H1B Stamping (renewal) in Merida, Mexico

[shervin143]

1) How do I ensure PIMS verification prior to my appointment in Merida?
>>> Write to the consulate with your petition number and might check the PIMS system and let you know.

2) Is Merida safer than other consulate locations in Mexico?
>>> All consulates are safe if you carry all the required documents and if you haven't violated the H1B regulations.

3) When do you get a new 1-94? When you land back in US?
>>> Yes. You need to make sure that you return all your I-94's when you leave U.S.

[sumit_immigration]

navyblue74 : Yes, there is an airport in Merida. you can just fly there directly.

You may consider flying to Cancun if you want to travel a bit too in Mexico.

[jsonali]

H1 B stamping in Merida

Hi All
Thank you all for the postings.
I am planning to go to Merida for stamping.
I read in the posts that you are paying the visa fee after reaching Mexico.
But without paying a fee how do you schedule the appointment?
I am little confused.
Could you please let me know how and where can I pay the fee and how to schedule the visa-interview?
Thank you so much in advance

[ppantham]

Recent experience for H1-Renewal in Merida

Hi .....

My wife recently got her H1 renewal visa stamped in merida(mexico). I would like to share our experience (a new application process for visa stamping).

First we had to fill the DS 160 form at the following site https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/

Then we had to fill the application at this site http://www.usvisa-info.com/en-MX/sel...ountry_welcome , pay the visa fees (we did using credit card) and block the dates (yes plural). Now we have to block two dates, one is called ASC appointment (where photo of the candidate and finger printing is done) and consular interview date. ASC center is different from US consulate.

We blocked the ASC interview date on a Tue eve and consular interview date, the next day morning.

We flew to cancun over the weekend (since flight tickets for merida were double compared to cancun from our place and cancun is a good place to visit).

We went to the ASC appointment on Tue eve. After the picture and figure printing was done, they preponed the next day consular interview by 1 hr which was fine with us.

Next day we went to the US consulate 30 mins before the interview time, and the folks at consulate let my wife into the consulate immediately. The consular office asked her to show the I 797 and that was enough. Visa was approved and she came out even before her appointment time.

Travelling from cancun to merida is easy. We took a bus (ADO) that took about 3.5 hrs. Stayed in a hotel(there are couple of them) that was close to US consulate. To ASC center we had to take a cab which was like 10 mins drive from the hotel.

After the passport was delivered to DHL we went back to cancun stayed there for couple more days and flew back.

Visit the following site which has step by step process of what I described earlier - http://merida.usconsulate.gov/howtoapply3.html

I hope the above links are useful.

[Ragh1u]

h1b stamping in merida

Hi,

I am planning to go merida for h1b stamping in feb 3rd week 2011.

What are the chances of getting approval there? Any rejections so far?

Your answers would be appeicited.

[shervin143]

https://www.immihelp.com/usa-visas/visastampingcanadamexico/

My wife came on H4 in 2005 and then changed her status to h1 in 2006.

I heard first time h1b stamping people are not eligible in Mexico. Is my wife eligible for h1b stamping in Merida Mexico?

[Sky_Blue74]

Merida travel details

Suryare & Sumit,

Thank you for taking time and responding to the queries that are being posted here. Especially the step by step proceedure that you posted regarding your travel is very helpful.

ppantham,

Thanks for posting your recent experience. From Cancun to Merida, did u get the bus right at the airport, where did u book the bus ticket, do they understand english, where did you get mexican currency exchanged. If you can please provide some detailed information of the travel arrangements since you have recently travelled that will be helpful.

Thank you

[Sky_Blue74]

Merida stamping allowed

Guys,

Have a question - Are we allowed to renew visa in Merida only if the previously valid/expired H1B visa was stamped for the same employer. Like I had my first H1 visa in matamoros (employer x), second H1 stamping in Ottawa (employer y), and now I with a third company (employer z) and planning to for stamping Merida. Is this allowed? Please reply. Thank You.

[catchmeagain]

H1b renewal stamping - Merida

Hello Friends,

I am planning to go Merida for my H1B renewal stamping. Can any one please share recent experiences.

Thanks !

[manishgarg1976]

Merida US visa stamping Aug 22 -30

Hi ,

I am planning to go to Merida for US visa stamping Aug 22 -30. Any body planning in that time frame please contact [email protected]

Case
Last H1 stamping done in India in 2008 expired in Sep 2010
Currently working in company - client model

Thanks

[talasila80]

Question

Thanks a lot for the useful information, I am planning to go to Merida on Sep 5-6 along with my wife,
We both have valid US visa which expires on Sep 30th.
I was told (and I did some research online) that we don't need mexican tourist visa if we have a valid US visa in our passports.
Please confirm this and let me know if any of you had any issues.
also how long does it take for DHL to get the passport? 1 or 2 days??
Thanks in advance
Sri

I talked to the Mexican consulate in orlando and they suggested that we get a mexican visa just to be safe.
Technically we do not need a tourist visa as long as there is a valid US visa in the stamp, but when I mentioned that my current US visa expires the end of September she suggested that we take a tourist visa just to be safe.

