# B2 tourist visa for Mexican wife



## jr2448

Hi, I am a natural born US citizen living in Pennsylvania and married to a Mexican national. She wants to obtain a B2 tourist visa in order to come visit my family over here. Please note that we only want a tourist visa because I am going to live down in Mexico ( we are currently building a home in Oaxaca, plus, she has a good job working for the CFE ). Our issue is that she was denied a visa last year when she applied. So, my question is, can anybody give me advice on what supporting documents she needs to prove to them that she has binding ties to Mexico? Thanks in advance to anyone who shares their opinions


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## tanderson0o

My girlfriend and I had a similar problem. On her first attempt a couple of years ago, she was a college student living with her grandfather. She also didn't apply for a visa for her children from a previous marraige because she couldn't find the ex-husband to sign the paperwork. As a result, she was denied on the first try.

Last month, we applied again. This time she showed that she had an apartment lease in Mexico City in her name, a job and also applied for her kids. This time the tourist visa was approved. 

The main differences as far as I can tell were 1. She demonstrated stable employment. 2. She had an established leasing history with an apartment and 3. She applied for both of her kids and not just for herself.

Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be.


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## ReefHound

What documents did she provide last year on the denial? The U.S. immigration officer (or embassy worker) wants to establish one thing - that she will leave the U.S. and return to Mexico. In that regard, her marriage to you is a BIG negative. No matter what you SAY you intend to do, the fact is she has a spouse living in the U.S., a home to live in if she stays, a network of family to help her, etc. Focus on her job and try to prove you're building a home in Mexico.


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## TundraGreen

You didn't mention how long you have been married. If the marriage is relatively recent, they will probably also be wondering if your marriage is permanent or merely one of convenience designed to get her a visa. See the movie "Green Card" with Gérard Depardieu and Andie MacDowell for a humorous treatment of that. The fact that you are only asking for a tourist visa for a wife raises questions. Why would someone only want their wife to visit for a few months. So as much documentation as possible about how you met and what your plans are will probably be helpful.


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## circle110

I would advise not using TOO much documentation. Select the most important elements; her job, how you will support yourself in Mexico and the house you are building. If you say too much it starts to sound fishy even if it is all true. Be absolutely honest. Hopefully she has no family in the US. If she does that will be a major negative factor.

We managed to get a visa for my fiancée who does not work and owns nothing. We made a simple case for the fact that my family wanted to meet her and it is easier for her to go to the US than for all my relatives to make a trip to Mexico. She brought only three things to the interview 1) A letter from me explaining why we want to go including specific dates and locations 2) My financial statement to show I am solvent and have funds for two people to live off in Mexico and 3) a nice letter of invitation from my mother. 
My girlfriend said the interviewer read and studied everything - maybe because it was not too much information and was simple and well presented. The rest was just answering the questions of the interviewer honestly... and no doubt some luck of the draw on getting the interviewer she got. 

Most of the other folks had reams of documentation and all of them that we talked to that day got denied. They also said the interviewer didn't even hardly look at all the documentation they brought. Take only what documentation you feel is critical (basically her job, your finances and the house) and hope for a reasonable interviewer. Good luck!


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## jr2448

Thank you all for your answers, they are very informative. I can add a bit of extra information in regard of some of your questions: 
we've been married since Nov. 2007, and she's had the same job for going on 8 years. She has a car that she's paid off, as well. What she does not have is a lease of her own. She lives at home with her parents and will stay there until her house is built. When she previously applied, which was in May of '09, our house was not begun as yet, so she had no proof of that being built. Judging by what I'm reading here, I think that she has a somewhat reasonable chance of success if she's prepared with the important documentation and of course a little luck!


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## Ana H

would it not just be easier to file an I130 and DS230? She would come more near getting that. Has she ever been in the U.S. illegally? that could be a stumbling block in either case.


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## circle110

Ana H said:


> would it not just be easier to file an I130 and DS230? She would come more near getting that. Has she ever been in the U.S. illegally? that could be a stumbling block in either case.


