First off, why Mexico?
I live in Mexico City as an expat now, and flying back to my home country just for a visa interview seemed crazy expensive. Heard from other travelers that applying from Mexico could work, so I rolled the dice.
Getting my crap together
The document scramble was real. First thing I grabbed was my Mexican residency card – no way around that. Then hunted down my bank statements from the last six months. Had to run to the bank three times because they kept printing wrong dates.
Biggest headache? The proof of ties part. Dug up my apartment lease agreement, utility bills, even screenshots of my freelance contracts. Stapled them like a madman thinking “please believe I’m coming back to Mexico”.
- Passport (duh)
- Mexico residency card
- DS-160 confirmation page
- Appointment confirmation
- 6 months bank statements
- Freelance income proofs
- Travel itinerary draft
Filling that damn DS-160 form
Spent two hours on the form at 1AM, coffee stained the keyboard three times. Triple checked every answer – especially the “have you ever been deported” box. Almost messed up uploading the photo too, my selfie got rejected twice for “shadow on face”.
Appointment chaos
Booked through the US embassy system. Saw slots disappearing in real time like concert tickets. Got a Tuesday 7:15AM slot in Monterrey after refreshing for 45 minutes straight. Paid the $185 fee feeling my wallet cry.
Interview day madness
Took the bus to Monterrey the night before. Showed up at 6AM to a line wrapping around the block. Security took my phone and made me walk through a metal detector like airport jail.
My officer was this stone-faced lady. Questions came rapid fire:
- “Why apply in Mexico?”
- “Show me your bank papers”
- “What ties to Mexico?”
- “Planned US itinerary”
Got grilled about my freelance work for 5 minutes straight. Nearly choked when she asked how much I charged clients monthly. Handed her every document sweating bullets.
The ugly wait
She just said “okay” and gave me a blue slip. No yes, no no. For three days I kept checking that stupid CEAC tracker like a maniac. Status changed from “Administrative Processing” to “Issued” on day four.
When that passport came back
Found the delivery notice in my mailbox. Ripped open the envelope shaking. Saw that fresh B1/B2 visa stamp with ten-year validity. Did a happy dance right there in my pajamas.
Massive relief washing over me. The whole circus took six weeks from deciding to do it till holding the visa. Totally worth the stress now that I’ve got my golden ticket.
