My experience about RTD and Mexcian Visa

L

lagflag

Registered Users (C)
Hi, I am an asylee and didn't apply for GC yet.
I want to share information that may be helpful for some people.

As a refugee travel document holder with no green card, do I need a VISA to enter Mexico?
Mexican consulate site is not clear about it, because they talk about the RTD holders under the permanent resident category. so i was confused and sent the consulate in NYC an email.
They said NO. then I called them to double check and eliminate any risks of being deported from Mexico airport, and they asked if I have green card, I said not yet, and they said then you need a Visa! "although in the email they confirmed that I dont need one"!

I went to the consulate last week and surprisingly the lady there said "No" you dont need a visa even if you are not a green card holder! she showed me the same web page that confused me before because they put the RTD under permanent resident category. I told her that this is for GC holders not for current asylees, she said it is the same thing.

I forgot to say that what made me worry is that in my RTD the status is Asylee, while people with GC have status of: permanent resident at their RTD.
So, at mexico the immigration officer will notice I am not yet a GC holder.

To make the long story short, she confirmed that I don't need a visa even if i liked to get one just in case. she said, we are not even allowed to put a visa on a US issued document.

I will go within few days, hopefully she is right and nothing bad is happening there. I will update this post after returning back telling you guys what happened exactly.

here is a link of the Mexican consulate that confused me more than benifit me:
http://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/nuevayork/index.php/component/content/article/228
 
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How are you going to Mexico? By air? If you drive across the border and stay in that area, at most entry points there are no checks (I think Juarez has checks), so there won't be a worry. If you're flying, they will look at your documents. Hopefully the airline lets you board because the agents often don't know what to do. Print out the email you got from the consulate, and also the page you just linked. Most likely, you'll be fine. Even though your class is asylee, I doubt they'll hassle you because the RTD lets you re-enter the US.
 
Ive traveled to many places with just my RTD! Bahamas, norway, italy, germany, greece, france etc...

Visa requirement is based on your nationality! I used only my rtd to travel and no visa needed.

lagflag said:
Hi, I am an asylee and didn't apply for GC yet.
I want to share information that may be helpful for some people.

As a refugee travel document holder with no green card, do I need a VISA to enter Mexico?
Mexican consulate site is not clear about it, because they talk about the RTD holders under the permanent resident category. so i was confused and sent the consulate in NYC an email.
They said NO. then I called them to double check and eliminate any risks of being deported from Mexico airport, and they asked if I have green card, I said not yet, and they said then you need a Visa! "although in the email they confirmed that I dont need one"!

I went to the consulate last week and surprisingly the lady there said "No" you dont need a visa even if you are not a green card holder! she showed me the same web page that confused me before because they put the RTD under permanent resident category. I told her that this is for GC holders not for current asylees, she said it is the same thing.

I forgot to say that what made me worry is that in my RTD the status is Asylee, while people with GC have status of: permanent resident at their RTD.
So, at mexico the immigration officer will notice I am not yet a GC holder.

To make the long story short, she confirmed that I don't need a visa even if i liked to get one just in case. she said, we are not even allowed to put a visa on a US issued document.

I will go within few days, hopefully she is right and nothing bad is happening there. I will update this post after returning back telling you guys what happened exactly.

here is a link of the Mexican consulate that confused me more than benifit me:
http://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/nuevayork/index.php/component/content/article/228
Click to expand...
 
gandrud, did you go to Mexico with just an RTD?

Your claim that visa requirements are based on nationality is false in many cases. For example, an Indian citizen would need a visa to visit the Netherlands, but with an RTD, no visa is required.
 
Yes I did. 2 emabssies already told me that...actually 3 embassies! Mexican, Norwegian and Canadian.


cafeconleche said:
gandrud, did you go to Mexico with just an RTD?

Your claim that visa requirements are based on nationality is false in many cases. For example, an Indian citizen would need a visa to visit the Netherlands, but with an RTD, no visa is required.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry, my post had two separate sections.

1. Did you go to Mexico with just your RTD? It seems you say that you did. Am I right?

2. Not in every case is nationality the basis for visa requirements. To this, I take it you're saying that 3 embassies have said your nationality is the basis for your visa requirement. Fine. BUT, the reverse can also be true. Regardless of nationality, traveling with an RTD requires no visa. Also, take, say, Serbia. Even if, say, a Brazilian citizen (who does not need a visa) travels on an RTD, he/she WILL need a visa (http://www.serbiaembusa.org/consula...l&id=1196864829&archive=&start_from=&ucat=17&).
 
1. Yes you are right! Brazilian Citizens require a visa to go to Mexico. So I had to go to the consulate in Oxnard using my RTD.

Remember that whole story about schengen visa? Going to Norway? I sent an email to the Norwegian Embassy asking about "Brazilian National+ RTD" Then the consul told me " You do need a visa if you are using a RTD issued by USCIS".

So I drove to SF and I applied for one. The next day he called me back and he told me "He called the embassies in DC, Norway, Italy, Germany, Italy...he told me that that visa requirement is based on your nationality...Since I was born in Brazil, holding a RTD, I dont need a visa to go to Europe because Brazilian people don't need a visa to visit Europe"

He even gave me a letter explaning about it. I wanna scan it and upload it on here...It might help some people.
 
Just because the Norwegian consul said that Norway lets you in based on nationality, it does not mean that all countries in Europe do (Schengen or not). Even as part of Schengen, countries have some one-off rules (like the visa-free RTD rules of some countries like Germany and the Netherlands).
 
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