: Gave him
VO: Where do you live?
Me: Answered
VO: Your visa is approved. You can collect your passport tomorrow.
Me: Thank you.
All you need is a photo id to collect your passport. There will be taxis waiting just outside the consulate. Took the taxi to border walked for about 2 minutes before seeing a building called "PERMITS". Got my I-94, filled it and walked again to enter the actual line for immigration. There was no waiting and was back in US by 4:00 pm.
Dollars are accepted everywhere, so you do not need to get pesos. Weather can be humid, so keep yourself hydrated! I stayed in Del Rio and you have to have AAA card to get discounted price of $56. Also, when checking-in make sure you tell them that you need internet. Sometimes there is no proper signal coverage in few rooms. There is a dominos pizza down the street on the abraham lincoln statue street and there is also a convenience store close to revolucion to get not so expensive groceries.
Thanks to Navneet, San Jose for sharing his experience. Congratulations!!
As soon as I got off the trolley I walked about couple of minutes to the front of the trolley and there was a big tunnel/bridge to the right. Asked an officer (immigration?) to confirm that it was indeed going to take me to Tijuana, Mexico. Took the tunnel and walked for about 10 minutes to be stopped by a mexican official (by that time I was in Mexico) she asked me routine questions like what I was carrying in my bag. Kept walking again until I exited using revolving doors and noticed taxi drivers waiting outside. Took the taxi to banamex for $5 and reached banamex around 9:10 am. Upon arriving banamex I told the bank official that I was there for H1B visa receipt. They asked me to stand in line 6. Guy in that line took my passport, made a copy and asked me to take a token. There was a token machine near the entrance and I had to press "1". Took the printed token and then sat until it was my turn. Paid money at the counter and took the receipt (whole process at bank took about 15 minutes). Walked to the consulate which is 5 minutes walk from banamex (came out of the bank, turned left, crossed the road and walked for about 3 minutes to reach the consulate. Consulate will be to the right side just before the stop sign that says "Alto". You will not miss it as there will be security guards outside)
As I approached the consulate I could see mexican security guards who were directing the applicants. Showed the guard my interview confirmation letter, DS 160 confirmation. He directed me to one of the two counters. The lady at the counter asked me if I was carrying anything that was not permitted inside the consulate like cell phones etc. I said yes. She asked me to drop them off at a facility close to consulate called "cita visa center" and come back. I went and dropped them off and came back to the same guard who allowed me inside. Lady at the counter saw my DS 160, interview confirmation and passport. She asked me if I was renewing my H1B and I said yes. She gave my DS 160 with token number pasted to it - by now the time was 9:48 am. (I would suggest everyone to carry only the necessary documents before entering the consulate i.e. even before approaching the guard outside. In that way you can save some time and be ahead in line by getting a better token number. Go to the "cita visa center" close to consulate and drop off your baggage for $5. Visa center is only couple of buildings before the consulate.)
You can carry wallet, cash into the consulate. Do not worry if you are running late by few minutes. If you want to come out early, be on time. There is water inside the consulate and I did not get sick drinking it :)
After I left the first counter, I had to empty my belongings and paperwork into a box and go through detector (similar to the one you will see at airports) Once I went through the security check, real wait began. There was a big shed where I had to wait for a while. Current token that is being called (token number along with counter) was displayed in the LCD screens at the front of the shed. I was called inside for fingerprints and photo (here the lady will check your petition and write down a number on your confirmation). Once it was done I was again directed to outside shed. After about couple of hours, we were again called inside where I had to wait for about 15 minutes before the real interview happened.
VO: What do you do at XYZ company?
Me: Answered
VO: Did you work for ABC before?
Me: Answered
VO: Did you do your masters at ABC and Bachelors at ABC?
Me: Answered
VO: Can I see your degrees?
Me: Gave him
VO: What do you exactly do at XYZ.
Me: Had to explain in detail
VO: Can I see your job letter?
Me: Gave him my employment letter
VO: How much is your salary?
Me: Answered
VO: Can I see your paystubs?
Me: Gave him
VO: Where do you live?
Me: Answered
VO: Your visa is approved. You can collect your passport tomorrow.
Me: Thank you.
All you need is a photo id to collect your passport. There will be taxis waiting just outside the consulate. Took the taxi to border walked for about 2 minutes before seeing a building called "PERMITS". Got my I-94, filled it and walked again to enter the actual line for immigration. There was no waiting and was back in US by 4:00 pm.
Dollars are accepted everywhere, so you do not need to get pesos. Weather can be humid, so keep yourself hydrated! I stayed in Del Rio and you have to have AAA card to get discounted price of $56. Also, when checking-in make sure you tell them that you need internet. Sometimes there is no proper signal coverage in few rooms. There is a dominos pizza down the street on the abraham lincoln statue street and there is also a convenience store close to revolucion to get not so expensive groceries.
Thanks to Navneet, San Jose for sharing his experience. Congratulations!!
I had my visa appointment on 11th August 2010. I had done my earlier stamping from Chennai and my visa expired in May this year. I crossed the border at around 8:15 am in the morning and reached Banamex at around 8:35am. Banamex bank opens at 9am. I paid the visa application fee and walked across the street to the consulate for my 9:30am appt.
The visa process went smoothly. They checked a few documents before leaving me inside and then I had to wait for 45-50 mins for my finger printing. I was again seated after that to be called by the officer which happened at around 12:45pm. The officer lady seemed to be nice.
She asked for my original I797, W2 tax returns and degree certificates. After checking those she asked me briefly about my work and how long I've worked with my current emplyer. Then she asked me for the employer verification letter. She also asked me how long I have been in the US. Following this brief chat, she said "It looks good, pls collect your passport at 3pm tomorrow."
I stayed at Hotel Real Del Rio which is exactly behind the consulate. The restaurant there is pretty descent and I especially liked the breakfast there and they serve it till noon. In my spare time, I visited the Tijuana Rio mall and had good fun there. The multiplex there is nice too where you can watch a movie. Next day, I collected my passport around 3:45pm because the line was long despite of reaching there 10mins earlier. Then I caught a cab and got to the border, collected my I94 (be prepared to wait here) and walked in the US. Had no issues. Thanks to tijuanah1b!
