H1B Stamping (renewal) in Merida, Mexico

[harishchandra]

Thanks

Appreciate your prompt response. Thanks for sharing your experience.
And yes, Congratulations!!!

[chvamsi]

Hi I work in EVVC model and i have letters only from second vendor and i can take mail approvals from primary vendor and client. will that be enough to show in the embassy. what are my chances.

[visaMerida]

Appreciate your prompt response. Thanks for sharing your experience.
And yes, Congratulations!!!

Hi Harish,

I am also planning to go to Merida for my H1b visa stamping in Mid OCT. Please do share your experience with us.

Thanks

[iamjustforkix]

The previous posts were extremely helpful and helped us get through my wife's stamping
process at Merida, Mexico. At the risk of repeating what others have explained, here's how
the process went:
We made the appointments (ASC for a Monday and CSC for the following day) a couple of months in advance. My wife had to get a Mexican tourist visa as her H1B stamp would've expired by the time we made the trip (this cost about $30 and took a couple of hours [we've a consulate in our city]). I've a valid H1B stamp and, since, May 2010, Mexico travel doesn't need a visa for valid H1B (and a few others...check their site) stamps for trips under 30 days. We flew into Cancun as tickets were way cheaper than flying into Merida. We took the ADO bus (kind of a nicer Greyhound version) to Cancun downtown bus station and then another one to Merida (there are direct buses too to Merida from the airport; it just costs more. Check the bus time/schedule at the ticketbus or ADO site. You could use google translate for help with Spanish or the lonely planet offline app for iphone). The trip was comfortable and took abt 4.5 hrs. We took a taxi (one which says 'Taxi Metro' in yellow on top as these are metered) to our hotel in 'centro' (city center, which has a bazillion hotels and restaurants). Our hotel was about 1.5 miles from the CSC and about 1 mile from the ASC. Merida is easy to get around since most of the streets ('calle') use numbers instead of names and are in increments of 2...check google maps to see what I'm talking about. Next day, after our city tour and siteseeing, we walked to the ASC center (which as of this writing is at the intersection of c.69 and c.66...check the Merida US consulate page...it provides details with a picture). The entrance is on the side through a big black gate. They checked my wife's passport, DS160 barcode page and appointment letter page and let her in. They put a sticker on the barcode page confirming the next day's CSC appointment date/time. The entire ASC process took less than 30 min. They also mentioned that most of the CSC cases for locals are done by 8am and that we could go earlier than our scheduled appointment time (10:30am). Accordingly, we went to the consulate (c.21 and c.31) the next day around 8am (took a taxi...cost about 4USD). They checked her barcode page, appointment letter and passport and let her in. As opposed to other consulates that I've been to, there was no one standing in line or waiting outside the consulate. I walked around the neighborhood, got some coffee and waited next to a restaurant a couple of buildings away from the consulate. My wife finally came out around 9:45am (most of her time was spent waiting as, it seemed, that there was only 1 consul interviewing everyone). The only question she was asked by the officer was- when she was leaving and when she needed the passport- and, since, we were planning on leaving Merida the next day, she asked if she could collect the passport the same day. The consul asked her to come back at 4pm to see if it was ready. So, we walked around, shopped (there's a Walmart nearby ) and went back to the consulate by 4. There were 6-8 people waiting to collect their passports (none for H1B). My wife went in and came out in about 15-20 min with her passport and the visa stamp. So, overall the process was a breeze (except for the waits). Merida is a good city to visit (except for the traffic during rush hour) and the people seemed to be really nice. Note: USD is widely accepted but, you'd do better using pesos either through the cash exchange places or your bank ATM (no charge for Bank of America customers to use Banco Santander ATMs). It'd also help to know at least a few words in Spanish. Gracias.

[chvamsi]

Hi I have h1b visa till sep 30. can i travel to Merida without tourist visa? also i have 4 months gap in my last year w2 will that work?

[visaMerida]

Hi I have h1b visa till sep 30. can i travel to Merida without tourist visa? also i have 4 months gap in my last year w2 will that work?

Yes you can travel but it is preferred to get Mexico visa so if you get stuck you can stay there for long. That gap should not cause any problems as long as you were not out of status. Prepare a quick answer to explain why you have a gap. Between when are you planning to go? I am planning to go in mid OCT.

[visaMerida]

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?

Hi harish,

How was your experience?Are you back? Will be really helpful if you can share questions asked to you. Also are you on EVC model?

Thanks

[harishchandra]

My Experience

I was issued visa on the same day without asking any question. However, next day morning I got a call from consulate saying there is a problem. They called me back to the consulate and asked me some question about my employer. such as the number of employees they have and all. Then they took my w2 and client letter and asked me to come back by noon to check the status. My stamped passport was with them. In the afternoon when i called them, everything was sorted out and i got the passport back.
I would recommend that you should go for stamping only if you have clean case.

[visaMerida]

I was issued visa on the same day without asking any question. However, next day morning I got a call from consulate saying there is a problem. They called me back to the consulate and asked me some question about my employer. such as the number of employees they have and all. Then they took my w2 and client letter and asked me to come back by noon to check the status. My stamped passport was with them. In the afternoon when i called them, everything was sorted out and i got the passport back.
I would recommend that you should go for stamping only if you have clean case.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I have sent you an private msg please check you inbox on this forum.

[myvisa08]

I am planning to go for H1B stamping to Merida, Mexico in Nov-11 first or second week. Please email on [email protected] if anyone wants to join?

[Sacfun]

Yes you can travel but it is preferred to get Mexico visa so if you get stuck you can stay there for long. That gap should not cause any problems as long as you were not out of status. Prepare a quick answer to explain why you have a gap. Between when are you planning to go? I am planning to go in mid OCT.

Can you share your experience of visa stamping at Merida location.

[sunrain]

H1B & H4 stamping

Me (H4)& my husband(H1) are planning to go for stamping in Merida this december,please share your experiences.Thanks.

[hrht]

H1 & H4 stamping

I too would be travelling to Merida with my wife in Dec.

[merida2011]

H1 Renewal Stamping

Thanks guys for all the posts.

I'm also planning to go to Merida for my H1 stamping. Hrht & Sunrain, could you please let me know the dates available at this moment?

Also, did you applied for Mexican visa?

thanks

[ravithesuny2k]

Did anybody visit or is Visting Merida in Nov or Dec?

Hello Hrht , Sunrain , merida2011, Sacfun, myvisa08, visaMerida

Did any of you visit or are visting Merida in Nov or Dec for stamping?

Please update if you've already visited.

Thanks