Mexico has long been the other option for people in the US who need a new visa and do not want to fly home. Border posts like Tijuana are a short trip from California, and Mexico City is a direct flight from most US hubs.
The September 2025 State Department instruction that applicants should apply in their country of nationality or residence changed how this works in practice. Mexico is still possible in 2026, but the picture is more mixed than in Canada.
Key Point: In Mexico, the third country national (TCN) pool has very few early dates. Many applicants get a Mexican temporary residence card to book as a local instead. Some are approved in minutes. Others have been stuck in administrative processing for six months.
Two Things That Work Differently in Mexico
The same pool question applies. The appointment site asks whether you are traveling from another country to apply for a US visa in Mexico. Yes puts you in the TCN pool. No puts you in the local pool.
You need two appointments. In Mexico, fingerprints and photo are taken at a separate service center before the consular interview, on a different day. Plan for at least two days on the ground, or two trips.
How Far Out TCN Dates Are
One H-1B applicant who looked at Mexico in late 2025 found that with TCN Yes, the earliest appointment was in November 2026, a year away.
Near-term dates do appear, but rarely. From September 2 to October 13, 2026, we tracked the student (F) TCN pool at ten Mexican posts, looking at interview dates within the following 60 days.
| Post | Different interview dates seen | Notice when first seen |
|---|---|---|
| Tijuana | 7 | 5 to 11 days |
| Mexico City | 5 | 7 to 21 days |
| Monterrey | 1 | 8 days |
| The other seven posts | 0 | None seen |
That is 13 dates in six weeks across the whole country, every one of them with three weeks of notice or less. We do not yet track the H-1B TCN pool in Mexico, so we have no equivalent numbers for work visas.
The Mexican Temporary Residence (TR) Route
Because TCN dates are so far out, many H-1B holders have started applying for Mexican temporary residence, then answering No to the travel question and booking from the local pool.
How applicants describe the process:
- Apply for a TR visa at a Mexican consulate in the US or Canada. One applicant got it the same day in Washington, DC.
- Qualify on income or savings. Applicants quote roughly US$4,500 a month in income over six months, or roughly US$73,000 in savings held for twelve months. The amounts move with the exchange rate and each consulate sets its own figure.
- Travel to Mexico and exchange the visa for a TR card at an immigration office. Applicants report getting the card within one or two days.
- The first card is valid for one year. There is no requirement to live in Mexico.
That last point is exactly where the trouble starts.
What Happened to Applicants Who Used It
| Interview | Post | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| January 8, 2026 | Mexico City | H-1B renewal. Asked for a graduate transcript and placed in administrative processing. Told to bring the passport in five days later |
| Spring 2026 | Mexico City | H-1B renewal. Questioned hard about why the applicant held a TR without living in Mexico. Still in administrative processing after six months |
| May 2026 | Mexico City | H-1B renewal by an applicant who described themselves as a permanent resident. No questions about residence. About three weeks |
| July 6, 2026 | Tijuana | First-time H-1B with a TR card issued three weeks earlier. Asked about a Mexican address and the US work location. Approved after 35 minutes, passport the next day |
The applicant stuck for six months wrote that every reason given for holding the TR was challenged, and that the officer raised the possibility of fraud. That applicant later obtained an H-4 visa in Hong Kong, where the officer asked what had happened in Mexico and questioned how easily the TR had been obtained.
Other applicants in the same thread report similar delays, including an L visa applicant waiting six months. One unverified comment says eight L-1 applicants were approved in Mexico City without any Mexican residence at all.
Our View
We do not recommend getting a residence card for a country you do not live in so that you can answer No.
The travel question asks where you live. A TR card you obtained three weeks ago while working full time in California does not change the answer. Officers in Mexico City have clearly noticed the pattern, and the consequence of being doubted is not a refusal you can fix next month. It is months outside the US with your job at risk, and a record that follows you to the next consulate.
Answer Yes and book from the TCN pool. If the dates are too far out, compare Mexico with Canada, where the TCN pool is thin but active. Our article on H-1B stamping in Canada as a TCN has the numbers.
Practical Notes
- Getting to Tijuana. One applicant flew to San Diego and walked across the border.
- Fingerprints first. The service center appointment has to be completed before the interview, on a separate day.
- Social media. H-1B, H-4 and student applicants are all subject to online presence review. Set profiles to public.
- Supporting documents. Officers asked for offer letters, the I-129 and I-797, and in one case a graduate transcript from ten years earlier. Bring more than you think you need.
- Automatic revalidation. Returning to the US on an expired visa after a short trip to Mexico is not available once you have applied for a new visa on that trip.
Watching for Dates
LuckyBee currently runs free TCN alert channels for Canada: US Visa Slot Alert H1B (CA) and US Visa Slot Alert F1 (CA), both listed on our Slot Alerts page. For Mexico, our expedite service can monitor the pool for your account and book inside the date range you set, without changing your password.
FAQ
Q: Can I get an H-1B visa stamped in Mexico in 2026? A: It is still happening, but results vary by post and by how you book. Applicants were approved in Tijuana and Mexico City in 2026, and others at Mexico City were held in administrative processing for months.
Q: Do I need a Mexican residence card to apply in Mexico? A: No. You can book as a third country national by answering Yes to the travel question. The catch is that TCN dates are far out. One applicant found the earliest was a year away.
Q: Is the Mexican TR card route safe? A: It is risky if you do not actually live in Mexico. Several applicants report being questioned at Mexico City about whether their residence was genuine, with delays of three to six months.
Q: Is Tijuana better than Mexico City? A: The one Tijuana account we reviewed was an approval in 35 minutes, and the long delays were all at Mexico City. That is too few cases to call a rule.
Q: Can I do fingerprints and the interview on the same day? A: No. In Mexico they are separate appointments on different days.
Q: Are there F-1 TCN appointments in Mexico? A: A few. In six weeks we saw 7 dates in Tijuana, 5 in Mexico City and 1 in Monterrey, all with three weeks of notice or less.