Laredo-Juarez/Lincoln, Laredo, Texas, USA to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico | Customs and Immigration

Dont use this border. Long hot line on the bridge, really rude officers. They were very aggressive.

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Go to the border Colombia Bridge...nearly no traffic and easy access for everything...also getting a TIP or TIP refund! Highly recommended...Everything and everybody is so much more relaxed! Entered Texas here, while in Nuevo Laredo they were standing in a traffic jam for ages.

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Fast and easy border crossing into Mexico. Almost too easy. Asked very few questions, were stoked to see surfboards, and off we went. We took a wrong turn for tourist / migration and ended up in town, so check your maps!

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Came from Monterrey on a Tuesday, 12 o'clock. 6 officers inspected our motorhome (no vegetables or fruits aloud), more of interest then of necessity. Queuing, inspection, migration office and cashier (6$/person) took an 1 hour, easy. Unfortunately, they don't provide the US admission form I-94 in paper anymore. So prepare before. Because we had no working phone signal, we needed to go to a McDonalds to fill in the form online. It's possible to enter Texas without, but the first checkpoint outside of Laredo will ask for it. No TIP, no registration of motorhome needed.

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By far the worst border crossing I’ve been through. They had me empty EVERYTHING out of my van, every last piece of dust, then put a dog inside, then took it through an x ray, then after finding nothing, of course, they left me to put it all back together as if it was nothing. Treated me like a street dog. Whole process took about 4 hours, and I crossed around midnight with no line. Never again.

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Antes de entrar para hacer frontera a EEUU pagamos un peaje de 30 pesos mexicanos, muy rápida la frontera nos revisaron un poco la combi y luego pasamos a la oficina para hacer el permiso que cuesta 6usd, no nos pidieron nada por los tres perros. Muy rápido

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We didn’t go here as other travellers advised us to cross at the colombian bridge, only 25miles away -west (also in this app), this one would be really busy and the immigracion office etc is not convenient located. We made a detour to the colombia crossing and would do that again.

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Pegamos o caminho da ponte Internacional 2. Passamos por um pedágio $28,00 pesos mexicanos. Na ponte dois oficiais da polícia americana pediram para mostrar o passaporte e o visto. Depois passamos por mais um oficial, ele olhou o passaporte novamente, a kombi por fora e pediu pra gente se dirigir a imigração para fazer a entrada no país. Ficamos 1h na fila mais ou menos, nos perdiram o endereço para onde iamos e o que estávamos fazendo em USA. Ganhamos 6 meses, não revisaram a Kombi e não pediram documentação do nosso cachorro. Pagamos $6,00 dólares por pessoa.

@nossakombieumaviagem

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When enter to Mexico, keep te bank receipts for the Tourist Cards (25$ each) to avoid paying again when leaving Mexico. This is a big scam... when leaving they call that exit fee.

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This is a guest post from Sjoerd Bakker for an early 2014 border border crossing.

LEAVING  MEXICO  : CANCEL TOURIST DOCUMENTS
If you have no further plans to visit Mexico within the remaining  time   that your tourist documents may be valid then you  should  cancel them   BEFORE crossing to the USA.  The TVIP MUST  be   cancelled BEFORE ITS EXPIRY DATE.  If you are late to cancel you will lose your Security Deposit.  To cancel the TVIP  you need to have the  listed vehicle physically present  at the border . This is true even if you bought the TVIP   over the internet long before you got to the  border.  It is not possible  to cancel a TVIP ONLINE .Failure to cancel the TVIP will cause later annoying problems if you return to Mexico. Do it NOW.

To cancel the TVIP AND FMM you need to go to the MIGRACION COMPLEX on the riverbank. Arriving  in Nuevo Laredo  on Mex 85 from the south  follow the  street directional signs north through the city center to PUENTE INTERNACIONAL. Since Mex 85 turns into Avenida Guerrero which is  a ONE WAY  street south down to Passeo Colon you will need to move over either to the west or the east  and then north. Signs directing you to the" PUENTE INTERNACIONAL clearly placed. Keep in  mind to follow the direction  to "MODULO CIITEV  Car Permits " onto Blv Colosio from either end to that complex , as described in preceding text and on the map.

