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Maritsa

Jun 19, 2011, 9:33 PM

Post #1 of 23 (7322 views)

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Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Since my trip to Mexico in February, I was thinking that maybe my boyfriend could get a visa to come and visit me here in NC. How difficult is it for a Mexican citizen to get a visitor's visa? Does he need a "sponsor" I do not have any assets or money in the bank - however a friend of mine has used her information to help a friend bring his mother here for a visit. He went to Tapachula to the embassy, but they told him that he has to go to the American Embassy to to apply. So he is planning to leave Chiapas this week for Mexico City to go to the American Embassy there. If he could come here for up to six months, then maybe I could go to Mexico again in the winter to see him.

Vichil

Jun 20, 2011, 6:02 AM

Post #2 of 23 (7285 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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FYI There is only one Embassy in any country and the the US Embassy in Mexico is in DF. There are many consulates but only a few issue visa. I just went through helping a friend with his paperwork to go to the US.
You have to fill a form in English , pay the equivalent of 140 dollars for a B1/B2 or B1 visa (tourist/business or simply tourist) which is non refundable in case the visa is not issued.
For Chiapas people they have to make 2 appointments in Mexico City and go there with documents and basically proof and reasons why the applicant will go back to Mexico.
In the application they ask about direct family and not close family living in the US. If any family member lives in the States it lessens your chances of being able to go and if any are illegals and you admit it you can forget it.
If your friend has live in the US without papers and admits it he can forget it, if he ever was caught and deported he can forget it as well. It is a crap shoot to get a visa and is pretty demeaning.
I went through the process and you are totally at the mercy of the mood of the people in the consulate if you are a poor Mexican.

My friend was invited to a prestigious fair in Santa Fe and had never lived in the States, he is one of the top in his business and had a letter from the Mayor of Santa Fe one from the Fair inviting him for two weeks one from the Presidente from San Cristobal and he received a two weeks visa. He will have to go through the same BS next year if he wants to go again. The Fair also has contact with the people in DF to help pout the applicants as many are turned down for no reasons.
He received his appointments pretty quickly and it took about 2 months total to get the visa.
I just applied for a child to go to the States with us out of Guadalajara and the appointemnts were 42 days out and then it takes about 2 weeks to be accepted or turned down. We ended up giving up on taking the child with us, we will take him to Paris instead as it is easy to get a visa for him there.
My friend from Chiapas was advised to go to the interview with marriage certificate , photos of his family, his diplomas and copies of all the prizes he won and so on to show he would go back to Mexico. He got his visa without a problem but if you cannot convince the interviewer you will not stay good luck. If you are turned down you lose the 140 dollars.

Go to the site of the US consulate in Mexico and go to Forms , fill out the form for a B1 . You need to have a passport and enter the number to start the application and if there is one mistake or one word in English in the application once you get to Mexico you will be turned down, have to reapply and lose the 140 dollars.
One of the most frustrating experience I have gone through...
As you friend is an agricultural worker he probably will be turned down, do not get your hopes up until the last minute it is an awful experience having to deal with the paperwork and the bureaucrats.
I have friends who are desperate to see their family, I know they will come back but they have been turned down many times. Knowing someone in the States does not help unless that person knows someone who can intervene.

It is cheaper and easier for you to come down to Mexico if you want to see your friend. Your friend chances of getting a 6 month visa are about zero and so are the chances of your other friend. He should not go to DF without an appointment , help him with the application a facilitator will just hit him for the money and his chances are very slim.

PS when filling out the form, keep the reference number , save every page as you go and then continueThe whole thing times out after 20 minutes and you have to re enter the information . AT the end you get a confirmation and when the site works (it very often doesn t). As you go through that do not get the idea you are stupid, the site is not very good and does not work every time.

After you have the confirmation go to Make appointment, somewhere in there it will ask for your money and you are supposed to be able to pay by credit/debit card (has not worked for me) or go to a Mexican bank to pay. We printed the form went to the bank paid the fee got a form with a number and then entered the number in and the appointment calender came up, you chose to consecutive days for appointments are he must go to two appointments in DF.

Goodluck.

After going through the mess it is easy to understand why people go there without any papers...

(This post was edited by Vichil on Jun 20, 2011, 10:22 AM)

Vichil

Jun 20, 2011, 6:55 AM

Post #3 of 23 (7255 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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I just thought of another angle to explore : if you are self employed in agriculture , landscaping etc... you may be able to bring in your friend fo a season to work for you under an H1 or 2 visa. It is a temporary agricultural visa ,check with a immigration lawyer, that may be a solution for both of you. He works for you for a few months and he leaves, then you can go to Mexico for a few months.

