Consular Processing at the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juárez

Where everything happens

The Consulate General of the United States in Ciudad Juárez is at Paseo de la Victoria 3650, Fraccionamiento Partido Senecú, C.P. 32543. It is the only post in Mexico that interviews immigrant visas, so applicants from every state come here. K-1 fiancé(e) visas are the exception: those interviews take place at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.

Fingerprints and photos are taken next door at the Applicant Service Center, Av. Paseo de la Victoria 3640 L-2, open Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Our Ciudad Juárez office is at Blvd. Tomás Fernández 7930, Edificio A, Suite 207, a short drive from the consulate, and our El Paso office is at 213 S El Paso St, a few blocks from the Paso del Norte bridge.

How the case reaches Juárez: the National Visa Center

After USCIS approves the petition, the National Visa Center creates the case, collects the DS-260 and I-864 fees, and reviews the civil documents and affidavit. On our review date the NVC was creating cases about two and a half weeks after receiving them and reviewing documents submitted about ten weeks earlier. Once the file is complete the case is documentarily qualified and waits for an interview slot. The consulate publishes no figure for that wait; plan on a year or more between NVC completion and the interview letter.

The schedule once you have an interview date

The consulate tells applicants to expect a minimum of three business days in Juárez, possibly longer. The order matters: first the Applicant Service Center visit, which must be completed before the interview; then the medical exam at least three days before the interview; then two separate appearances at the consulate on two business days. Do not plan to leave Juárez or enter the United States until the case is decided. When the visa is approved the passport is returned by DHL, usually within about a week.

The medical exam

Only two clinics in Juárez are authorized: Clínica Médica Internacional at Ave. Ramón Rivera Lara 9020, Fracc. Las Lunas, and Servicios Médicos de la Frontera at Prol. Ramón Rivera Lara 8950, Col. Partido Senecú. Both open Monday to Friday from 6:00 to 11:00 a.m.; appointments are preferred but not required. The exam costs US$323 for applicants 15 and older, US$231 for ages 2 to 14 and US$175 under 2, plus 16% tax, payable in cash or by Visa or MasterCard. Vaccines and any DNA test are billed separately. A positive tuberculosis or HIV finding can add three to six months.

What to bring to the interview

• Mexican passport valid for travel, plus any expired passports
• The NVC interview letter and DS-260 confirmation page
• Original birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates that the NVC accepted as copies
• The sealed medical exam results from the panel clinic
• The sponsor's I-864 with the latest tax return or transcript, W-2s and pay stubs, and the same for any joint sponsor
• Evidence the relationship is real: photos, joint accounts, leases, children's birth certificates, messages
• Any waiver approval notice and certified court dispositions for every arrest, even dismissed ones
• Two passport-style photos to State Department specifications

221(g) and what happens after a refusal

A refusal under section 221(g) is not a denial. It means the officer needs something more: a missing document, a stronger affidavit of support, a record from a Mexican court, or an administrative review that can take weeks or months. Because our Juárez office is in the city, we collect the requested document, deliver it the way the consulate instructs, and keep the client informed instead of guessing from across the border. A finding of inadmissibility is different: that leads to an I-601 or I-212 waiver filed from Mexico.

Interview disruptions in 2026

In late August 2026 the State Department paused immigrant-visa interviews worldwide so officers could be trained on the new public charge standard, and Juárez appointments were cancelled, including for applicants already in the city. Secondary reports indicate interviews resumed in September 2026; the State Department has not published a resumption date. A cancelled interview is rescheduled by the NVC; the case does not restart.