You may have seen messages on social media saying Mexico is now requiring visas for U.S. citizens visiting the country. But is that true? NBC 7’s Tania-Luviano Hurwitz explains.
You may have seen messages on social media that say Mexico is now requiring a visa for U.S. citizens visiting the country. But is it true?
According to the posts, it's a new requirement imposed by the Mexican government in response to the measures taken by the Trump administration. And now, with many people preparing to go to Mexico on spring break, NBC 7 decided to find out if visas are actually required for travel.
“There has been absolutely no change in the recent weeks or months or years about our visa policies,” said Carlos González Gutiérrez, consul general of Mexico in Los Angeles. "As a U.S citizen, you do not need a visa in order to go to Mexico."
The problem is that the false messages are being shared on socials and generating a lot of confusion among American tourists.
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Mexico is visited by 40 million tourists — most of them from the United States — every year.
"It would be counterproductive,” said González. "We would be shooting ourselves in the foot."
According to experts, it becomes more difficult to determine if something is real or not nearly every day, due to AI being used to create videos using images, faces and recognized voices that are saying things that are not true.
So, what can you do to spot fake information?
- Be more cautious and critical than ever
- As a rule, be suspicious if you receive messages that do not come from an official source
- If the information is concerning, then there is even more reason to be skeptical
Also, don't share information unless you recognize its source. Do an independent search and confirm that reputable news outlets, such as NBC and Telemundo, have published it.
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In this case, the official trusted source on visas to travel to Mexico is the National Institute of Migration. On its site, there's a list of countries that do not require visas to travel to Mexico, including the United States.
Also, the websites of the Mexican consulates in the United States have a section on services for foreigners.
Although travelers from the U.S. don't need a visa, what Mexico has always required from foreigners is the multiple migration form, or FMM, which can be obtained on the National Institute of Migration website.
As always, bring your U.S. passport as well.
