Ask the U.S. Consul

By Greg Segas -U.S. Consul, February 2010

I arrived in Merida in August 2009 with my wife Lorena, and am grateful for the opportunity to represent the United States Government here in Mérida. We have been delighted by your hospitality and the warm welcome we have received, and are happy to have met so many of you. The consulate appreciates the generous offer of "Yucatan Today" to host this "Ask the Consul" series of articles as a way to share important news and discuss issues of general interest.

At the consulate, our first priority continues to be providing services to American Citizens in Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Campeche. In addition to the Consulate in Merida, we have three consular agencies, in Cancun, Cozumel, and Playa del Carmen. All of our offices provide passport and notarial services, as well as assisting Americans in crisis, from arrests to hospitalizations and deaths. It is always best to contact the office you will visit in advance when possible, since making an appointment will allow us to serve you more quickly. In case of emergency, we do have staff from each office on duty 24 hours a day every day of the year. One major difference between the Consulate and the agencies is that US Consular Agencies do not offer any visa services and do not answer visa inquiries. For information about visas please check: http://merida.usconsulate.gov/visas.html or call the visa information line at: (01)(900) 849-4949. Note that the visa information line is a user-pays system.

For American citizens seeking information about U.S. Government issues ranging from passports and visas to voting, taxes and Social Security, our website, http://merida.usconsulate.gov/, is a good first stop. We are continually updating the website to improve it and make sure it is current, and we welcome your feedback.

The wait time for a visa interview continues to be under a week, and applicants receive their passports with approved visas via courier service within two weeks, and often less. The visa application form is now entirely on the internet, and it’s no longer necessary for applicants to remember which of three forms they need for their interview—the new CEAC form is the only one anyone needs.

Below is contact information for all of our offices. Please drop us an e-mail at meridacons@state.gov with suggestions for how we can serve you better, as well as future topics we can cover here. We look forward to hearing from you.

Merida:

Calle 60 No. 338-K x 29 y 31

Col. Alcala Martin Merida, Yucatan, Mexico 97050

Phone:(999) 942-5700 Fax: (999) 942-5759

E-mail: Meridacons@state.gov

Cancun:

Plaza Caracol II, 3er Piso No. 320-323

Km 8.5 Blvd. Kuculkan,

Zona Hotelera

Cancun, Quintana Roo 77500

Phone: (998) 883-0272

E-mail: cancunagency@gmail.com

Cozumel:

Villa Mar Mall in the Main Plaza, Locale # 8

Parque Juarez - Av. Juarez y 5th Av. Nte.

Cozumel, Quintana Roo 77600

Phone: (987) 872-4574

E-mail: usgov@cozumel.net or usca@cozumel.net

Playa del Carmen:

La Palapa, Calle 1 Sur / 15 Av y 20 Av Centro, Playa del Carmen, QRoo 77710,

Phone: (984) 873-0303

E-mail: playausca@gmail.com