How Can Someone From Mexico Get a Tourist Visa to the U.S.?

April 11, 2015. Please contact your Congressman’s office or an immigration lawyer for help. I do not know how to help your family members get a visa to visit the U.S. I am sorry. If you write me about this, I cannot answer. It is a difficult situation and I apologize because of the U.S. immigration rules.

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This is the $50 million dollar question.  There is no simple, easy answer of course.  I have been successful helping some of my friends from Oaxaca get 10-year visitor/tourist visas because of my persistence and because they are great people who love their country and their profession.  They have every desire and reason to return to Mexico after their visit.  It has also been because I have a wonderful Congressman, U.S. Representative David Price, who understands that not every Mexican wants to live and work permanently in the U.S.   His office has helped me be the communication liaison with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City after I have written letters of invitation and support advocating for tourist visas.  Here is how the process has worked for me and my recommendation:

Mexican visa applicants must show/demonstrate that they fully intend to return to Mexico after their visit.  That means that they must prove that they have a business, profession or livelihood that sustains them there and that they are economically self-sufficient.  Often, the U.S. Embassy will ask people to show the balances in their bank accounts as proof of their financial stability.  The applicant must have an advocate who is a U.S. citizen.  This person or group of people will write letters of invitation and show that there is a reason for the applicant to come to the U.S.  This might be to visit family members, to demonstrate or exhibit (not sell) a particular art or craft, to meet professionals like themselves for intercultural exchange.  Letters of invitation from any associations or professional organizations or non-profits are very helpful in substantiating the applicant’s portfolio.

And, most importantly, after I have assembled all this information on behalf of my friends, I call my Congressman’s office and let them know the date of the Embassy appointment in Mexico City, along with the names and passport numbers of my friends.  I ask the Congressman’s office if they will send an email to the U.S. Embassy to request that they take a special look at my friend’s visa application.  It is very important to know that the U.S. Embassy does not appreciate being asked to give someone a visa and they see this as coercion.  The Congressman’s office is very clear that they do not do that.  But, they will help if the prospective visitor is indeed connected to a constituent and has a legitimate reason for being here.