Offices

1. The Organization
2. The Mission
3. Services
4. Key Immigration Documents, Forms, Announcements and News Releases
5. Short Answers to the Questions Most Commonly Asked of the CIS Mexico City District Office.
6. A Word from the District Director

1. The Organization

Room 118
United States Embassy
Paseo de la Reforma 305
06500 Mexico, D.F.

(52)(55) 5080-2000, ext. 4474, 4015, 4360
Fax: (52)(55) 5080-2313

Open to the public: Mondays and Thursdays (except holidays) 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Our mailing address inside Mexico is:

BCIS Mexico City District Office
Paseo de la Reforma 305
Colonia Cuauhtemoc
06500 Mexico, D.F.

Our mailing address outside Mexico is:

BCIS Mexico City District Office
American Embassy-Mexico City
P.O. Box 3087 (BCIS)
Laredo, TX. 78044

The BCIS Mexico City District Office at the American Embassy-Mexico City provides administrative direction to BCIS offices and exercises examinations and immigration law enforcement jurisdiction in 42 countries and dependencies in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. Mexico City District BCIS offices may be contacted at the following U.S. embassies and consulates:

The Mexico City District Office reports to the BCIS Headquarters Office of International Affairs in Washington, D.C.

2. The Mission

The core mission areas of the Mexico City District Office and suboffices are, as follows:

• Examinations: including adjudications and inspections
  
• Public information services
  
• Enforcement & deterrence programs
  
• Reporting
  
• Bilateral migration & border affairs activities.

3. Services.

Mexico City District Office and the suboffices identified can assist American citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents with the following types of services:

• the filing of immediate relative petitions (spouse & child of U.S.Citizen resident in Mexico), and orphan petitions;
• the acceptance of requests for humanitarian parole applications.;
• information on eligibility requirements and procedures for applying for other benefits under the Immigration & Nationality Act;
• the acceptance of refugee applications for nationals outside their home country or country of last habitual residence who have been referred by the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees;
• Mon-Fri, 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.: verification of departure from the United States of persons in bond proceedings.
• receipt of complaints against any Service employee whom you consider to have acted inappropriately or unprofessionally toward you upon application for admission at a U.S. Port of Entry. (All such complaints will be acted upon, provided they contain sufficient detail as to the date, time and location of the claimed incident)

As a result of changes in DHS, Customs and Border Protection (CBP - Phone no.: 5080-2000, ext. 4893, 2015, 4775) now deals with the following procedures:

• voluntary surrender of lawful permanent residence status for those persons unable to maintain their principle place of abode in the United States;
• the issuance of transportation letters to permanent residents and refugees who have lost or had stolen their green card or refugee travel document.

4. Key Immigration Documents, Forms and News Releases

• The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
• Part 8, Code of Federal Regulations (8CFR)
• Commonly Utilized CIS Forms (such as Form I-130 and Form I-129)
• Press Releases
• Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services homepage – http://www.uscis.gov/

5. Short Answers to the Questions Most Commonly Asked of the BCIS Mexico City District Office.

A. - What do I do when I ve lost or had stolen my Alien Registration Card (green card) and I ve got to get back to my home in the United States?

A. - If you plan to return by plane, to obtain a boarding letter from Customs and Border Protection (as required by the air carrier), you must present:

1. Police report of loss or theft;
2. a passport;
3. the cancelled plane ticket you used to fly to Mexico;
4. additional evidence of physical residence in the U.S. and
5. if your application for a boarding letter is approved, you must present two passport size photographs.

For additional information, please call CBP at 5080-2000.

If you plan to return to the U.S. by surface transportation, you will be required to present the police report and a photo-ID at the port of entry. In either event, upon arrival at a port of entry, you will be required to pay a fee of $75 to apply for a replacement ARC.

B. - What do I do when my I-94 (Arrival/Departure Record) or I-444 (Mexican Border Visitors Permit) was not turned in/collected at the time of my departure from the United States?

