As an American, I can freely travel anywhere in Mexico (for the most part). I can get on a plane and be in Cancun or Tijuana tomorrow. Can Mexican citizens do the same thing? Could a Mexican family decide to hop on a plane and spend a weekend in Vegas?
If so, (and this is GQ) it would seem to make a border fence or any type of security irrelevant. Just save up your pesos for one plane ticket and then don’t get on your return flight.
Travel, yes. But a Customs Officer can take a look at them, decide they’re actually trying to move into the country and put them back into that same plane, along with a ban on entering the US during the following five years.
Mexican citizens need visas to travel to the US. So if they don’t already have visas they can’t just come tomorrow.
How long does it take to get a visa? Suppose a Tijuana businessman wants to take his kids to Disneyland for a day. If he’s never had any interaction with the U.S. before, how far in advance of his planned day-trip would he have to file paperwork?
There is a US Consulate in Tijuana and the process for applying for a visa is outlined on their webpage. The whole process takes several weeks at a minimum. Expedited appointments may be requested in certain emergency situations.
There is a US$160 per person application fee to apply for a US tourist visa. The applicant may request a multiple-entry visa valid for up to ten years. The USCIS may decide to only issue a single-entry visa, or deny the application altogether. There is no refund if the visa application is declined or granted for fewer entries or fewer years than requested.
Spend one Easter weekend in South Padre Island Texas. I did once and 9 out of 10 cars on the island have Mexican license plates.
Easter is a very big holiday for Mexican families and many of the upper middle class Mexican Nationales own beach houses and condos on the island. My family and I stayed at one condo which held 40 units. All 40 were occupied and only one other unit had English speaking occupants. Granted, some were US citizens but the majority of the parking lot cars had Mexican plates.
They had an easy time of it. Most businesses close to Mexico have bilingual employees. If not, the Mexican’s children spoke pretty fluent English since it is taught in most Mexican schools in early grades.
** I missed the edit window again.
I stand corrected. It might be possible FOR non-expedited processing of a tourist visa to take care of everything in a couple days in Tijuana. Wait times can be seen here.
Wait times can be much longer to get the visa interview in some locations.
I was talking with a fellow in Egypt a fe years ago. Granted, the situation is fairly different; but he had been guiding some American family during the revolution there and hey appreciated his assistance and invitied him to visit them if he could.
Not counting the months to get a visa - the US wanted proof he was planning to return home after his visit. Basically they asked for things that only a well-established well-off person could provide. Does he have family (not married yet) a steady job (he is a licensed tour guide with an Egyptology degree - his work is erratic, week to week depending on the market despite a university degree); does he have a bank account (most people in his situation are not rich enough)?
I suspect Mexican visa applicants are in the same boat (sorry) - so a fairly well off middle class steadily employed person with family would get a visa (eventually), but Jose the McDonalds clerk who wants to see Hollywood or Disneyland would be SOL.
The Philippines are very difficult for Tourist Visas to first-world nations; they want to make sure you’re going back. It’s a sadly deserved reputation, they even have a term for it tago ng tago “Always hiding”.
You need to show you have a steady job, bank account, and property. You can be summarily rejected without explanation or recourse. Anything can look suspicious, like whether you have a relative working/living there… because maybe you’ll stay at their house.
If you do qualify, you need to stay with the tour group at all times, at least that was the case for touring Japan and Hong Kong from the Philippines.
It’s usually much easier to go from a developed country to one in the Third World than vice versa. People from the latter are much more likely to try to emigrate to the destination country. US citizens can visit Panama with just a tourist card, while Panamanians need a visa to visit the US.
Some countries with First World aspirations like Brazil and Argentina resent this, and have imposed “reciprocity” on other countries. That is, they impose the same visa restrictions and costs on other countries as they impose on them. I had to pay over $100 for a visa to both countries, the same price as the US requires for a visa. I paid on arrival in Argentina, but for Brazil I had to go through an application process and get the visa in advance.
The US has a a different priority for visa questions than most other countries. They are less interested in your funds (not to say they are disinterested, just less interested) and want to know when you will be getting the hell away. This can trip people up quite badly, especially if they have experience of other countries processes (much more emphasis on funds) and use that as a template.
A few days before Christmas a couple of years ago I was quite surprised to see a Toyota minivan with Mexico City tags driving down a highway in Augusta GA. This was the first and only time I have seen a Mexican-registered vehicle in my area. I remember being impressed with the small sticker in the back window, which was a duplicate of the tag. I guess it’s some security measure of sorts.
A lot of Mexican citizens who live near the U.S. border have a Border Crossing Card, which allows them to cross back and forth pretty much at will. However, you can only travel within about 25 miles of the border and only stay for about 72 hours on each visit.
Exactly. The #1 question that trumps all other qualifications:
“Can we be sure you’re going back home?”