To the USA via Mexico: what is needed to enter in 2022
Unable to obtain a US visa, migrants are forced to take extreme measures - trying to get to the US through Mexico. Hundreds of Russian-speaking immigrants ask for political asylum at the Mexican-American border every day. Mexican authorities are trying in every possible way to prevent such applicants from coming to the country: they force travel agencies to limit sales of tours, airlines not to board flights, migrants are denied entry permits, they are raided in Mexican hotels, their documents are carefully checked at airports in cities bordering the United States. . However, the most prepared and purposeful reach the coveted border booth. For Russians and Ukrainians there is an electronic permit, which can be issued online in 5 minutes. It is valid for a month and, if there are any changes in plans, it can be obtained again; the old permit will be automatically canceled. But citizens of the former CIS countries need a Mexican or Schengen visa. It is difficult to obtain a Mexican visa; with Schengen it is easier, but it must be a multiple-entry visa - work or tourist. For some tourists, a Japanese or UK visa is suitable.
Due to the astronomical prices for tickets, migrants try to buy a flight with a transfer (usually in Europe). However, in most cases, such a route requires a Schengen visa, which Russians often simply do not have. As a result, there are frequent U-turns in European cities, especially if the traveler changes airlines there. Those who are determined and do not want to take risks choose a reliable option - a direct flight to Cancun with a return ticket from the same airline. There are such flights from different countries: Russians choose Turkey and the UAE; for citizens of the CIS and Transcaucasia it is better to fly through France, Portugal, and Spain.
To successfully obtain an entry permit, you must comply with migration rules. At the Mexican border, visitors are required to:
– return ticket (same airline). This is a mandatory requirement. It is due to the fact that if you are denied entry, the same airline that brought you must take you back, but they do not want to take risks and incur losses
– electronic permit/visa
– hotel reservation. The number of “stars” is not important, the main thing is that it is a resort area closer to the beach, in Cancun or Playa del Carmen.
They will also ask about your vacation plans and planned length of stay. Here you should clearly understand what tourist places you plan to visit (you can even print out a schedule of excursions, with dates and route) and plan your vacation for 10-14 days. There must be at least six months left before the passport expires, although there are exceptions. It is also worth having cash with you, at least $100 for each day of your stay.
All Russian-speaking tourists arriving in this city, with a few exceptions, are taken to an inspection room, where their documents are taken for checking. It lasts from twenty to forty minutes. You may be asked questions about the purpose of your visit to a border city, and you should have a clear answer. Behave calmly and confidently, of course, you are suspected of immigration intentions, but you must remember - according to Mexican law, you have every right to move around the country without restrictions within the period of your entry permit. In most cases, your documents will be returned and you will be released.
The pedestrian crossing has been closed even under Trump, which creates a huge problem and forces migrants to break the law. In the last two years, there were only two ways: by car through the checkpoint or by “gardening” through the fence. Going by car is the most popular now. Migrants chip in money and buy a car from locals. The cars chosen are spacious, tinted, with California license plates. The main goal is to pass a gaping officer checking drivers' documents and end up at the border booth. Some succeed the first time, while others spend ten attempts on this transition. After each failure, migrants risk falling into the tenacious hands of Mexican police, who extort bribes, confiscate cars, and take the most persistent ones on an “excursion” to a migration prison. This is a very costly journey, both emotionally and financially, especially for migrants with wives and children. Another part of the migrants, lacking financial resources and patience, chooses what they believe is a simpler and faster route - walking. Carrying suitcases and children, they climb over fences and ford rivers, putting their lives at risk and sometimes dying. The routes are suggested to them by “coyotes,” and the network is full of data with geolocations of border crossing locations. Once on the other side, they wait for the border patrol and surrender to SVR officers.
However, now a third option for transfer has reappeared - through charitable organizations, usually religious. Their representatives make a preliminary registration and bring migrants according to the lists directly to the pedestrian crossing. In this case, asylum seekers are not sent to a migration prison, but await trial in the United States. This is the safest and easiest way, but it is not yet clear how this type of transition will affect issues of legalization and citizenship in the future.
Author: Vitaly Mikhailov
Youtube channel «The Statue of Liberty»
