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advice and suggestions appreciated on closest reasonable consulate in US from Lakeside


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We had planned on driving to Tucson later this month to deal with our temporary resident visas with reservations already paid for at various pet friendly AirBnB's and a weeks stay in San Carlos and a few days in Mazatlan. Now with the Corona virus issues we feel we need to just drive up and immediately return lakeside as quickly as possible. I have read that Laredo area is sketchy and wondered if anyone would make a suggestion where would be best to try to do this quickly? We have only crossed at Nogales and Mexicali and would prefer to not be gone so long to do that drive. Our tourist visas expire on March 21 as well as our TIP so we have to at a minimum cross the border to try for new tourist visas or best case scenario to get to a consulate in the US, apply for the temporary resident visas and get back home lakeside.

Would appreciate any suggestions based on recent experience:-) 

Thanks so much!

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This is just an fyi which may help. New Mexico currently has no cases of coronavirus nor is it exceptionally high in ordinary flu virus' cases perhaps because it is so dry there. Scroll down this site to see the map. Arizona***** only has 1 to 5.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html

The Mexican Consulate is in Albuquerque, New Mexico and, perhaps by contacting them and organizing things in advance with regards to paperwork, you could do a quick fly in and out with your temporal visas in hand.

https://www.consulate-info.com/consulate/14339/Mexico-in-Albuquerque

The car is a wrinkle but you could also contact Spencer McMullen to ask the best way to deal with it and/or the consulate. He is a lawyer who writes on this forum as Intercasa.

At the very least, you could fly in and back out with new 180 day FMM in your pocket and perhaps just lose the deposit on your car.

https://www.expedia.com/lp/flights/gdl/abq/guadalajara-to-albuquerque

Some options are easy, some are hard but only you can decide. Suerte!

............in the process of editing because I screwed up on the state... ok, fixed...

And here's the location of all other Mexican consulates in the U.S. (and the embassy)

https://embassy-finder.com/mexico_in_usa

 

 

 

 

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Thanks Ferret. I am aware of where the various consulates are. Just want to get to one and be done ASAP in case the US closes its border or makes us wait 14 days in quarantine before we are allowed to move past the border. The drive to Nogales is 18 hours and the drive to Albuquerque is over 20 so one of the Texas border consulates is much more appealing at this point:/ 

A bit concerned about going to Laredo as I have heard various reports of shakedowns in the last weeks:/ Thinking about Brownsville TX but it sounds kind of sketchy too so was hoping to hear some first hand experience about travel to that consulate. 

I do appreciate you taking the time to respond however:-) 

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Brownsville is definitely the fastest drive at 10 hours 38 minutes. I checked the local news and nothing is hitting me in the face though. I wish you the very best of luck and am grateful for the old system under which we applied for residency. In country application without having to leave.

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Don't know about the Laredo consulate. Laredo for me is easy. Best day to travel is normally Monday for some reason seems to be least truck traffic. As far as the town there are lots of hotels, lots of restaurants, a a few malls. Last trip left Chapala at 5:30 am and was at the border at 3:20PM. I do save time by using the PASE toll pass so no waiting in line at most toll booths. 

As to shakedowns???  Never seen or had a problem. Just stay with the flow of traffic. 

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18 hours ago, Ferret said:

At the very least, you could fly in and back out with new 180 day FMM in your pocket

If one of the OP's concerns is coronvirus, being cooped up on a plane with all the other passengers is one of the least recommended ways to travel right now. They'd be much safer in that regard driving in their own car, but I also understand the issue of being afraid of getting stuck in a 14 day quarantine situation, which could happen at a moment's notice these days.

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2 hours ago, mudgirl said:

If one of the OP's concerns is coronvirus, being cooped up on a plane with all the other passengers is one of the least recommended ways to travel right now. They'd be much safer in that regard driving in their own car, but I also understand the issue of being afraid of getting stuck in a 14 day quarantine situation, which could happen at a moment's notice these days.

They only would need to be in quarantine if they become sick and  test positive for the virus. No cases anywhere near Laredo. They have a far greater chance of catching the normal flu in the US or Mexico. 

Mexico has a total of 7 confirmed cases of which 4 have recovered fully. Mexico will not close the border as proven already by AMLO. 

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1 hour ago, Mostlylost said:

They only would need to be in quarantine if they become sick and  test positive for the virus.

What I'm saying is that any of this could change from one day to the next. If new cases keep developing and more people die from it, borders could be closed with little notice and everyone wanting to enter could be quarantined for 14 days. And no, people are being quarantined or told to self-quarantine if they have come into contact with suspected or proven carriers, not just if they are sick or test positve. Waiting until someone gets sick is pointless- by that time they could have had contact with hundreds of other people.