Now do NOT park your vehicle, but drive, west  along the front of the building in the lineup to the small white and green  BANJERCITO kiosk.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9lUHfceMYQ2Uk94eVp3eTd6a1V3R1dYbHNkdXJLd1loMFE4/edit?usp=sharing

Take your TVIP  document and sticker out of storage and when your turn comes  hold it up so that the remote  radio scanner head next to the kiosk can  read the chip embedded in the sticker. The kiosk operator will  come out with a digital camera  and take a photograph of the actual VIN PLATE of the bike  or the VIN    on the car  dashboard . Hand over the entire TVIP document and sticker ( peel it off your car windshield). The operator  then meticulously compares the VIN to the numbers on the documents. 
If all match up  the operator will  finalize  and  hand you a long narrow  printout  paper strip  containing your proof that you have exported the vehicle again . It also  notifies you that your TVIP  is now cancelled and your Security Deposit money  has been returned to  the Credit Card account from which it was drawn.  It may take four working days before the money appears back on your account  but it will show up. The TVIP PORTION  of the job is now complete- unless you paid in cash for the Security Deposit.
Next , park the vehicle and enter the Migracion building at the east  end. Take your passport and the  receipt for your FMM    and go to the  Migracion  windows  and hand them  over  and  say that you are going  back to the USA and wish to cancel . A stamp saying you left Mexico will be placed  in your passport next to the stamp  put there whenever  you entered Mexico  at beginning of this trip.
If you paid cash for the Security Deposit you must now  go to the BANJERCITO  windows  and present that long paper printout strip from the Banjercito kiosk to the clerk. Show your passport as ID if asked  and the clerk will  count out the exact US Dollar amount which you  paid in at the beginning..

You are now  totally finished with these processes and you may now leave the parking area onto Blv Colosio  either  to spend some more time in Nuevo Laredo or  to     head back into Texas  via either Bridge 1 or 2 .

RETURN TO TEXAS :  BRIDGE 1
Loop west on Blv Colosio and drive west  until you have a safe option to turn left into the city center grid of streets , then head  east  and  continue east whatever  distance it takes  to reach Avenida Guerrero which is THE Main Street directly south from Bridge 1... but it is one-way . So go another  3 blocks and turn north onto Lerdo  de Tejada and travel north until you can go no farther  because you will the be  on the entrance lane to Bridge. 1

Morning lineup waiting to enter BRIDGE 1:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9lUHfceMYQ2NC10YWxGT181RHkzSjh6SHJWWFByUjk5OFFV/edit?usp=sharing

RETURN TO TEXAS. : BRIDGE  2
From the riverfront Customs complex turn east onto Colosio , make a U - turn at the lights at the end of the median barrier and  stick to that lane to  Bridge 2 . You may already hit a long line of waiting cars. If you are on a bike you can work your way to the head of the line.

TRAFFIC DENSITY VARIATIONS
These two bridges get used by lots of traffic and can  at  times be clogged with long lines of cars stretching  for many blocks , 2 wide , as they wait to get into the USA.( because of the stringent, slow US  border procedures)  Lineups going into Mexico tend to be much shorter  if they do happen.
Daily predictable rush hours  are in the   early morning and  later afternoon as  people move  to and fro for  jobs and shopping for supplies. Mid -morning and early afternoon     and evenings tend to be quite easy  on  workdays. Traffic can really pick up for long weekends  and the major Mexican holidays when  millions of Mexican expats may rush the full length of the border  to return home for lengthy visits. This then sets the stage for another  massive rush at the close of the holidays.

