United States citizens and Legal Permanent Residents (LPR) of the U.S. who wish to begin the process of immigrating a family member(s) to join them in the U.S. should file an I-130 petition with the nearest office of the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the United States. American citizens residing in Mexico may file petitions at the USCIS office in Mexico that has jurisdiction over their place of residence. USCIS offices are located at the Embassy in Mexico City and at the Consulates General in Ciudad Juarez and Monterrey. LPRs must always file petitions in the United States.
Once the petition has been approved by USCIS, the petition is sent to the National Visa Center (NVC). NVC processes all approved immigrant visa petitions after they are received from USCIS, and retains them until the cases are ready for adjudication by a consular officer. Petitions may remain at NVC for several months or years depending on the visa category. When an applicant’s case is about to become current (i.e., the appointment is likely to be available within the year), NVC will coordinate with the applicant regarding the submission of all civil documents, police clearances, affidavits of support, and other key documents. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to keep NVC updated as to the most current contact information for both the applicant and the petitioner. They can be reached at NVCinquiry@state.gov.
Both the applicant and the petitioner must respond to the NVC mailings before the case is forwarded to the Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, where all immigrant visas for Mexico are processed. If the priority date (the date the petition was filed) is not current, the NVC will keep the approved petition on file until the priority date is reached. Once the case is forwarded to the Consulate, the applicant will receive notification of his or her appointment date and time.
The Consulate will mail the applicant an appointment letter with instructions. Review Packet 4 (PDF 304KB) for more information andv/child-citizenship-act-of-2000.html to accessthe forms necessary for the visa interview.
Additional Information
During the entire visa application and interview process you must tell the truth and give complete and accurate information. If you do not, your visa will be delayed or you may be found ineligible for a visa.