(This post was edited by Vichil on Jun 20, 2011, 10:25 AM)

Papirex

Jun 20, 2011, 8:52 AM

Post #4 of 23 (7233 views)

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Re: [Vichil] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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A very good report, I can add that a person going to the US Embassy in Mexico City should not expect to be served by an American citizen, as the Embassy tries to hire as many qualified Mexicans as possible. Those employees seem to operate nearly the same as the employees in any typical Mexican government agency.

If a Mexican citizen is hired, they may be paid the typical Mexican prevailing wage. If an American employee of The US State department is transferred to the US Embassy here, they must continue to be paid their US salary, and all benefits.

I did read on The Embassy s' website a year or so ago, that the fees paid for a visa application would no longer be forfeited if an application was rejected, but could be used for another application. That policy has evidently not been implemented yet.

Many members of my Mexican family have visitors visas for The US. It is usually always a hassle to renew them, except for a few of them that have high positions in The Mexican government. It seems to be typical favoritism by the Mexican employees at the Embassy.

There seem to be some exceptions, My suegra has a son who was born in Texas, he has lived and worked for many years in the Seattle area. She never has a problem getting a visa for a ten year period to visit him. Maybe her age has something to do with it, she is 84 or 85 years old now. She has many other relatives that live legally and permanently in The US too, I doubt if anyone at The Embassy knows about them though.

Rex

In Reply To

"The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved" - Victor Hugo

Vichil

Jun 20, 2011, 9:56 AM

Post #5 of 23 (7215 views)

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Re: [Papirex] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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I believe her age has something to do with it. Our gardner has no problem getting a visa to see his son in the States and he is 78. They are afraid of younger people who would stay and work or over stay their visa.
The site still says that the 140 dollars will be forfeited if he had not received a visa so they have not changed this rule yet. Actually I had to pay this year to get a ESTA or Homeland Security permit to go to the States when it used to be free, I think the trend is not to do anything for free, just like the airlines...
The poorer the people or the poorer the immigration people think they should be and the less chances people have to be accepted. The kiss of death is admitting to having family members who have been caught and shipped back.

I have an indigenous friend who has 3 homes one of which very nice, a business and has no intention of going to the States to live but she wanted to visit a sister and she admitted that one of her brother had been deported as a result she was told not to apply for 10 years..Is that unfair or what' I know very few people who do not have relatives in the States some legal and some not, it seems pretty harsh to hold people responsable for what their brothers or sister did. They are put in a situation of having to lie about their family or they have no chance of getting a visa. It is pretty crazy.
One of the questions is Do you have close family living in the States (Parents brother or sisters) the other one is do you have any relative living in the States?
They also still have the stupid questions a s Do you sell drug, are you a drug addict, are you a terrorist, do you engage or have ever engaged in prostitution and so on... questions that are unlikely to ever been answered truthfully by anyone with any brain.

whynotwrite

Jun 20, 2011, 12:00 PM

Post #6 of 23 (7192 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Beside everything you have been told, proof of home (land) ownership, proof of work or business ownership and bank statements, if not required , will be needed. He needs to show he has a reason to return to Mexico.
They will ask him questions and are trained to watch body language, etc.. any doubts and they will reject the application.

esperanza

Jun 20, 2011, 5:21 PM

Post #7 of 23 (7158 views)

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Re: [whynotwrite] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Some years ago, my 32-year-old gardener wanted a short-term visa to go to California to visit his terminally ill sister. He collected all the required documents: bank statements, proof of employment (letter from his seven employers), proof that he was the sole support of his aged mother, a letter from me stating that I would accompany him to California and back (I was going during the same dates he wanted to make his trip), etc. Lots of etc. He had a manila file folder stuffed with proofs. At that time the non-refundable application fee was $100.00USD, quite a bit of money for a gardener to come up with.

When he arrived at the consulate in Guadalajara, he was admitted to the office where his paperwork would be checked. He handed over his thick folder of documents. The bureaucrat behind the desk looked at my gardener, handed his folder back to him without opening it, and said simply, "No." Goodbye $1100 pesos. He tried it twice more and was refused again both times, without an explanation and without recourse.