Take these predictable known traffic  patterns  into consideration when  making your travel plans. Aim to cross the Nuevo Laredo bridges  on a work day  and avoid the known heavy traffic days if possible. Choose to cross at a slack traffic hour and day and you will    be surprised     by how  fast  it can go and how few people you see at the  complex. The pictures of the inside of the Migracion building  shown here were taken on a normal  Friday evening  with no waiting lines. You too can experience  such light traffic by doing as I do at this and other   Mexican boxer crossings with the USA: cross into Nvo Laredo after the late afternoon rush hour and first get a hotel for the night. Then  you can have a relaxed supper before returning to the nearly  abandoned  Migracion services  with no need to feel rushed .

AMISTAD DAY
A special note  on a  festival  peculiar  to Laredo on Washington Day in February. At the border they also celebrate  this as Amistad / Friendship Day  and in the morning they CLOSE BRIDGE 2! They set up bleachers and a podium on either side of the boundary line smack in the middle of the bridge  and have some speeches by mayors and  high school bands  from both countries give a show lasting until  after 9  am.  As a result all traffic then totally  jams up the Bridge 1 . You have been warned.

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This is a guest post from Sjoerd Bakker for an early 2014 border border crossing (and a continuation from the post above)

MIGRACION COMPLEX
Park your vehicle in any space near the east end of the long Migracion building , or as directed  , and lock  it up. Take your  passport and all vehicle documents   plus copies  and  at the east end   go up the short steps  and through the doors under  the ENTRADA  sign into the large building. In  in this  first section you will find a sales counter for TEPEYAC SEGUROS where you could buy Mexico auto liability insurance if you still need  that, and there is a photocopy service.

Proceed to your right into the next section of the building  where you will come to the  various windows groups   for  " Migración "   to get the FMM ( tourist Card)  and "  Aduana "  for the TVIP , then back to Migracion  to pay for both using your Credit Card  . You will also then  be asked to pay  by CC for the  REFUNDABLE Security Deposit or Bond for the TVIP.That  bond is an amount varying  with the age of your vehicle : the year  2000 and before -  -200 US DOLLARS ; 2001 - 2006  -- 300 USD ; 2007 and newer-- 400 USD. It is the same amount for a car or a motorcycle. If you do not have a CC  or it gets blocked out you may pay in cash pesos for the FMM  and TVIP  , but US DOLLARS    are  required in payment  for the Security Deposit.

CHECK YOUR NEW DOCUMENTS
When you get the  TVIP document with the sticker read all lines and  ensure that  the names and VIN  are all correct .Make certain it is valid for 180 days. Make sure that your FMM is also  for 180 days. Speak up if there is an error and have it corrected now. Keep the white page  they stapled to your FMM  together with your passport, it is your proof of payment. If you lose it you will need to pay again before they let you cancel  the FMM  upon getting an Exit stamp in your passport.

Note the great crowds waiting to get processed here on a Friday evening.

You are done  here, now take your new TVIP    documents  and go back to your vehicle leaving the building at the west end Salida doors. If you are driving a motorcycle it is a generally accepted practice to fold the entire  TVIP document and store  it in a  secure  place on the bike or with your passport , but be ready to show them  when asked  at the customs checkpoints or police  stops related to security checks. If you are in a car you should peel the sticker off its document and place it in the top centre of your windshield. Now you are really done and you may leave  the parking area by way of the gate at the west end  and you may turn left or right  and start your adventure in Mexico.

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This is a guest post from Sjoerd Bakker for an early 2014 border border crossing.

