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Azul y Vampy
08-13-2007, 07:20 PM
Good day everyone,
I wanted to share my frustrating experience with the Mexican consulate in Chicago (which is our corresponding consulate, and it’s 1.5 hrs away). So for NVC processing, last year my husband got a 1-yr passport because he had an “acta extemporanea” (he was registered after the age of 1). So this was last August; this weekend, on Saturday we went to a “consulado mobil” to a town closer than Chicago (only 30 minutes away), and by the time we got there, there were no more “solicitudes” being handed out because they only give 100 per day! I was so PO’d, and I tried explaining to this lady in the nicest way possible that my husband already has a passport and that he only needs to renew it for a 5-yr, and that we have our visa interview in 4 weeks. She barely paid any attention to me, and said “lo siento, venga mañana a las 3 de la mañana!” :angry: OMG, I swear I just wanted to bi*ch-slap this lady until my hand turned red (I’m brown, so it would’ve taken a lot slapping to turn red). So we walked away, and my hubby decided he would just go to the Chicago over the week to get his passport.
Today, I call the consulate to make an appointment to get a passport, which I’m thinking could happen this week. The lady, very nice by the way, tells me the next available appt is October 15, ***?? I tell her we have our visa interview in 4 weeks, she said “that’s not a problem, call the Chicago consulate at this number, and explain your situation; if you don’t get a response, fax your info to this number, and if you don’t get a response, have your husband show up at the consulate and have him bring a copy of this interview date” I’m like OK, thank you very much.
So right a way, I called the first number, it’s a machine recorder with all this “press 1 for X, press 2 for Y”… B.S., and I can’t get through a real person. So then, I send a fax to the number she gave me, I tried twice already and I get a busy signal. So my last option is to have hubby miss a day of work to stand out in the consulate in downtown Chicago, and hope to get his passport.
As you can all see, I’m not having a good day… and I have a feeling that these kind of days are going to continue until my husband is back in the US with his dang green card.
I do hope, however, that everyone’s Monday is better than mine :shy:
-Azul

kitkat1
08-13-2007, 07:34 PM
Azul, as far as I know there are no appointments for passports at the Mexican consulate in Chicago (which is no longer located downtown BTW).

If you cannot get through on the fax number, his best bet would be to go there, very early, and wait in line. When they open, he can show his interview letter to try to get pushed to the front of the line.

Laura
08-13-2007, 08:03 PM
It's not downtown anymore??? Where is it?

Sheesh... my husband was talking about taking my USC nephew down there with his parents (my sister-in-law and her husband) to get the nephew's Mexican passport one of these days, in case something bad happens and they end up back in Mexico. He probably would have shown up at the same building we went to two or three years ago or whenever that was...

So, kitkat or anyone else, I've heard rumors that you need an appointment as well, is that true? Does anyone know? If you are a USC child of Mexican immigrant parents, can you bring all your documentation to the Mexican consulate and get a Mexican passport, even if you were born in the US? How does that work, is he entitled to dual citizenship immediately? Or does he have to go through some sort of process to get Mexican citizenship?

Sorry for the hijack - Azul -- I hope this gets worked out ASAP!

Azul y Vampy
08-13-2007, 08:15 PM
Sorry for the hijack - Azul -- I hope this gets worked out ASAP!

LOL, no problem! You have some interesting questions :wink: Of which I don't know the answers to.

Kitkat, Laura: in their webisite (www.consulmexchicago.com) there's a phone number to make appointments instead of waiting in line. My cousin, who's been dealing with immigration since 2001, a couple months ago had her husband go to the consulate and stand in line at 5 am, he didn't have an appt, but he was given his passport and left the consulate by noon. So I guess I'll have my husband do the same thing, and hope for the best.
And you're right, it's not in downtown Chicago, it's more on the west end of downtown... but still a pain to find parking, or pay $25 at their parking lot.

kitkat1
08-13-2007, 08:21 PM
When my fiance went for his passport (several years ago) he had pretty much the same experience. He went early in the morning - around 7 - waited in line, and finished by about noon with passport in hand.

Laura, I think you'll find the answers on the Mexico consulate site under Declaratoria de Nacionalidad Mexicana por nacimiento http://www.consulmexchicago.com/or more or less the same information on the SRE site in Mexico (which is in English!) http://www.sre.gob.mx/english/services/nationality/1a.htm

Laura
08-13-2007, 08:23 PM
Thanks, that is helpful.

epm525
08-14-2007, 03:02 AM
Azul - I totally hear ya. We had a very similar experience in Philly. We drove there in June just to find that we needed to call a number to make an appointment for OCTOBER! I guess we are learning patience and flexibility...