Got H1 and H4 Visa Stamping done in Nuevo Laredo, Mx on April 10. Only go there if you are RENEWING visa, they do not do 1st time stamping.
If you live in Austin/San Antonio or any where close to the border then this is a good embassy to go to.
Getting there by road
- You can either drive your car into NL as the embassy comes in the "free zone", google it for more info.
- Or you can park your car at the Greyhound station in Laredo, TX ($ 16 per day) and walk across the border and take a cab into NL (Max 100 pesos)
Stay
- Best Western NL is the best hotel there with friendly english speaking staff, there will also be a Starbucks there in the coming weeks. Try booking through the hotel over phone as it might be cheaper than online websites.
- It's also a 3-5 min walk from the embassy
Food
- BW has a breakfast buffet which is ok but otherwise food nearby was not the best. You can order Dominos, ask the hotel folks they will help you out
Visa Process
We went over the weekend, ASC interview on Saturday and Visa interview on Monday
ASC appointment is straight forward - get there 15 min before and you will be outta there in another 15 min
Same with Visa interview
I got a form 221 g related to SEVIS during my interview so I had to wait for 4 days but was not asked for any documents.
Safety:
When we first went in the place felt a little scary but that is mainly because of reputation. The locals are extremely friendly and you can walk anywhere within a 10-15 min radius of the embassy without any issues. It is still safer than quite a few places in the US and ROW. Just make sure you are in well lit areas during night time.
In case you are stuck there like we were, there is an HEB close to the hotel and it also has a strip mall with some decent restaurants.
Return:
It will take 1-2 hours at us customs as they will ask some questions but they are friendly people.
Cheers!