If you left the United States with your Form I-94 still in your possession, your departure was not recorded properly. It is your responsibility to correct this record. You must provide the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) sufficient information so that they can record your timely departure from the United States. This will close out your earlier record of arrival to this country. If you do not correct this record, or if you cannot reasonably prove that you departed in a timely way when you next apply for admission to the United States, BCIS may conclude you remained in the United States beyond your authorized stay. If this happens, you may have to pay a heavy price the next time you try to enter the United States: your visa may be cancelled or you may be returned immediately to your foreign point of origin. To validate departure (to prove that you did leave the United States after your earlier stay), BCIS will consider a variety of documentation, including: Original boarding passes you used to depart the United States; Photocopies of entry or departure stamps in your passport indicating you entered another country after you departed the United States (you should copy all passport pages that are not completely blank, including the biographical page containing your photograph), and Photocopies of other supporting evidence, such as: Dated pay slips or vouchers from your employer to indicate you worked in another country after you departed the United States Dated bank records showing transactions to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States School records showing attendance at a school outside the United States to indicate you were in another country after you left the United States Dated credit card receipts, showing your name, but, the credit card number deleted, for purchases made after you left the United States to indicate you were in another country after leaving the United States Your statement alone will not be acceptable without supporting evidence such as noted above. Photocopies must be legible. If you send original materials, you should retain a copy for yourself. The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS) cannot return original materials after processing. There is no fee involved. However, to help BCIS understand the situation and correct your records quickly, please include a letter of explanation in English. Send your letter and documentary evidence in one envelope to the following address: ACS - Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) SBU P.O. Box 7125 London, KY 40742-7125 Do not mail your departure Form I-94 or supporting information to any United States Consulate or Embassy, to any other BCIS office in the United States, or to any address other than the one above. Only at this location are they able to make the necessary corrections to BCIS records to prevent inconvenience to you in the future.

C. - How do I immigrate to the United States?

A. - If you are an immediate relative (spouse, child, parent) of a United States Citizen or the spouse or unmarried son or daughter of a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States, that qualifying relative may petition for you in the United States. Similarly, a qualifying employer may petition for you under one or more preference categories, provided the employer can establish a need for your services on a permanent basis. Except for widows of United States citizens, it is not possible to self-petition for immigrant status. If you require more information, please feel free to contact any of the CIS offices in Mexico for forms and procedures to be followed by the petitioning relative or prospective employer.
 
D. - Can I obtain my Immigrant Visa and have my fingerprints taken at the CIS Office in Mexico City rather than traveling to Cd. Juarez?

A. - No. The Consulate General in Cd. Juarez is the only immigrant visa issuance post in Mexico, and is the only post which is authorized to take fingerprints required for the criminal history record check as part of the immigrant visa application process. CIS offices overseas do not process immigrant visas, and cannot take fingerprints in normal immigrant visa cases.  

E. - I am a lawful permanent resident, and have just given birth to a child while in Mexico. How do I obtain a travel document to take my child home with me?

A. - You may obtain a boarding letter from the office of Customs and Border Protection which will allow you to return to the United States by air upon presentation of the following information:

• proof of last departure from the United States or admission to Mexico;
• proof (medical records) of prenatal care in the United States;
• your baby's hospital records;
• a valid passport issued to your baby;
• your baby's birth certificate; and
• your ARC (green card) or valid reentry permit.

F. - How do I obtain a non-immigrant visa to visit, study or work in the United States?

A. - Visit the section "Visas to the U.S." in this web page.
 
G. - My application for a non-immigrant visa was denied. I need to know why.

A. - CIS does not handle non-immigrant visa matters, and such questions can only be answered by the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy and at U.S. Consulates in Mexico. The State Department's Visa Office offers general information about immigration law and visa denials.

H. - I am a United States citizen and I want to adopt a Mexican child. How do I obtain papers to take the child home with me?

