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Help us improve
Message for U.S. Citizens: Voting Assistance Workshop in Ajijic
By U.S. Mission to Mexico
5 MINUTE READ

February 22, 2024

U.S. Consulate General Guadalajara

Location: Ajijic, Jalisco

Event: Representatives from U.S. Consulate General Guadalajara and the Federal
Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) will hold voting assistance workshops on
Monday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at the Lake Chapala Society (16
de Septiembre 16-A) in Ajijic, Jalisco. General information will be provided on
voting from overseas and on becoming a voting assistance officer to assist
overseas voters cast their ballot. No reservation is required to attend.  For
more information on theFVAP or assistance with the absentee voting process,
visit FVAP.gov .

Assistance: 

Contact Form

U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico

From Mexico:  (55) 8526 2561

From the United States:  1-844-528-6611

Department of State – Consular Affairs:  +1-888-407-4747 or +1-202-501-4444

Links:

Mexico International Travel information

U.S. Passports

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Department of State on Facebook  and X

U.S. Embassy in Mexico on Facebook  and X



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FAQs
What is an immigrant visa?


An immigrant visa is a document issued by a U.S. consular officer abroad that
allows you to travel to the United States and apply for admission as a legal
permanent resident (LPR). An immigration inspector of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection of the Department of Homeland Security makes the final decision as to
whether or not to admit you as an LPR. Once you are admitted as an LPR, you
generally have the right to live and work in the United States permanently. U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security will
mail your permanent resident card (often called a “green card”) to your new
address in the United States, usually within three months of your entry into the
United States. Please see 9 FAM 502.1-3 for a list of classification symbols and
a brief description of each.

What is the difference between an immigrant visa and a nonimmigrant visa?


Getting an immigrant visa usually means that you will be able to live and work
in the United States for as long as you want. A nonimmigrant visa, on the other
hand, is generally for short-term visitors to the United States. You cannot stay
in the United States permanently on a nonimmigrant visa, and you generally
cannot work. A nonimmigrant visa is sometimes informally called a “tourist visa”
but can be issued for reasons other than tourism, such as medical treatment,
business or study. Please see our nonimmigrant visa page for more information.

How do I start the process of obtaining my immigrant visa?


There are three basic methods for obtaining an immigrant visa: 1.through a
family relationship with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident 2.through
employment 3.through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (the visa lottery)
Most applicants in Mexico obtain their immigrant visas via family relationships.
The first step in obtaining a family-based immigrant visa is for your relative
(the petitioner) to file a Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) by mail with
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of Homeland
Security. Once your relative has filed a petition for you, you may check its
status by accessing the USCIS Case Status Search Page. You may obtain an
immigrant visa through employment rather than through a family member. More
information on obtaining an immigrant visa through employment rather than
through a family member is available on USCIS’s Green Card through a Job page.
Please see the Fiscal Year 2016 Diversity Visa Entry Instructions. Note that the
registration period for 2015 has closed. You may check this page for the Fiscal
Year 2016 Diversity Visa Entry instructions in approximately September 2014.

The family-based petition my relative filed for me was approved. Now what?


Once U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of the Department of
Homeland Security approves an immigrant visa petition, USCIS sends the approved
petition to the Department of State’s National Visa Center in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.

What does the National Visa Center do?


The Department of State’s National Visa Center (NVC) retains the approved
petition until the case is ready for adjudication by a consular officer abroad.
Petitions may remain at NVC for several months or for many years depending on
the visa category and country of birth of the visa applicant. When a
beneficiary’s (the beneficiary is the person on whose behalf the petition was
filed) priority date appears about to become current, NVC sends the petitioner a
bill for processing Form I-864 (Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the
Act) and sends the beneficiary a Form DS-261 (Choice of Address and Agent). Once
the Form I-864 processing fee is paid, NVC sends the Form I-864 and related
instructions to the petitioner. Once NVC receives the completed Form DS-261 from
the applicant, NVC mails a bill for the immigrant visa fee to the agent
designated on the Form DS-261. Once the immigrant visa fee is paid, NVC sends
the Instruction Package for Immigrant Visa Applicants to the agent. You or your
agent must follow the directions in the Instruction Package for Immigrant Visa
Applicants exactly. Failure to do so could result in a delay in your case and
could even cause you to lose your chance to live and work in the United States.
Once NVC completes its administrative processing of your case, the case file is
sent to the Immigrant Visa Unit of the U.S. Consulate General, Ciudad Juarez.
NVC will notify you by mail when this occurs.

What is a priority date and why does it matter?


The priority date, in the case of a family-based immigrant visa petition, is the
date your petition was filed (not the date it was approved). Family-based
immigrant visas are divided into two broad groups, immediate relative cases and
preference cases. An immediate relative family-based petition is filed by a U.S.
citizen on behalf of a spouse, parent, or child. A preference family-based
petition is filed by a U.S. citizen on behalf of a son, daughter, or sibling; or
by a legal permanent resident on behalf of a spouse, son or daughter, or child.
Because the law does not limit the number of immediate relative visas, the
priority date is normally irrelevant in such cases (please see the 9 FAM
502.1-1(d)(1) for the notable exception, related to the Child Status Protection
Act). Workload permitting, the Immigrant Visa Unit may begin processing the
approved petition upon receipt from the Department of State’s National Visa
Center or the Department of Homeland Security. The priority date in a preference
case, however, matters greatly. The law limits the number of preference visas
available. All categories of family-based preference visas are currently
“oversubscribed” (i.e., there are more people who want visas than there are visa
numbers available). Your priority date, along with your visa category and
nationality, determines whether a visa number is available or whether you must
wait. Once your priority date is earlier than the cut-off date listed in the
most recent Visa Bulle

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