IMPORTANT NOTICE CONCERNING NON-MEXICAN (TCN) APPLICANTS:

The US Consulate Ciudad Juarez ACCEPTS the following types of NIV applications from Third Country National (TCN) applicants: 

• Renewals of F, H, L, J, M, I, O, P, R visas provided the initial visa was issued in the applicant’s home country or at one of the border posts in the past few years. 

• Applications for change of status visas, for example, F1 to H1B, F1 to J, etc, provided the applicant has the original change of status notice from DHS. 

• Those applicants with a B visa issued in their home country that includes an annotation indicating they are entering the US with an intent to change visa status, such as “prospective student.” 

We will NOT ACCEPT the following TCN cases:

• Applicants who entered the US with an unannotated B visa issued in their home country and who changed status to F, J, H1B, etc.

• TCN E1 and E2 cases, including renewals.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING ALL APPLICANTS

• All applicants are required to make an appointment

• Due to an April 1, 2002 change in regulations, applicants will only be able to reenter the United States if they are found eligible for a new visa and actually have the visa stamped in their passport. I-94 forms (even if valid), accompanied by previous expired visas, will no longer be valid for the automatic re-entry of persons traveling from Canada or Mexico if during their visit they applied for a new visa that has not, in fact, been issued.

• Applicants should be aware that any kind of problem/encounter with a law enforcement agency in the United States could result in an FBI record. A visa cannot be issued until mandatory processing requirements are completed, which can take several weeks. This would leave the applicant outside the U.S. for a lengthy period of time and without a valid visa to return to the U.S.

TO ALL APPLICANTS OF AN F, M, OR J STUDENT OR EXCHANGE VISITOR VISA

• Please be advised that SEVIS confirmation may take as long as ten working days AFTER your data is  entered by your sponsoring institution.  No visa can be issued until this information can be confirmed by the Consulate’s system.  You should take this into account when requesting your appointment date.

• Please be aware that United States Department of Homeland Security regulations state that holders of F, M, or J nonimmigrant visas will not be admitted to the U.S. until a date thirty days or less prior to the beginning of your program date, or start date, as given on your Form I-20 (for F or M visas) or DS-2019 (for J visas). Please consider that date carefully when making your travel plans to the United States.

• Due to an April 1, 2002 change in regulations, applicants will only be able to reenter the United States if they are found eligible for a new visa and actually have the visa stamped in their passport. I-94 forms (even if valid), accompanied by previous expired visas, will no longer be valid for the automatic re-entry of persons traveling from Canada or Mexico if during their visit they applied for a new visa that has not, in fact, been issued.