Travel to Mexico with Valid US visa and I-155 stamp

[Roberta Acosta 0]

My mother in law is In the US after just receiving US residency.  She is from Honduras and when she received her approval of residency, the US embassy in Honduras placed a US Visa valid for 6 months and upon arrival here, she received her I-155 stamp showing her proof of residency.  We Are traveling to Mexico in a few weeks for one week vacation and want her with us.  I’ve called a few Mexican embassies in the US and have gotten mixed answers as to whether she can enter Mexico with her valued US visa and residency stamp in her passport.  Since Honduras is one of the countries that require a Mexican visa to visit I have concern. However when I read thru regulations on the embassy site it states anyone with a valid US visa does not require a Mexican travel visa. I spoke with someone in the Mexican embassy in Boston and emailed an actual photo of her documents and he responded that she absolutely can travel with the US visa and stamp.  It will taje a few months for the actual green card so this is the problem for us.  I saved the email from the gentlemen from the Mexican embassy as proof along with the guidelines on their website but I am still scared they will give her a hard time. Can anyone please share if they ever entered Mexico with a US visa and residency stamp because they didn’t yet have actual green card?  Thanks so much in advance!

[SusieQQQ 11,584]

If she has already used her immigrant visa for entry it is no longer a “valid visa”, as it is one time use. More important for you is that she is now a LPR, who do not need visas for Mexico. There has been some confusion over whether an i551 stamp is enough or whether an actual green card is needed, but I recall someone here before has reported visiting with just the i551 stamp and it was ok.

[Just Paul 4,591]

Mexico enforces their policy on how you enter and leave the country.  (I have permanent residency there, go monthly or more, and bring friends all the time.)  

 

She does not need a visa but may need a tourist permit.  This AAA site is pretty clear   https://www.aaa.com/aaa/Traveler/mexico.html

 

If she is traveling by car she can get one online or at the border.   If she is traveling by air she fills out the form on the plane.   Again it is not a visa but a travel permit.

 

We fly from Tijuana, Juarez, Hermosillo and Mexicali sometimes and my Filipino spouse never gets asked at the airport for anything; I get asked every time.

 

And yes the I-551 stamp is fine to bypass the need for a visa but sometimes a green IO has to ask a supervisor.