On the other hand, as normal law abiding folks, we have been treated like family, like friends, almost like royalty ever since we began making our semi-annual visits to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in 1984, when we purchased a condo in Mismaloya, about six miles south of Vallarta.

Back in the 80´s, it didn’t take much more than a photo identification in order to get a Mexican FMT or tourist visa. Today, a passport or certified copy of a birth certificate is required for an FMT visitor visa. These visas are good for staying up to 90 days in Mexico; however you can ask for and often receive a 180 day FMT visa. There is no charge for these tourist visas and they are easily obtained at the departure airport or at the Mexican customs office when arriving by vehicle. Upon entering Mexico, the immigration agents stamp your copy of the visa and record your entry into their computerized data base with information regarding the length of your stay and where you’ll be staying. Upon leaving the country, you return your copy of the visa and your departure time is entered into their system. In other words, visiting Vallarta for less than six months is about as simple as it could be.

Now, to put the above Mexican treatment of American and Canadian tourists requesting visas into perspective, let’s compare it to what Mexicans must do to legally visit the US. This can be best done by telling the following story which is based on personal experience and is typical of American immigration practice throughout Mexico.

For many years, we thoroughly enjoyed our vacations in PV, so much so, that in 1997 we bought a beautiful villa and decided to make Vallarta our permanent residence. We have had a lovely couple working in the villa for the past eight years. They are a kind, intelligent, clean, honest, and church going couple with two of their three children now attending the University of Guadalajara. As a bonus for their many years of hard work and loyalty, last year we offered the woman an all expenses paid one week vacation to visit us in the Lake Tahoe area where we spend the summers.

She has never been to the States and needless to say, she was very excited and looked forward to the trip. We called the US Consulate in Guadalajara to determine the required procedure for Mexicans to visit the US.

First, a current passport is required, so within a month, she had obtained her new passport. We were also informed that she needed a copy of her bank account statement in Mexico, a copy of her marriage license, a copy of her property deed, employment records, and a letter of invitation from us would be helpful. We wrote a half page typed letter of invitation, thanking her for the years of dedication and service, and then helped her assemble all of the required documents into a single file folder.

Again we contacted the US Consulate, informed them that all of the required documentation was in order, and scheduled an appointment for her interview. On the day of her appointment, dressed in her Sunday best, she took the folder full of required documents and the cover letter of invitation to the US Consulate in Guadalajara which is a five hour drive from Vallarta. The US Consulate was packed with hundreds of Mexicans and they put her in a line with about 50 others, probably all having the same appointment time. She indicated that not a single person of the 50 Mexicans ahead of her was granted a visa. Finally, after an hour and a half, she made it to the front of the line. They interviewed her for less than two minutes, said her letter of invitation wasn’t notarized, and basically threw her out just like the previous fifty people.

Of course, during our phone conversation, they never mentioned a requirement of notarization of the letter of invitation when they listed the requirements. In fact, the letter was not even a requirement, but only a helpful addition to her list of requirements. In all probability, the Consulate handed out very few, if any, visas for travel to the US that day. From what our friend witnessed during her two hours at the US Consulate, they granted zero visas that day.

After getting her hopes so high and being so excited about the vacation, after spending her money on the passport, the money for the five hour journey to and from Guadalajara, the night spent in Guadalajara, the time to assemble all of the required documents, and the two hours in the Consulate, there was virtually no chance of getting a visa to the US for a Mexican citizen and the worst part of it was, the employees of the Consulate knew it. Why in the world would the US Consulate treat the thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Mexicans that way when they are trying to visit the US legally? It’s no wonder that millions of Mexicans are sneaking across the border undocumented.