L1, L2 Visa

I had to go to Matamoros, Mexico for L1/L2 Visa renewal for me and my family since I could only get appointment at the US Consulate there during the time frame that I had to get this done. There was no appointment slot in Monterrey or Mexico City which I initially preferred above Matamoros.

Our major concerns were security and being able to get people who speak English that would help facilitate our travel and the renewal process. Since I live in Texas and have to step out of the US to a Consulate to get this done, it made sense to travel (by road) to Brownsville, Texas and cross the border by road to Matamoros (it was described by a friend as a "skip, hop and jump" - that is how close they are). Based on our concerns, I was searching for an Agent that could help and I came across the Mr. Salvador Castaneda on this forum and on TripAdvisor.

He is the Owner/Manager of the BestWestern Hotel in Matamoros. Getting in touch with him was easy (US Phone No. 965-545-525) and we exchanged a couple of texts about the dates of travel, size of our party, costs, etc and finalized the deal. We travelled to Brownsville, TX and contacted him, he picked us up and drove us safely across the border to the BestWestern Hotel in Matamoros. The hotel is a nice 2 - 3 Star hotel and a couple of the hotel staff could understand/communicate in passable English. What they did not have in English, they made up for in hospitality, prompt response, willingness to help with whatever they can. Mr. Castaneda communicates very well in English having studied in the US (up to Post-graduate level) and supports his staff well in this area.

Our appointments to the Data Collection Center (AIS) and to the Consulate were well planned and we got there on time. The hotel has good internet service and good mobile phone reception. I discovered from our visit that Mr. Castaneda and his hotel specializes in providing support service to people who make trips to Matamoros for Immigration purposes. We had to make some corrections in our DS-60 documents and return to the Data Collection Center - this went well (after making use of the internet service and printer at the hotel). The restaurant have a good selection in their menu and they are also willing to make accommodation for any special type of menu that may be required. We did enjoy the real Mexican menu while there and not the Americanized Mexican menu. The hotel was quite safe too - no concerns while we were there.

On our last day while waiting for our passport, Mr. Castaneda and one of his staff made time to take us on a tour of Matamoros which we really did enjoy. Our return to Brownsville after we got our passport with new visa was uneventful. Mr. Castaneda had briefed us and got us to park our Vehicle just across the border exit in Brownsville earlier on. We were dropped off at the border and we walked to the immigration office where we got our new I-94 card processed and from there we got back to our vehicle parked in Brownville. Overall, it was a textbook like experience with everything going well like it should and all our concerns dissipated into thin air.