Renewing visa in Mexico or Canada instead of home country?

[Anonymous]

Has any of your non-Mexican Au pair renewed her visa by going to the US embassy in Canada or Mexico? And if so how did it go? We live close to Mexico and it seems easier and cheaper than going back to Europe to renew, I was under the impression that Au pairs can apply for renewal in any US embassy though the one of their own country is often advised. So has anyone gone to Mexico or Canada instead and been successful?

[Anonymous]

Given our government’s current relationship with Mexico I wouldn’t risk it. Canada might be slightly safer but I’ve honestly never heard of such a thing and don’t think I would risk having issues reentering the country.

[Anonymous]

Sounds reasonable though none our APs have done it like that. One our APs did renew her visa from her home country. It took almost 2 weeks (interview, mail off passport, receive it back), which was a nail biter. So if your AP does do it from Canada or Mexico they'd need the appointment for sure. Not sure if they could then return to the US and mail the passport from here? I'd be interested to hear how that works out.

Something else to consider is if your AP needs a visa to visit Canada or Mexico. Ours (from Colombia) can visit Mexico with her J-1 visa, but needs a separate visa for Canada.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has any of your non-Mexican Au pair renewed her visa by going to the US embassy in Canada or Mexico? And if so how did it go? We live close to Mexico and it seems easier and cheaper than going back to Europe to renew, I was under the impression that Au pairs can apply for renewal in any US embassy though the one of their own country is often advised. So has anyone gone to Mexico or Canada instead and been successful?

This is applying as a third country national. It's not something that I would recommend. You would need to have someplace to stay in Canada/Mexico for the interview, processing, and for the passport to be courier back, and third country national applications are more likely to end up in administrative processing. Where is she planning to travel? She might be eligible for automatic revalidation if it's just a short trip to Canada/Mexico/certain Caribbean islands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You would need to have someplace to stay in Canada/Mexico for the interview, processing, and for the passport to be courier back, and third country national applications are more likely to end up in administrative processing.

AND they'd need a plan for what to do if they got denied... in a foreign country, with 99% of their luggage still in the US, no HF or family support. They'd need the funds to buy a one-way ticket to their home country at least.