Thousands of Mexicans wait patiently for U.S. visa

Chris Hawley
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 13, 2007 12:10 AM

MEXICO CITY -The huddled masses gather well before dawn, hands jammed into pockets and jackets pulled tight against the morning chill outside the U.S. Embassy.

They wear dresses and suits and well-polished shoes. They carry folders bulging with life histories. They check and recheck their visa applications, preparing for their interviews with consular officers.

If the 21st century has an Ellis Island, it is here, on a patch of street between the marble walls of the embassy and a restaurant named, appropriately enough, the Manhattan Deli. Every day, 1,800 to 2,400 people quietly assemble here to ask for legal entry into the United States, making Mexico City the State Department's busiest visa office in the world, according to the embassy. And the crush could get even worse under immigration-reform proposals floated recently in Washington.

"The American Dream - this is it," Juan Cano of Mexico City said as he waited in the street for his daughter, who was seeking a work visa.

The dream, however, comes at the end of a grueling application process that probably drives some Mexicans to cross the border illegally out of frustration, many applicants say.