A. - We will provide you by letter or telefax a letter outlining in detail the documentation you must have to file an immediate relative petition for an orphan child. We will also send by mail materials defining the requirements for an adopted child to qualify for orphan status. We strongly discourage your taking action to adopt a child in Mexico until you have carefully researched the requirements for obtaining an immigrant visa for your adopted child. A child not qualifying for orphan status is ineligible to benefit from an immediate relative petition.
 
I. - My spouse went to the United States and is not supporting my children. What can I do?

A. - If your spouse is a Mexican citizen, contact the Foreign Relations Office at Flores Magon #1, Tlatelolco, Mexico City. The Mexican consul having jurisdiction over the place where your husband lives will try to assist you.

J. - One of my parents is a United States citizen and I was born in Mexico. How can I become a United States citizen?

A. - Contact the American Citizens Service Office of the Consular Section. A Consular Officer will assist you in determining whether you can qualify for derivative citizenship and the documentation you must present to obtain this benefit.
 
K. - I am a United States citizen and I want to marry a Mexican citizen. What is the fastest way for her to enter the United States.

A. - Assuming you have met your intended, the fastest way for your intended spouse to enter the United States is via a fiancee petition (Form I-129F) and visa (K visa) which you can file for at one of four CIS Service Centers in the United States. If the marriage has already been contracted, the form I-130 may be filed at one of the four CIS Service Centers in the U.S. Importantly, your intended spouse should not attempt to enter on a B-1/B-2 visa if his/her intention is to reside permanently in the United States. To attempt to do so could result in your intended spouse being refused admission at a port of entry and returned to Mexico on the next available flight.

6. A Word from the District Director

We are a nation of immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws . There is only one right way and one safe way to enter the United States, and that is with lawfully issued travel documents, lawfully obtained. There is only one source for such documents and that is the United States Government. In Mexico, only the BCIS offices and Consular Sections of the Embassy and the Consulates are authorized to issue such travel documents. No one else may do so.

Attempted entry without truthfully obtained and lawfully issued travel
documents is illegal. Administrative and criminal penalties apply to persons
who:

• attempt to enter or enter the United States with fraudulent documents
  
• attempt to enter or enter the U.S. without documents or without inspection
  
• overstay the validity period of travel documents
  
• work in the United States without authorization from the BCIS
  
• assist others to effect illegal entry to the United States or to remain in the United States or to obtain unauthorized employment in the United States.

Attempted entry without inspection across our common land border is not only illegal, but extremely dangerous, as well. These dangers are not only from the natural elements - frost bite and hypothermia from the cold; dehydration from attempted crossings in the extreme heat of desert conditions or sealed compartments used by smugglers, other desert dangers, and unsafe rivers. The dangers come from the coyotes and smugglers as well, most of whom prey on those they traffic. We see the injured when smugglers vehicles crash; we see those who have died of the cold in the mountains and the heat of the deserts, and we know it was not worth it to them or their families.

The staff of the BCIS Mexico City District Office and the other offices in this district are here to help eligible persons to obtain immigration benefits to which they are entitled and to enter the United States the right way. We commit to giving you, our customers, courteous, professional service in applying for immigration benefits. If you have problems with the service you receive at this or any other Mexico City District office, I want to hear from you. If you have experienced problems at U.S. Ports of Entry while traveling on validly issued travel documents, we encourage you to report them to this office. The BCIS is committed to the highest standards of professional and courteous treatment of visitors to the United States and we encourage reporting of any perceived deviation from that standard.

The staff of this District is also committed to combating illegal migration and migrant trafficking/smuggling in the interests of protection against abuses and dangers associated with illegal entry, and in the interests of protecting the generous legal immigration traditions of the country we represent abroad.

We ask for your help in making our common border a safer and more user friendly frontier for the citizens of both countries. We welcome information on persons known to be involved in producing fraudulent travel documents and persons know to be involved in the smuggling of human beings. Your confidentiality is assured. You may report such persons by letter or by calling the numbers given above.