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indigirl

Hi

I'm about to finish my contract and my "No imigrante" card will expire within a month. I'd like to travel in Mexico for a couple of months.

If I get a US visitor visa while in Mexico, would that go into effect immediately? Would I need to leave and re-enter?

Changing from "No imigrante" to Mexican tourist visa is out of the question I believe, as I came here on a tourist visa which I had to get in my own country and then changed to a no imigrante visa to work after I arrived.

Has any one been in this particular situation?

MotherF · Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:29 pm Post subject:

I'm not clear on one thing.

Is your home country not the US? Since you said you had to get a tourist visa in your home country. Americans don't get a tourist visa in the US, they get it upon arrival in Mexico. But maybe you are South African?

With all the changes, the best bet is to ask the local immigration office. You could try phoning if stopping by isn't convient, but they tend to be hesitant to give out information over the phone these days.

I know of two such cases, but they were a while ago, long before the recent changes. In one case the person was given a letter saying they had X number of days to travel around the country as a tourist on their way out from the immigration office when they turned in their FM3. The turned in the FM3, was given exit papers, took those to the local airport and handed them over in exchange for a new tourist visa. That was a long time ago, aparently at that time only entry point immigration officals issued tourist visas, not the office.

indigirl · Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:49 pm Post subject:

Thanks MotherF

Yes, you're right - I'm not a US citizen, I am South African.

SA citizens can travel to Mexico on a US visitor visa (instead of getting a tourist visa for Mexico).

With all the changes it seems like the simplest way to avoid dealing with local immigration paperwork (or having to hire an immigration lawyer). Though getting a US visa itself is a fair bit of red tape, it seems worth it.

Do you have any idea if I would have to leave and *re-enter* in order to validate this type of visa?

MotherF · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 2:08 pm Post subject:

indigirl · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:11 pm Post subject:

Yep, I did try with SA embassy and sadly they are clueless - told me to get hold of US embassy, where I was told that it was inadvisable. I would need to re-enter on the US visitor visa...
and US officials could, at their discretion, decide to issue a single entry visa and again when I re-enter I could be given anything from a few days to six months at a time. At least I know now, not as simple as I thought...

Thanks

MotherF · Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 9:44 pm Post subject:

What part of Mexico are you in?

How about getting a US visa, going to Texas, then coming back into Mexico, they'd probably allow you 90 days (especially if you had some plan you could tell them off all the places you wanted to see in Mexico) Of course that is taking a risk that they could decide to just give you two weeks or something. After all, the US visitor visa is supposed to allow you to visit the US with Mexico as sort of an add on, not the main part of your visa.