Several years later, I met an American woman who worked for the consulate, denying or handing out visas. We became friendly enough that she told me how it works: if the bureaucrat had a fight with his wife that morning, if s/he was hung over, if his/her boss was mad at him/her, etc, it was an automatic "no" to the visa applicant: pure taking it out on the little guy. On the other hand, if all was going well in the bureaucrat's life, the visa applicant stood a chance--but still a very small chance--of being granted a visa. Young men like my gardener were rarely given visas.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

MichaelD

Jun 26, 2011, 10:26 AM

Post #8 of 23 (6999 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Unless your fellow is a well-paid professional or successful business owner, your chances of getting a visa are very slim. If he's a working-class guy, I recommend you save yourself both money and grief, and forget the idea of taking him to the United States.

(This post was edited by Felipe Zapata on Jun 26, 2011, 10:27 AM)

norteño

Jun 26, 2011, 10:38 AM

Post #9 of 23 (6993 views)

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Re: [Felipe Zapata] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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If I understand correctly from your previous posts your boyfriend is trying to get a visa to return to where he has been illegally living and working before. He has no hope of getting a visitor's visa if those facts are known to the consular officer.

cbviajero

Jun 27, 2011, 8:20 AM

Post #10 of 23 (6914 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Don't waste your time or money,my wife was denied a tourist visa even though I provided all the documentation,bank statements marriage certificate house deed you name it,I spoke to the guy in charge of visas he said she could reapply after paying the 1200 pesos again and that he would put a note in her file.We didn't bother,dealing with the US consulate makes the people at mex immigration seem like angels.
Chris

Vichil

Jun 27, 2011, 10:12 AM

Post #11 of 23 (6895 views)

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Re: [cbviajero] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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You are so right, the US Immigration is totally unfair and arbitrary if I did not have to have to go back there to help someone out I would never go near the place.
It is really sad to see what has happened to the US in the last 30 years and more especifically after 9/11 . Osama won .

sandykayak

Jun 27, 2011, 10:49 AM

Post #12 of 23 (6882 views)

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Re: [Vichil] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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My mother is from Ecuador. A cousin said that the same thing happens (this was in Cuenca) to (affluent) relatives who finally said the equivalent of "screw 'em."

seems as if the US is losing lots of tourist dollars.
Sandy Kramer
Miami, Fla & El Parque

Maritsa

Jun 28, 2011, 8:16 AM

Post #13 of 23 (6827 views)

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Re: [norteño] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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I kind of figured all of this would be the case. But it seemed like a good idea at the time! Thanks for all of your advice and the reality check!

Don Gringo

Jul 4, 2011, 12:44 AM

Post #14 of 23 (6648 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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One and a half years and waiting to get my wife to her first consulate appointment...
Lived for 35 months in Mexico. I feel like I paid my dues...

Vichil

Jul 4, 2011, 5:30 AM

Post #15 of 23 (6630 views)

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Re: [Don Gringo] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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The US Immigration is digraceful. The system is totally broken, pretty scary. You can understand why people go there without papers .
I would like to know the logic of the reasonning, if you wife goes with you there and stays you would thing that a citizen has the right to go there with his spouse without waiting that kind of time. She is no terrorist , she is married to a citizen so what is the problem? I see this happening over and over and it is really sad.
I am leaving this morning for Phoenix and I dread going through immigration, I always feel I am at the total mercy of some idiotic bureaucrat that will make me feel like a criminal and can decide I cannot enter.

Maritsa

Jul 4, 2011, 10:57 AM

Post #16 of 23 (6579 views)

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Re: [Vichil] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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I don't remember where it was, but last week there was a story on the news about a 95 yr old woman, dying of leukemia, in a wheelchair, traveling to see her family. (Within the US). They took her to a room and made her take off her soiled, adult diaper to check her! Terrorists can get through, but little old ladies have to be humiliated and checked out! Where are our priorities? Timoteo will be 68 yrs old soon, why shouldn't he be allowed to visit the US? If the visa is only good for 6 months, what would be the harm in letting him come? Especially if he has someone to sponsor him and guarantee that he would be taken care of? But that is just the idealistic "me" thinking about how things should be!

Vichil

Jul 4, 2011, 7:55 PM

Post #17 of 23 (6539 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Unfortunately logic does not prevail very often, not in Mexico and not in the US either....

robt65

Jul 5, 2011, 7:49 PM

Post #18 of 23 (6471 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Maritsa,

First of all, it was a TSA pre board. Secondly, she was traveling with her adult daughter, thirdly if anyone is traveling with a senior (disabled or not) with a necessity for adult diapers, they should have been wise enough to bring along additional diapers. Fourthly, I am a 90 % disabled veteran and I have on some occasions when flying, been asked to remove my leg prostheses for examination. I am more than willing to do so. Have you ever been on a plane that was hijacked? . . . . . . . . . Me neither . . . . but I sure as heck don’t want to be either. Do you not understand that terrorists do defiantly use "little old ladies" and small children as bomb carriers or mules? I for one am grateful that the TSA found a reason to be extra careful in that particular situation. It was handled quite correctly.