Those documents are for permanent immigration and the OP is just looking to arrange a visit for his wife. If they went the I130/DS230 route, she couldn't return to Mexico to work. If one is in the country under that method of immigration, there are strict limits on how much time you can spend out of the country - especially if you are returning to your country of origin and you must ask INS permission for even a short trip out of the country. If she entered under those documents and then returned to live in Mexico, she would forfeit her K-3 visa and probably never be able to get another visa of any kind. I think the tourist visa is the only way to go here.


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## ReefHound

All true, circle. 

But there are advantages to that route in the long run. One only needs ICE (formerly INS) permission until Permanent Residency is granted though time out of country restrictions remain. Those fall away when naturalization is achieved. If they could spend the 5 years in the U.S. to go that route (and that may not be acceptable to the OP) then they would have total freedom to move back and forth across the border at any time.

Then there are members on some forums who have PR status in the U.S. but are living in Mexico, and maintain that PR status by having a U.S. mailing address. I doubt that meets the criteria but apparently no one is checking that closely. When my wife was PR no one recorded time in and out when we crossed the border.


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## mrland

jr2448 said:


> Hi, I am a natural born US citizen living in Pennsylvania and married to a Mexican national. She wants to obtain a B2 tourist visa in order to come visit my family over here. Please note that we only want a tourist visa because I am going to live down in Mexico ( we are currently building a home in Oaxaca, plus, she has a good job working for the CFE ). Our issue is that she was denied a visa last year when she applied. So, my question is, can anybody give me advice on what supporting documents she needs to prove to them that she has binding ties to Mexico? Thanks in advance to anyone who shares their opinions


Hello, I'm very interested to know if your wife was able to obtain a B1/B2 visa. My spouse, also Mexican, was also denied three times (refused to give up) no matter what evidence we presented (own multiple real estate in Mexico, have business in Mexico, have children born in Mexico, spouse's parents are not in U.S, etc.) The consul officer wouldn't even look at the extensive documents presented because the U.S consulate in Mexico does not issue B1/B2 visas to Mexicans married to U.S citizens. So, your spouse is left with the only option of seeking an immigrant visa or nothing. I feel since it appears to be a policy of denying visitor visas to spouses of U.S citizens the consulate should so state rather than deny the many spouses married to U.S citizens after they have gone through the trouble of going to the interview.


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## mrland

tanderson0o said:


> My girlfriend and I had a similar problem. On her first attempt a couple of years ago, she was a college student living with her grandfather. She also didn't apply for a visa for her children from a previous marraige because she couldn't find the ex-husband to sign the paperwork. As a result, she was denied on the first try.
> 
> Last month, we applied again. This time she showed that she had an apartment lease in Mexico City in her name, a job and also applied for her kids. This time the tourist visa was approved.
> 
> The main differences as far as I can tell were 1. She demonstrated stable employment. 2. She had an established leasing history with an apartment and 3. She applied for both of her kids and not just for herself.
> 
> Good luck. I know how frustrating it can be.


Had she been your spouse she would have been denied.


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## mrland

Ana H said:


> would it not just be easier to file an I130 and DS230? She would come more near getting that. Has she ever been in the U.S. illegally? that could be a stumbling block in either case.


Those forms are for persons seeking to live in teh U.S permanently. Hi sspouse only wants to visit. He can sponsor his spouse to come and live in the U.S but the consulate almost always, 99.7% of the time, denies visitor visas to "spouses" of U.S citizens.


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## circle110

I don't know if this relates directly, but we were able to get a tourist visa for my fiancee last year. She told them that we were getting married and my family wanted to meet her and it was easier for us to travel to the US than for my family to all come to Mexico. She has no job, no property, no bank account -- all the things they supposedly like to see -- yet they gave her the visa. 

Their reluctance seems odd because if you wanted to have your wife immigrate and live in the US, there is a separate visa process (K1/2 I think?) for that purpose. I can't understand their thinking; why would one attempt to get a tourist visa for his wife with the intention of her overstaying and becoming an illegal alien when there is a viable legal option?

Did they tell you flat out that they don't give tourist visas to Mexicans married to US citizens?


