Visa applications at border posts

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The term "border post" typically refers to U.S. visa issuing offices in Canada and Mexico. The advantage of applying for a visa at a border post is obvious - the applicant need not travel half way around the world in order to get a visa. The visa application eligibility requirements at visa posts in Canada and Mexico are quite different. Also, within each country, the requirements vary slightly from post to post.

The legal authority for processing nonimmigrant visa applications by Third Country Nationals (TCN) - individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor citizens of the host country - is found at Volume 9, Foreign Affairs Manual, Part 41.101, Note 2.2: 

"9 FAM 41.101 N2.2 Alien Who is Physically Present but Not Resident in a Consular District

(CT:VISA-1112; 11-17-2008)

22 CFR 41.101(a) gives you the discretion to permit an alien who is physically present in your consular district to apply for a nonimmigrant visa (NIV) outside his or her resident district. While 22 CFR 41.101(a) gives consular officers discretionary authority to reject applications by persons who are physically present in but not residents of the consular district, the Department expects that such authority will seldom, if ever, be used."

Generally, the same common sense guidelines that apply when making a nonimmigrant visa application in your home country apply equally when applying at a border post. There are, however, additional considerations that pertain with border post applications.

Automatic Visa Revalidation (AVR) is not available.

In the past, many people would make nonimmigrant visa applications at border posts knowing that if their applications were denied, they could reenter the United States using their unexpired I-94s. This benefit was eliminated shortly after the 911 attacks. Today, if someone travels to Canada or Mexico and applies for a nonimmigrant visa, their I-94 is no longer valid as a reentry document. This means that if the border post denies the visa application, the applicant may not return to the U.S. unless and until he or she returns to their home country and obtains a new visa.

Count on a minimum of four days for "normal" visa processing.

It is no longer possible to obtain a nonimmigrant visa at a border post the same day. In some cases, it may be possible to get a visa in two days, but in most instances - particularly in Mexico - four business days is the norm. When the visa post issues the visa, they will give it to DHL. In Canada, it is possible to pay DHL an extra fee and have your passport delivered to your hotel, though this generally adds one or two days to the overall processing. In Mexico, the applicant must go to the DHL office to pick up the passport.

TCN visa applicants often need a visa to enter Canada or Mexico

Third country nationals generally need visas to enter Canada or Mexico to apply for nonimmigant visas. Applicants should investigate whether they need visas and how long it will take to get a visa before scheduling an appointment with a U.S. visa post.


For specific information concerning TCN applications at border posts in Canada, click here.

For specific information concerning TCN applications at border posts in Mexico, click here.

For information about applying for a nonimmigrant visa at a non-border post, please click here.

To discuss your visa application experience, or read what others have to say on this subject, please click here to be taken to the Immigration Information Discussion Forum.