I certainly do not like the attitude that Immigration provides to those wishing to obtain visas, but please get your facts straight. We have enough story mongers on this forum without getting new ones.

robt65

Maritsa

Jul 6, 2011, 7:35 AM

Post #19 of 23 (6429 views)

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Re: [robt65] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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STORY MONGER? ME? This is exactly why I don't post much on this forum. The only reason I do, is because thankfully there are people here who do give great answers and advice, and I thank those people. The rest of you just can't seem to stop proving how much you know and how right you are. Get over yourself!

eyePad

Jul 14, 2011, 1:32 PM

Post #20 of 23 (6140 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Maritsa,

Robt is very gentle. He was only disagreeing with you based on his experience.

OTOH, my experience with US immigration has been mixed. I know first hand how bad a person can be treated; it is not a given but definitely a possibility. I think Robt was reacting to the slanted, one-sided storey telling in this thread.

If vichil thinks the US is bad, some of my worst experiences have been very recent with Air France personnel. If you want to be unloved, just go to Southern Europe, I'm sure they will accomodate you.

Edit: To answer your concerns, I have middle class Mexican relatives and some of them recently have obtained visitor's Visa for USA. They do own property and have jobs in Mexico. Visa was not a major issue. Entry into the USA went without incident (went right through all the rigomorole).
apáñatelas como puedas

(This post was edited by eyePad on Jul 14, 2011, 1:40 PM)

Vichil

Jul 15, 2011, 6:17 PM

Post #21 of 23 (6047 views)

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Re: [eyePad] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Visas are a major issue for many Mexicans: I just got back from a fair in Santa Fe where some people did not get visas to attend. Their merchandise arrived but they did not.
I just heard on one of the news programs while the US that tourism is way down in the States and measures are being taken to shorten the time the visas will be issued from 2 weeks to one week. If they do not shorten the time it takes to make an appointments, the reduction in time from two weeks to one week will be irrelevant.
I have helped enough Mexicans applying for a visa to know it is a problem for people like Timeo.

I am not sure why you are bringing up Air France in an Immigration subject since they have nothing to do with it. I do not like the Air line and unlike you would not take their side because I am French. I quit around age 11 the nationalistic attitude you seem to be displaying.
The only good thing about Air France for me is that I can fly home from Mexico to Paris without touching the US soil .

As far as tourist visas, France is more lenient. I will be taking the little boy that did not get a visa for the States to France next year on a 30 day visa. No big deal getting that one for France .

eyePad

Jul 16, 2011, 8:53 PM

Post #22 of 23 (5977 views)

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Re: [Vichil] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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Vichil,

I don't know what "Santa Fe" you are referring to, there are many. However, most people apply for visas long before shipping merchandise so I'm not sure what you mean.
I didn't respond to the issue of the mechanics of applying for a visa, I was only saying, that the absolute position you take with words such as "totally broken" ,has not been my experience. I stated that one can have a very bad experience, but it is not a gurantee, dealing with US immigration. In all fairness they have at times (not always, no way) also helped me greatly. Now that you bring it up, I don't think it is even a probability. I don't have an obsession with avoiding US soil any more than avoiding Spanish soil, even though the Spanish occupied my wife's village in 1525 with disasterous results. (That is historic fact but pertains to the past).
All airlines on international routes are essentially immigration officals since they check documentation. I have no bias (nor nationalistic leaning, have no idea what you are talking about, I am not French at all), I am only reporting that a representative of Air France in an official capacity actively worked to cause immigration problems for my Mexican wife.
I am not averse to touching US soil. May I ask where you acquired your wealth? On what soil?
Have no idea about the little boy. It is true that EU, UK, and USA are significantly different about immigration and visas.
apáñatelas como puedas

Aaron+

Aug 6, 2011, 9:44 PM

Post #23 of 23 (5486 views)

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Re: [Maritsa] Getting a visitor's visa to the US

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In the original posting, and subsequent postings, there really are a lot of confused messages.

There is no US embassy, consulate, or consular agency in Tapachula, Chiapas.

The nearest U.S. consulate in Mexico to Chiapas is in Merida, Yucatan. I believe 1) he could apply for an interview for a tourist visa there rather than having to go to Mexico City, 2) as many have commented, he would probably be wasting his time unless he could convince the Consular officer that he had sufficient ties to his home (proof of assets, job, etc) that he would be most likely to return there.