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## mrland

circle110 said:


> I don't know if this relates directly, but we were able to get a tourist visa for my fiancee last year. She told them that we were getting married and my family wanted to meet her and it was easier for us to travel to the US than for my family to all come to Mexico. She has no job, no property, no bank account -- all the things they supposedly like to see -- yet they gave her the visa.
> 
> Their reluctance seems odd because if you wanted to have your wife immigrate and live in the US, there is a separate visa process (K1/2 I think?) for that purpose. I can't understand their thinking; why would one attempt to get a tourist visa for his wife with the intention of her overstaying and becoming an illegal alien when there is a viable legal option?
> 
> Did they tell you flat out that they don't give tourist visas to Mexicans married to US citizens?


Your fiancee obtaining a tourist visa is a one is a billion chance. Fiancee's are given K1 visas. Are you certain it was a B1/B2 visa and not a K1 visa obtained?

I am certain that the consulate, at least in Ciudad Juarez, will not issue B1/B2 visas to spouses of U.S citizens even if you explain to them until you are blue and provide all the evidence in the world of your and yours ties to Mexico.


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## circle110

We didn't petition a K1, we petitioned a B1/B2 (in Guadalajara) and that is what she received.

I simply wrote a brief but clear letter explaining why we wanted the B1/B2 visa as opposed to a K1 along with why we wanted to go. A second document (my investment account statement) showed financial solvency and a third document was a sweet visit invitation from my mother. Three sheets of paper, no blue in the face. They told her that the quantity of documentation frequently has an inverse relationship to the success of the petition. If you ever choose to try again, keep it simple and clear.

I don't know that the odds are quite a million to one but they are tough and we were fortunate.


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## Denmex

My wife and I are in a similar situation. I’m a U.S. citizen and she is a Mexican national. Recently I asked this forum for advice concerning the type VISA she should apply for to visit the U.S. 
I received several answers and all of them were the same, a B2 tourist VISA. 
I don’t know if it would make a difference, but we (both of us) live in Mexico. We own a business here in Mexico and I am also a freelance writer. I write articles about Mexico for newspapers and magazines in the U.S.
We don’t want to live in the U.S. We only want to visit there.
After reading posts I now have concerns about her applying for a B2 tourist VISA.
If anyone can give me additional information concerning anything that we can to improve her chances of receiving a VISA of any type that would allow her to visit the U.S., it would be greatly appreciated.
Our plans are for her to apply within the next 2 months.
Thanks


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## mrland

I want to share my experience here so that it may help in people's decisions and perhaps maybe we could lead reform of the system. First, some background: I was born abroad in a British Commonwealth country to a U.S citizen and have two relatives in the U.S. I was raised abroad and lived in four countries. I do not have strong family ties to the U.S, my wife is Mexican and our children were all born in Mexico. At one time I owned a home in a rural area in the U.S and thought maybe we could live there. After my wife visited although the area was charming she, and I, decided that the plan was out of our reach. We subsequently sold the home and terminated her application for a permanent visa. My wife had been in the U.S only occasionally, at most a week at a time over a two year period. Then, recently, I decided to continue my studies in international law in the UK and after being accepted to a UK university for graduate studies planned to make a 10 day trip to London. Since we live in a border town the nearest airport is El Paso, TX and it's also the fastest and most economical manner to travel from our home town to the U.K. That is one of the reasons why we sought a tourist visa besides my wife being able to occasionally visit the U.S (a trip to El Paso to shop, Riudoso, weekend getaways to Vegas, etc.).

On her first appointment my wife was asked by the Consul officer why my wife didn't want to fly to Mexico City then to the UK. Mexico City is almost three hours South from our town (by plane)and the El Paso airport is 15 minutes away and besides the time factor it would cost substantially more to first fly South to Mexico City. I wouldn't first fly from El Paso to Los Angeles with the intention of going to Dallas. After the interview, I proceeded to contact the State Department and Consulate in Cd. Juarez:

Good day, I am forwarding the below email which I have sent to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. I respectfully request and appreciate if you would indicate which visa is applicable to a spouse of a U.S. citizen if the U.S. citizen is a permanent resident abroad and wherein the foreign spouse seeks to visit only on a temporary basis. 

Please take note that I am now resident abroad and I hold a Mexican permanent resident visa, FM2, a copy of which is attached to this email. Copies of my FM2 visa were also presented (along with 25 pages of other exhibits) at my wife's interview. Documents were also presented which demonstrated that a request was duly submitted to USCIS in 2009 to terminate an earlier application for an immigrant visa which had been approved (also attached).

