Go to Mexico for TN

Hi all,

I am a Canadian citizen staying in US on an H4 at the moment. After quite a bit of struggle i have finally managed to find a job. The employer is asking me to go to Mexico to get the tn visa. My questions are:

1. Has anyone got their TN visa approved in Mexico?
2. Where did you go ? I am living in Texas, so where could I go to get the visa done
3. Is the visa processing done at the border itself or do i have to book an appt with the embassy/consulate? Any guidelines
4. In such cases, has there even been any trouble. Being a woman i am quite scared to travel by myself to mexico as I have no clue abt the place

Please advise me.
Thank you

You go to the border at el paso. Not consulate.
I would simply go to Canada. Too dangerous at Mex border for your safety.

There are TN webistes. This is not one of them.

forums.immigration.com. Look for TN forum.

Hi there,

I've personally applied for and received three TNs (for three different companies) on a return trip from Mexico. In Southern California, we simply drive to the border and park our car, walk into Mexico, cross the street and walk back. You enter a special building and tell them you would like to apply for a TN and you go from there. Total time spent in Mexico was five minutes, max, and that was literally spent walking over the pedestrian bridge to get to the other side of the road. As long as you are in the USA legally (and it sounds like you are) you shouldn't be treated any differently than if you were to apply when entering from Canada. Many Canadians apply for a TN at a Mexican crossing if it is more convenient for them.

I did the above at the Tijuana/San Ysidro (San Diego) crossing. I believe that any non-commercial-only crossing will work. I don't know where the closest POE is to you, but that should be easy enough to find out by looking at a map or asking people in your area.

No appt is necessary - I don't think they even make them. You just show up with all the necessary information (letter, diploma, transcript, etc) and go from there. In the past, I've been done in as little as 45 mins and as long as four hours - it just depends on the traffic and officers that day. The TN can ONLY be applied for at the POE when you are entering the country, not a consulate or embassy.

As for trouble, I assume you mean on the Mexican side of the border. I've never had any issues but I am a fairly big guy. If I were you, I would bring a friend with me to be safe and be sure to let people know your plan. Also, keep a low profile, don't wear jewelry and perhaps wear a hat if you are blond. Just don't do anything to stand out and you should be fine. Oh, and go in the daytime.

Two random suggestions that come to mind......first - go to the bathroom before crossing into Mexico and don't drink much. If you have a long wait to get processed, the only bathroom is back in Mexico and those aren't fun. Second, there is often a long line of Mexican folks waiting to enter the USA. I simply walk to the front of the line and tell them you need to apply for a TN and have never had to wait.

Hi Everyone,

First of all : Thank you for the responses. They were very helpful and put me at ease.

I got my TN visa and would start work next week. I wanted to mention my experience so it may help others faced with the same situation. In my case, the co. attorney had advised me to go to Mexico and since I live in Texas, it was cheaper and easier for me to drive there.

I drove from houston, to brownsville and crossed the bridge into mexico. I went on a saturday and it was quite busy. I took the car but you can also walk across the bridge. I was not expecting the long line of cars (mexicans lined up to get into US..for shopping ???) .. It took me 2 hours or chugging along before i got to the gate. Informed the US official of my purpose. He asked me to go inside the office. The immigration officer called us after a 3 hour wait. This was because there were so many mexicans aslo lined up for visa. Waited in the waiting room and finally when they called us, there were jsut basic q&a re: what job, company. The q&a was for 5 mins and then the officer issued me a 3 year TN visa.

The entire process was ok overall, if a little tiresome beacuse of the wait and the office conditions.

BTW - good advise on the toilets. There are none on the mexican side if you are waiting in a car in a lineup. The US immigration toilets also stink and pretty bad. The office seemed very poor as compared to the Canadian border.


Thanks for the help again. If any one has questions, post them here.

Hi to all Canadians...i miss Canada