[prakash24256]

hi,

I am planning for an India Trip and need to go for H1B stamping. I have seen that almost all the cases in India are going on Additional Admin Processing.

I work in EVC(Employer,Vendor,Client) model and currently working in USA from past 5 years with the same employer. My previous 2 stampings were done in India and have my education done from India.

Can you please suggest if I can go to Merida, Mexico for stamping and is it safer?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance.
Prakash

[shervin143]

You can go to Mexico or canada for stamping. Whether you will get a 221g for additional administrative processing or not is nobody's guess. And the information about everyone getting a 221g in India is wrong. Only the people who get 221g are posting here. There are also many successful stamping. However, if you don;t work directly for your employer or a direct client of your employer, the chances of a 221g is high these days.

hi,

I am planning for an India Trip and need to go for H1B stamping. I have seen that almost all the cases in India are going on Additional Admin Processing.

I work in EVC(Employer,Vendor,Client) model and currently working in USA from past 5 years with the same employer. My previous 2 stampings were done in India and have my education done from India.

Can you please suggest if I can go to Merida, Mexico for stamping and is it safer?

Thanks a lot for your help in advance.
Prakash

[harishchandra]

H1B Visa Renewal Merida

Hello there,

I am visiting Merida US consulate around September 12- 16 for H1B renewal.
Anyone going there around the same time frame?
Has anyone recently been there? how was the experience?

[talasila80]

Our Merida Exp

Hey, We returned from Merida last night after successful stamping. We left from Orlando to Cancun on Monday, 5th and went to Merida by bus from Cancun on the same day. Our ASC appointment was on 6th morning 9:30AM, we went there at 9:15 and they let us in exactly at 9:30. Took about 5 minutes to finish finger prints and photos. We went out and did some sight seeing the rest of the day. Our visa interview was on 7th morning at 9:45AM and we went there at 9:15, we had to wait in the queue outside, they did not let us in until 9:45.
After getting inside a lady verified my documents and gave us a token and asked us to wait along with others in the waiting area.
After 10 minutes I was called inside to the interview area (only me not my wife), one officer verified my documents again and took photo copies of my petition and attached the copies to our DS-160 print outs(He did not photo copy my wife's petition which was his mistake, as explained below), I was told to bring my wife in from the waiting area after this and wait till our number is called.
After our number is called I passed on the passports along with DS-160s and original petitions to the officer.He did not look at the original petitions and looked at only photo copies that were attached to DS-160s. My wife's petition went unnoticed. He asked me for our company website which I gave it to him. He asked me how long have I been working for this company or has anything changed since my last stamping. I said 4 yrs and nothing changed since last time.
He typed something for a while and said he has a problem and asked us to take a seat. After about an hour we were called again and told me that he is having trouble issuing 2 visas for us. Apparently the system was not allowing him to issue 2 visas, H1B for me and H4 for my wife. He said he has to contact DC office regarding this and asked us to go out have lunch and come back after 2-3 hrs. He gave us an yellow paper, which we needed to show the security outside after we come back, so that they can let us in.
We went out and had lunch did some shopping and came back and showed the security the yellow paper office gave us.
They called someone from the security booth and the officer who verified our documents in the morning came out and told us that nothing has been resolved yet. He also wanted to see my original petitions one more time. I gave him 2petitions and he was surprised that there were 2 and not 1.
He did not realized that there were 2 petitions (one for me and other for my wife) in the morning, so he stapled 2 photo copies of my petition to both our DS-160s. The interviewer tried to issue 2 visas on my petition, which the system did not let him.
At this point he took our petitions inside and came back out in 5 minutes and said everything is fine and we can collect our visas the following day at 4PM.
We collected the passports the following day at the embassy and took the bus from Fiesta Americana to Cancun and flew back to Orlando, no issues.
Make sure you know a little spanish, while shopping or taking taxis you need spanish, most of them don't even understand english numbers or basic english, I relied very much on my Google Translate app on my Captivate for communications :-)
I will be happy to answer any more questions.

Hello there,

I am visiting Merida US consulate around September 12- 16 for H1B renewal.
Anyone going there around the same time frame?
Has anyone recently been there? how was the experience?