My interpretation of 9 FAM 41.31 N 14.3 ( I seek your clarification), is, that the correct visa applicable to a spouse of a U.S. citizen who intends to travel for a temporary visit is in fact, a B-2 visa:

9 FAM 41.31 N14.3 Spouse or Child of U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien
(CT:VISA-701; 02-15-2005)
*An alien spouse or child, including an adopted alien child, of a U.S. citizen or resident alien may be classified as a nonimmigrant B-2 visitor if the purpose of the travel is to accompany or follow to join the spouse or parent for a temporary visit.*

Additionally, I would like the Department to note, that the interviewer asked my wife why she (my wife) does not prefer to depart from the Mexico City airport (some 2 1/2 hours South from our region), rather than the El Paso airport (10 miles from our home). As colourful as the question may have been the fact of the matter is that the El Paso airport is the sensible choice since it is closer to home and far cheaper to fly from for the purpose of traveling to the UK. I am certain that the Department will agree that it is in the nature of people to take the fastest and most economical route when traveling. Besides, if I am correct, it is not U.S. policy to make travel unnecessarily difficult or troublesome. In fact, 9 FAM 41.31 N5 IMPORTANCE OF FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL (CT:VISA-701; 02-15-2005), states in part, 

*"The policy of the U.S. Government is to facilitate and promote international travel ..."*

I also sought advice from prominent immigration attorney's and the online Consulate at [email protected]. The advice provided was to make another appointment:

* "A finding of ineligibility under 214(b) is not permanent. ... may apply in the future and explain the unique circumstances of her case. "*

So, we made another appointment. The second appointment was worse than the first. The officer asked, "so, why did you make another appointment when you were already denied?" He didn't even bother to look at the documents.


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## mrland

*Juarez consul and spouses*



Denmex said:


> My wife and I are in a similar situation. I’m a U.S. citizen and she is a Mexican national. Recently I asked this forum for advice concerning the type VISA she should apply for to visit the U.S.
> I received several answers and all of them were the same, a B2 tourist VISA.
> I don’t know if it would make a difference, but we (both of us) live in Mexico. We own a business here in Mexico and I am also a freelance writer. I write articles about Mexico for newspapers and magazines in the U.S.
> We don’t want to live in the U.S. We only want to visit there.
> After reading posts I now have concerns about her applying for a B2 tourist VISA.
> If anyone can give me additional information concerning anything that we can to improve her chances of receiving a VISA of any type that would allow her to visit the U.S., it would be greatly appreciated.
> Our plans are for her to apply within the next 2 months.
> Thanks


I want to share my experience here so that it may help in people's decisions and perhaps maybe we could lead reform of the system. First, some background: I was born abroad in a British Commonwealth country to a U.S citizen and have two relatives in the U.S. I was raised abroad and lived in four countries. I do not have strong family ties to the U.S, my wife is Mexican and our children were all born in Mexico. At one time I owned a home in a rural area in the U.S and thought maybe we could live there. After my wife visited although the area was charming she, and I, decided that the plan was out of our reach. We subsequently sold the home and terminated her application for a permanent visa. My wife had been in the U.S only occasionally, at most a week at a time over a two year period. Then, recently, I decided to continue my studies in international law in the UK and after being accepted to a UK university for graduate studies planned to make a 10 day trip to London. Since we live in a border town the nearest airport is El Paso, TX and it's also the fastest and most economical manner to travel from our home town to the U.K. That is one of the reasons why we sought a tourist visa besides my wife being able to occasionally visit the U.S (a trip to El Paso to shop, Riudoso, weekend getaways to Vegas, etc.).

On her first appointment my wife was asked by the Consul officer why my wife didn't want to fly to Mexico City then to the UK. Mexico City is almost three hours South from our town (by plane)and the El Paso airport is 15 minutes away and besides the time factor it would cost substantially more to first fly South to Mexico City. I wouldn't first fly from El Paso to Los Angeles with the intention of going to Dallas. After the interview, I proceeded to contact the State Department and Consulate in Cd. Juarez:

Good day, I am forwarding the below email which I have sent to the U.S. Consulate in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. I respectfully request and appreciate if you would indicate which visa is applicable to a spouse of a U.S. citizen if the U.S. citizen is a permanent resident abroad and wherein the foreign spouse seeks to visit only on a temporary basis. 