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10 hours ago, mudgirl said:

What I'm saying is that any of this could change from one day to the next. If new cases keep developing and more people die from it, borders could be closed with little notice and everyone wanting to enter could be quarantined for 14 days. And no, people are being quarantined or told to self-quarantine if they have come into contact with suspected or proven carriers, not just if they are sick or test positve. Waiting until someone gets sick is pointless- by that time they could have had contact with hundreds of other people.

I'll take bets 50 to 1 the border into Mexico will not be closed for Corona virus.

So they drive to Laredo..spend the night..go to the consulate and complete paparwork...spend the night then drive home.  Quarantine odds ..by whom?

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20 hours ago, mudgirl said:

If one of the OP's concerns is coronvirus, being cooped up on a plane with all the other passengers is one of the least recommended ways to travel right now. They'd be much safer in that regard driving in their own car, but I also understand the issue of being afraid of getting stuck in a 14 day quarantine situation, which could happen at a moment's notice these days.

This is what Canadian airlines are doing to protect their passengers...

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-air-canada-westjet-porter-airlines-air-transat-190156574.html

I have no idea what American airlines are doing.

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1 hour ago, Ferret said:

This is what Canadian airlines are doing to protect their passengers...

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/coronavirus-air-canada-westjet-porter-airlines-air-transat-190156574.html

I have no idea what American airlines are doing.

Conveniently omitted from the article is this Wetjet advisory to passengers.  Struck me as ironic that they are touting their cleaning standards, knowing it is of little use if after the cleaning, an infected passenger boards and sits down near you.  

Quote

Per WestJet’s website: “The safety of our guests and crews is our top priority. WestJet was advised on March 5 by the Public Health Agency of Canada that two guests who flew from Phoenix to Toronto on February 28 on WestJet flight 1199 have tested positive for COVID-19. WestJet has standard procedures in place for dealing with illness and is working with PHAC, Peel Public Health and the Toronto Pearson Airport.  Peel Public Health’s investigation has determined that the two cases may have been able to pass the coronavirus to others during their return. Guests who were seated in rows 18-22 of WestJet flight 1199, returning to Toronto Pearson Airport from the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix on February 28, are directed to self-isolate and call Peel Public Health immediately at 905-799-7700 (or at 905-584-2216 if in Caledon). Guests on flight 1199 are also being advised to self-monitor for signs of cough, fever or respiratory issues and call Peel Public Health if symptoms arise within the next 14 days.”

 

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We are driving to Tucson actually now. Have to take care of TIP as well and definitely wouldn’t fly even if we didn’t. 
 

Thanks for all the info!

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7 minutes ago, mudgirl said:

But the border from Mexico into the US could be.

Mexico only has 8 cases.  About 1 case in 3 million residents. USA has 1135 or 1 case in about 300,000 residents. Mexico would be more at risk than the USA.....

Same bet 50 to 1 ... Border between USA  and Mexico will be not be closed in either direction for corona virus.

Actually can you name a border in the world that has been closed for corona virus?  

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Holy Crap! 12 minutes ago..

Trump will suspend all US travel to and from Europe for next 30 days

 

President Trump announced tonight that all travel from Europe to the United States will be suspended for the next 30 days, except for the UK.

Trump made the decision in order to "keep new cases from entering our shores." He said the new rule will go into effect beginning Friday at midnight.

"We will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days. The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight. These restrictions will are be adjusted subject to conditions on the ground," the President said from the Oval Office.

Trump said there will be certain exemptions made for certain Americans "who have undergone appropriate screenings."

"These prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing. These restrictions will also not apply to the United Kingdom," Trump added.

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5 hours ago, Mostlylost said:

Same bet 50 to 1 ... Border between USA  and Mexico will be not be closed in either direction for corona virus.

I couldn't care less if you end up being right or not (although it would be fun to watch you eat that sombrero you had in your last profile pic). I said it was a possibility. And probably a more probable one now that travel from Europe has been banned. 

Bisbee Gal, thanks for posting the links. What we don't need now is people posting their ignorance and misinformation.

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59 minutes ago, mudgirl said:

I couldn't care less if you end up being right or not (although it would be fun to watch you eat that sombrero you had in your last profile pic). I said it was a possibility. And probably a more probable one now that travel from Europe has been banned. 

Bisbee Gal, thanks for posting the links. What we don't need now is people posting their ignorance and misinformation.

The sombrero has been eaten, thus the new profile.

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