Posted by Curious on April 03, 2001 at 20:44:27:
In Reply to: Need help with getting a chica across legally! posted by roberto on April 03, 2001 at 16:42:24:
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Here is a summary of the process for getting a gal LEGALLY in to the U.S. of A. I assume she is or has been a "working" girl - a prostitute - in TJ. Note that technically, this means that unless she is willing to lie and say she has never been a prostitute, she won't make it. More on that below. There are three things that make it difficult: First, our government presupposes that anyone applying for a visitors VISA really wants to emigrate and live here forever - especially if they are coming from Mexico. As a result they require a lot of background information and documentation. This will include documentation that she has a job, a stable life, owns assets (car, house, maybe a business), has money (and can demonstrate where it came from). They are looking for serious "ties to the community", indicating that she is unlikely to just stay here in the U.S. Second, there is a long list of people who will not be allowed entrance to the U.S. of A. The relevant part for us here is anyone involved in prostitution in any way within the previous 10 years is banned from entering the U.S. of A. She will be required to sign a statement that says she has never been involved in prostitution. More dangerous, is that if she applies for a VISA in TJ, they will make a routine request of the local authorities asking of she has ever had a health card. If that comes back as a yes, she is doomed. They will (usually) also make a routine request from the police department of any records they have on her. (They MAY ask for a statement from the police certifying to her upstanding status in the community as a law abiding citizen.) Note that there ARE ways around this - does she actually have a health card? Is it in her real name? Is it in the same name she is going to use to apply for the VISA under? Could she go someplace else (like her home town) and apply for a VISA there (assuming she has never had a health card there - at present the records of health cards are only maintained by the municipal government)? And finally, it is going to be frustrating. The people in the U.S. Consulate deal with hundreds of people a day, many (most?) who are trying to pull something in order to get a VISA. As a result she will be dealing with the single biggest collection of assholes I have ever encountered. The good news is that it CAN be done. I have been all the way thru the process with one chica, and have helped a few others. It took us about 10 months overall, and about 6 months after she actually applied for her VISA we were at Disneyland. The actual process isn't all that difficult. The hard part about doing it is to take it slow and make the right choices up front - and then just follow thru. First, decide where she will apply. Second, she needs to apply for a Mexican passport (if she doesn't already have one). Third, she should contact the U.S. Consulate office where she will be applying and get an application and all necessary forms and instructions. Fourth, she needs to gather the information required according to the instructions she receives. Some of this, in Mexico, can be hard to get, or take a long time. Fifth, she needs to apply with all her "T"s crossed and her "I"s dotted. This alone will put her ahead of 90% of the applicants. She needs to know (maybe practice with you?) what her "story" is, and be able to discuss it and answer questions without hesitation. She needs to have a good understanding of what they are looking for, and what things will prevent her from getting a VISA. She needs to realize that once she applies, anything and everything she says to the people she deals with will be put in her file - and that her file will be on a computer accessible to ALL the people she deals with - now and in the future. This makes it very hard to successfully change her story once she has applied and been interviewed. (An example: if she applies now in TJ, and they discover she has a health card, any where she goes to apply they will have that on record, and she won't be issued a VISA.) The other choice to be made up front is what type of VISA she applies for. My discussion above relates to a visitors VISA - for limited travel to the U.S.A. for personal enjoyment. There are also classes of VISA's for medical, work related, school (and not just to be a student in the US), and other reasons. Her chances of getting a VISA will be greater if she has family in the U.S. that she wants to visit. If she is coming purely for fun, having reservations on a tour can be helpful. Once she gets a VISA approved, she can usually expect to have it renewed without major problems. On another (discouraging) note, realize that her VISA will be issued by the U.S. Department of State, but her actual entrance to the U.S. will be handled by the INS at the port of entry. And just because she received a VISA is no guarantee that she will be granted entry. It doesn't happen often, but she still could be denied entry. Make sure she has NO "incriminating" items on her person or in her luggage (like her health card!!). Also realize that most - if not all - of the documentation she will need can be "arranged" in Mexico. The costs, last I heard, ranged in the $2,000 to $3,500 range. That was for "real" documents issued by the real people who would issue them in any case. Do not, under any circumstance, try to buy a VISA or other immigration paperwork. (Green cards were once available for $100 on the street corners. Now days they will almost certainly result in an arrest.) And a final note - if this is a one shot deal, and she realizes the risks if she is caught, she might want to just try walking thru the San Ysidro checkpoint and answering 'United States". This depends, of course, on her look and her ability to speak English without much of an accent. The best time, so I have been told, is in the early morning hours with dozens of drunk students headed home from partying in TJ. She needs to dress, speak, and act like a student, and preferably mix in with a group of other kids. Also, if she is caught, she will be prohibited from entering the U.S. of A. for a period of up to 5 years from the date she is caught. Just don't be around when she tries this. I suggest starting further research at http://www.state.gov/.
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