Week 15: A Challenging Visit to the U.S. Embassy

Week 15 signals the semester coming to a close. Students have said goodbye to the families they stayed with in Cuernavaca and moved back into Casa Verde and Casa Cemal. They are focused on finishing papers and presentations and the travel and visits still on the to-do list. I too am thinking about last classes, packing for travel to Minnesota, and grading those assignments, papers, and presentations.

A highlight of the week was an excursion to Mexico City for some sightseeing time and a visit to the United States Embassy.

My view is from the back of the van for most excursions. Several in the group suffer from motion sickness and the seats in the front and middle of the van go to them.

Many in the group visited the National Museum of Anthropology, the zoo, and the Modern Art Museum. I met friends for a paddleboat ride on the lake in Chapultepec Park. Paco took this photo of me enjoying the sunny, relaxing afternoon.

Naurine enjoying the lake in Chapultepec Park; Boats on the lake.

The visit with Embassy personnel was both satisfying and disturbing. We learned the term “Diplomatic Mission:”

“Countries establish diplomatic missions in other countries in order to further foreign policy objectives. They will choose to maintain a mission in another country depending on the size and maturity of the bilateral relationship, the political climate, and resource constraints.” From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Diplomatic_missions_by_country

and that the U.S. diplomatic mission in Mexico is one of the largest and busiest in the world. It is a complex mix of embassy activities and educational, commercial, political, and cultural contacts between the two countries. Officers from four areas – public affairs, economic section, consular affairs, and political affairs – spent nearly two hours with us describing their responsibilities and then answered many questions posed by the students. The Consular Section provides assistance to American citizens and issues U.S. visas to Mexican citizens, so most of the questions were directed to the very experienced representative of that section.

“Section 214(b) is part of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It states: Every alien shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status..”. http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/denials/denials_1361.html

Mexicans, who want to visit the U.S. complete an application on line and pay a $131 USD fee in order to receive an appointment for an in-person interview. At the interview they will have 2-3 minutes to show the documents they have brought and convince the consular officer that they have solid reasons for returning to their home, job and family in Mexico. Planning to visit a relative who is living in the U.S. illegally will almost certainly bring a denial. Officers can interview as many as 150 persons per day, and they believe that this extensive experience interviewing applicants makes it possible for them to decide quickly and confidently who are the best “risks” for a short term visit to the U.S. If an applicant is turned down, s/he may apply again – and pay the fees again – but there is no appeal of a decision by a consular officer. We were reassured that the denial rate is much smaller than is commonly thought and that all should try to obtain a visa legally before taking the chances of crossing the border illegally.
Students have heard personal stories of those who have been denied visas so they expressed concern about ways in which the complex process, including internet application and a significant non-refundable fee, and the Section 214.b, favor Mexicans who own property and have sizeable bank accounts. We found it challenging to listen to the attempts of the officers to present a balanced view and were left wanting to know more. Several resolved to influence congressmen to create a more fair law, one that doesn’t discriminate against the poor and landless who want to visit with relatives in the U.S.
http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/eng/offices.htm

-by Naurine Lennox, Social Work Professor, St. Olaf College, Minnesota