Please take note that I am now resident abroad and I hold a Mexican permanent resident visa, FM2, a copy of which is attached to this email. Copies of my FM2 visa were also presented (along with 25 pages of other exhibits) at my wife's interview. Documents were also presented which demonstrated that a request was duly submitted to USCIS in 2009 to terminate an earlier application for an immigrant visa which had been approved (also attached).

My interpretation of 9 FAM 41.31 N 14.3 ( I seek your clarification), is, that the correct visa applicable to a spouse of a U.S. citizen who intends to travel for a temporary visit is in fact, a B-2 visa:

9 FAM 41.31 N14.3 Spouse or Child of U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien
(CT:VISA-701; 02-15-2005)
*An alien spouse or child, including an adopted alien child, of a U.S. citizen or resident alien may be classified as a nonimmigrant B-2 visitor if the purpose of the travel is to accompany or follow to join the spouse or parent for a temporary visit.*
Additionally, I would like the Department to note, that the interviewer asked my wife why she (my wife) does not prefer to depart from the Mexico City airport (some 2 1/2 hours South from our region), rather than the El Paso airport (10 miles from our home). As colourful as the question may have been the fact of the matter is that the El Paso airport is the sensible choice since it is closer to home and far cheaper to fly from for the purpose of traveling to the UK. I am certain that the Department will agree that it is in the nature of people to take the fastest and most economical route when traveling. Besides, if I am correct, it is not U.S. policy to make travel unnecessarily difficult or troublesome. In fact, 9 FAM 41.31 N5 IMPORTANCE OF FACILITATING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL (CT:VISA-701; 02-15-2005), states in part, 

*"The policy of the U.S. Government is to facilitate and promote international travel ..."*
I also sought advice from prominent immigration attorney's and the online Consulate at [email protected]. The advice provided was to make another appointment:

*"A finding of ineligibility under 214(b) is not permanent. ... may apply in the future and explain the unique circumstances of her case. "*
So, we made another appointment. The second appointment was worse than the first. The officer asked, "so, why did you make another appointment when you were already denied?" He didn't even bother to look at the documents.


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## circle110

What's up with the double post?


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## mrland

circle110 said:


> What's up with the double post?


I mean to post a response to a question not a new post to the thread so the person who asked the question whom I had responded to, was probably not notified. Therefore, I posted the second as a response.


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## jr2448

Thanks all for your replies so far; I told my wife to hold up a bit in scheduling another interview until I gather more information. It appears she is at the whims of the Consular officer regardless of how many convincing ties she has to Mexico. That being said, there is nothing to lose in trying, so....... she is going to present documentation proving she has a good job ( CFE, a goverment job ), proof of actual and concrete vacation dates approved by her boss, monthly income and/or bank statements, proof of real estate owned/house being built, and I will have my parents write a letter of invitation that she can also present when at the interview. If she is again denied, especially with such proof of binding ties, that will pretty much prove for sure that the Consulate does not as a rule give tourist visas to people in cases like hers. But we are going to attempt, as I have stated, there is nothing to lose by trying and everything to gain by doing so. ( I guess we can always all rendevouz in Canada if all else fails!!!


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## latacharita

( I guess we can always all rendevouz in Canada if all else fails!!!)

If you end having to rendevouz in Canada, don't forget that she'll need a tourist visa to enter Canada, and that she'll need all those same documents to apply for it. There is a Canadian Visa Centre in Guadalajara and all the staff are really helpful and courteous folks. There is also a Visa Centre in Mexico City but I've never been to that one. She'll have to jump through the same hoops--proof of job and income, letter from her boss giving her vacation time, proof of ownership (title for the house, for her car if she has one, any land she may own, and bank account statements), list of her siblings/parents/children, with their names/birth-dates/addresses and phone numbers, copy of your marriage license, copies of her CFE bills, water bills, tenencia (if any) copy of voter registration card, copy of passport, copy of birth certificate, receipt for our fully paid hotel reservation in Canada, receipt for our rental car reservation, a list of tourist sights we planned to visit. And to prove other trips already made outside of Mexico we included a list of our other visits to Canada (these trips were made before a visa was required) and a trip to Trinidad and Tobago. 

