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If you need information or a service for a U.S. citizen, including passports, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA), and emergency services, start with the U.S. Citizen Service Assistant.
Emergency Assistance for U.S. Citizens
Information, resources, and guidance to assist U.S. citizens in Mexico.
International Parental Child Abduction
International parental child abduction is the removal or retention of a child outside their country of habitual residence in breach of another parent or guardian’s custody rights.
The Department of State is committed to ensuring fair and humane treatment for U.S. citizens imprisoned overseas. We stand ready to assist incarcerated citizens and their families within the limits of our authority in accordance with international law, domestic and foreign law.
When an U.S. citizen dies abroad, the Bureau of Consular Affairs assists the family and friends. The Bureau of Consular Affairs attempts to locate and inform the next-of-kin of the U.S. citizen’s death. The Bureau of Consular Affairs provides information on how to make arrangements for local burial or return of the remains to the United States. The disposition of remains is subject to U.S. and local (foreign) law, U.S. and foreign customs requirements, and the foreign country facilities, which are often vastly different from those in the United States.
When a U.S. citizen is the victim of a crime overseas, he or she may suffer from physical, emotional or financial injuries. It can be more difficult because the victim may be in unfamiliar surroundings, and may not know the local language or customs.
Emergency Financial Assistance
Information on transferring funds, what receivers need, and destitution.
Consular Affairs (CA) is the public face of the Department of State for millions of people around the world. We provide many services, and the most common are listed below.
U.S. Citizens overseas can renew passports, replace passports, or apply for new passports.
If you reside in Mexico and have questions regarding services provided by the Social Security Administration (SSA), you must contact the SSA Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) located in Mexico. For comprehensive information on SSA’s services abroad, please visit SSA’s webpage Service Around the World. If you are already receiving SSA benefits payments, there will be no change in the method of distribution of those payments. For comprehensive information on SSA’s services abroad, please visit SSA’s webpage Service Around the World. If you are already receiving SSA benefits payments, there will be no change in the method of distribution of those payments.
Service members, Veterans, and their beneficiaries can apply for benefits services on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) website at www.va.gov. The Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) can also be of assistance if Veterans and beneficiaries have questions about benefits and services.
If you are a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident (green card holder), you are responsible for filing U.S. federal income tax returns while abroad. You will find useful information on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website, such as Frequently Asked Questions about taxes or how to apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). If you are a U.S. government employee working overseas, you cannot claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. For additional information, visit the IRS website.
U.S. embassies and consulates overseas assist the Selective Service System with its registration program abroad.
Now all U.S. citizens can receive their blank ballots electronically. Depending on the state in which you are eligible to vote, you may get your ballot by email, fax, or internet download. To start, go to www.FVAP.gov to complete a new Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), print and sign the form then return it to your local election office in the United States. We recommend overseas U.S. citizens get in the habit of completing FPCAs each January. You should include your email address on the form so it’s easier for your election officials to reach you if there is a problem. If your state delivers ballots electronically by fax only, be sure to include your fax number. If you request electronic delivery and include your email address or fax number, you’ll receive your blank ballot 45 days before general and mid-term elections and generally 30 days before special, primary, and run-off elections for federal offices.
The Vehicle Recovery Unit of the U.S. Consulate General in Tijuana assists U.S. citizens recover their vehicles stolen in the United States and recovered in Mexico. The Vehicle Recovery Unit serves as a liaison between the Mexican authorities and U.S. citizens and/or their insurance carriers.
A consular officer at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate must determine that the adoptive child qualifies for a visa before you adopt or obtain legal custody of the child. Do not adopt or obtain custody of the child until the consular officer issues an Article 5 Letter.
A child born outside the United States to a U.S. citizen parent or parents may be eligible for U.S. citizenship if the parent(s) meets the requirements for transmitting U.S. citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act. U.S. citizens eligible to transmit citizenship are required to file for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA).
Surrogacy, ART and DNA Testing
Although surrogacy agencies/clinics claim surrogacy is legal in Mexico and actively promote Mexico as a destination for international commercial surrogacy, there is no legal framework for foreigners or same-sex couples to pursue surrogacy in Mexico. As a result, surrogacy agreements between foreign or same-sex intending parents and gestational mothers are not enforced by Mexican courts.
U.S. embassy and consulate personnel cannot perform marriages in foreign countries. Depending on the law of the foreign country, local civil or religious officials generally perform marriages. Marriages performed overseas are considered valid in the country where they take place if they are entered into in accordance with local law. Recognition of the validity of marriages performed abroad depends on the laws of the place in which the marriage is to be recognized.
Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) requires U.S. and Canadian travelers to present a passport or other document that denotes identity and citizenship when entering the U.S. It is a result of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). The goal of WHTI is to facilitate entry for U.S. citizens and legitimate foreign visitors, while strengthening U.S. border security. Standard documents will enable the Department of Homeland Security to quickly and reliably identify a traveler. WHTI went into effect June 1, 2009 for land and sea travel into the U.S. WHTI document requirements for air travel went into effect in 2007. For current travel document requirements, visit the Customs and Border Protection website. To stay further informed, you can read U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory and Alerts.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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From Mexico: (55) 8526 2561
From the United States: 1-844-528-6611
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