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A Third Country Visa (TCV) is a process whereby an alien, who is already in the US, can apply for a non-immigrant visa with a US Consulate located in Mexico or Canada. Beginning on April 1, 2002, in light of the September 11th events, the US Department of State adopted a new Interim Rule that prohibits a TCV applicant from reentering the U.S. within 30 days with a valid I-94 if he/she fails to obtain the visa.
An alien may still apply for a non-immigrant visa with a US consulate located in Mexico or Canada. But, if he/she cannot obtain the visa, he/she may not re-enter the US even he/she has a valid I-94 form at the time of entry and stays in Mexico or Canada no more than 30 days. Of course, if the visa application is approved, he/she may use the visa to reenter the US. (Normally, at least two entries are granted under a Third Country Visa.) In this circumstance, the Third Country Visa applicant may face the same risk when he/she applies for the visa in his/her home country. If an alien's brief travel in Mexico or Canada is for other purposes than applying for a visa with the US consulate, he/she can reenter the U.S. within 30 days holding a valid I-94 form.
Third Country Visa processing is important and beneficial to all non-immigrants, including F, M, H, and J holders. Although Third Country Visa applicants may face the same risks when they apply for visas in their home countries, obtaining visas from the US consulates in Mexico and Canada is more convenient and easier than doing so with US consulates in the applicants' home countries. For those who cannot change their status in the U.S., such as those subject to the J-1 two-year foreign residency requirement, a successful Third Country Visa processing brings them immediate convenience and benefits as they reenter the U.S. holding new visas. When they enter the United States with their newly obtained visas, new I-94s will be issued to them, which give them new statuses. Moreover, to apply for a visa with US consulates in Mexico is comparatively more convenient than doing so in Canada. Those seeking a visa in a consulate in Canada have to obtain Canadian visas before they start their journeys. The Mexican government only requests an entry permit, which is easy to get, instead of a visa to enter Mexico.
Because of the Interim Rule, we hereby strongly recommend that you evaluate your situation carefully before you go for the Third Country Visa processing. Moreover, the importance of an experienced attorney's role in the Third Country Visa processing can never be overemphasized at this stage.
We offer professional services for Third Country Visa applications that greatly help qualified aliens. The success and popularity of our Third Country Visa services are evidenced by the fact that our web page on Third Country Visa is ranked among the top three in Yahoo and Google searches. As a matter of fact, it is second only to the official website of the U.S. State Department. Please click here to see the result of the Yahoo search. For more information on our Third Country Visa services, please click here.
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