Submit anything else you can think of that will bolster your application. For example, we even included pictures of our cats sitting sweetly in the yard, and photos of us working in our back yard in Patzcuaro. Actually, we made a little photo album--pics stapled to 4 sheets of white paper) of our house, of us working in the yard, and yes pics of our cats--after all, what better way to prove we would indeed return to Mexico after our visit to Canada--who would go off and leave their cats and not return home again to care for them? We even went ahead and bought our round trip plane tickets and submitted copies of the tickets--it was gamble, but we wanted to prove that we would return to Mexico. My husband got his visa in 2 weeks after we submitted his application. (I'm a US citizen so I didn't need one.)

For more information go to cic.gc.ca/english/visit/index.asp


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## mrland

What is clearly needed is a reform of the type of visas which currently are made available specifically to spouses of USC's (US citizens). Currently, a USC may sponsor a spouse *to live* in the U.S through a K2 visa. It takes months to apply for a K2 visa and it is vaild for up to 2 years. A tourist visa (B1/B2) could be obtained within weeks and is valid for up to 10 years ... if approved!

I feel that a K2 visa, specifically designated for spouses of USC's should be available to a spouse of a USC as quickly as a tourist visa after the applicant passes the same criminal background check as a B1/B2 applicant. Then, the couple could thereafter apply, stateside, to adjust status once in the U.S; if they choose not to adjust status the spouse would still have a valid K2 for the purpose of visiting the U.S with the same rights as a B1/B2 and for up to 10 years just as a B1/B2. 

The reason the K2 I propose is not available is because a non-intending immigrant visitor is required to apply for a B1/B2. However, the catch with regard to a spouse of a USC is that the spouse is presummed to likely be an immigrant and therefore the visa is generally denied. Also, it appears that some counsel officers are not aware that a non-intending immigrant spouse should apply for a B1/B2; I feel that is true since in our case my wife was told on more than one visit, that she is welcome to apply for a permanent visa.


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## mrland

jr2448 said:


> Thanks all for your replies so far; I told my wife to hold up a bit in scheduling another interview until I gather more information. It appears she is at the whims of the Consular officer regardless of how many convincing ties she has to Mexico. That being said, there is nothing to lose in trying, so....... she is going to present documentation proving she has a good job ( CFE, a goverment job ), proof of actual and concrete vacation dates approved by her boss, monthly income and/or bank statements, proof of real estate owned/house being built, and I will have my parents write a letter of invitation that she can also present when at the interview. If she is again denied, especially with such proof of binding ties, that will pretty much prove for sure that the Consulate does not as a rule give tourist visas to people in cases like hers. But we are going to attempt, as I have stated, there is nothing to lose by trying and everything to gain by doing so. ( I guess we can always all rendevouz in Canada if all else fails!!!


Best of luck and please update us.


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## Queretaro

Yes, please keep us updated. My situation is the same. I am a U.S. citizen and have been married to my wife for almost 3 years. We live in Querétaro and run a business here. We do not own a home however. We applied for a visa 3 years ago, when we were just married and just starting our business, but were denied for a tourist visa (they actually asked why we were not applying for a green card). 
It is ridiculous that we are not able to visit the U.S. to visit our family with our wives.


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## conorkilleen

Queretaro said:


> Yes, please keep us updated. My situation is the same. I am a U.S. citizen and have been married to my wife for almost 3 years. We live in Querétaro and run a business here. We do not own a home however. We applied for a visa 3 years ago, when we were just married and just starting our business, but were denied for a tourist visa (they actually asked why we were not applying for a green card).
> It is ridiculous that we are not able to visit the U.S. to visit our family with our wives.


agreed. I will soon be in this boat as well. Its almost like the US has something against Mexican citizens marrying US citizens and allowing them to be together in the US...even for a short trip. If they would just grant the Visas we would have allot less trouble with illegal immigration (in some situations).


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