The  twin cities of Laredo, Texas and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas  have  two  city-center points where one may cross the Rio Grande border.   The actual entering  into Mexico  is a very easy process  of  paying the toll  and driving across     the bridge and  passing through the  inspection  gate where the Mexican customs  officer on duty may  simply wave you through with hardly a glance.  You may at times  need to press a button to raise a barrier arm  which then  also selects a random  green light or a red light with or without an alarm bell accompaniment  and that could entail a short secondary  Mexican inspection . After that point you are free to  wander into the city and the full extent of the Zona Froteriza,  the Border Zone, for up to 72 hours without any further documentation.
For  tourists who intend to travel farther  into Mexico than the  border -zone limits and their   Customs checkpoints more documentation is required , namely a Tourist Card ( called the FMM ) and a Temporary Vehicle Import Permit  ( TVIP)  and it's attendant   SECURITY   DEPOSIT.

Tourists  who are winding down their visit in Mexico will need to  cancel these same documents BEFORE they expire  in order to qualify for  the certain refund  of that Security Deposit. All these processes for both entry and exit are handled in the large and long  Migracion & Aduana complex located  on the south banks of the Rio Grande  below and between the two  border crossing bridges.
To  get to that Migracion building involves a  bit of navigating but it is fairly straightforward if you stay calm and follow these directions  which differ slightly depending on which bridge you  use  to enter Mexico  and when you are leaving Mexico .It is acceptable to use either bridge  to enter or to exit , but you MUST do the proper processing.

The accompanying city map detail  shows the  layout of the bridges and the  important few names of  the north -end city streets  needed to navigate to that  Migracion complex. The ORANGE  arrows mark the route.

Here, follow  the individual directions. The country you are leaving in either direction does not do a customs check , only a  bridge -toll collection.

BRIDGE  1: Into Mexico
Pass through the minor customs control ( if any) for Mexico and exit  the terminal  by  turning RIGHT IMMEDIATELY . Travel west   several block lengths  and turn RIGHT at the  blue sign with the arrow directing you to "MODULO  CIITEV  Car Permits"
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9lUHfceMYQ2Z0ZWNjUzaEJpTndOTFExWk5VYmtlQkhPM004/edit?usp=sharing

This puts you on Blv Luis Donaldo Colosio. Continue east  passing below Bridge 1,  and about half way to Bridge 2  enter the gate  opening to your right into the  large parking area of the Migracion complex.

BRIDGE   2: Into Mexico - First Method:
This is a bit  longer but still straightforward , follow directions. Pass through the minor Customs check and exit the  terminal by turning Right and  then left to proceed  around the corner and south four blocks on Avenida Carranza . All streets are alternating one- way traffic.  At the third intersection you should be at Calle  Hidalgo  , a one-way street EAST . Turn east onto Hidalgo and  follow it until you come to the traffic lights and the intersection  with  the last street  which cuts across diagonally . This is BLV LUIS DONALDO COLOSIO   . Pay attention !
To the left ( north)  Colosio is divided into  two  individual   streets  of two- way traffic  which are separated by a concrete barrier. There will be a sign directing a left turn to " CIITEV Car Permits"
You must turn LEFT on Colosio  and  ONTO THE FARTHER EAST pair of lanes which will then  take you northwest  and  beneath BRIDGE  2  and to the entry gate of the MIGRACION  complex.
Do NOT turn left onto the  west side of the median  barrier, it takes  you straight to the Bridge 2 entrance and back to  Texas.

BRIDGE   2: Into Mexico - Second Method:
 Exit the  Bridge 2 terminal  as before but turn EAST    at the first intersection onto Calle Bravo  and go east to  Blv Colosio.  You will encounter only the west side set of lanes going both directions. Turning Left would put you on course    also directly to the entry for Bridge 2 to Texas.  Turn SOUTH( right)  and drive until you see the  blue sign directing to" MODULO CIITEV" and select the middle LEFT TURN LANE as you come to the traffic lights for Calle Hidalgo at the end of the concrete median barrier.  When the lights change to give you the okay then make the U - turn onto the east side lanes and proceed to the gate for the Migracion complex.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9lUHfceMYQ2dW9acUlYSTV5OTVHZlV3azRxdXVxX3c0Zm8w/edit?usp=sharing

This is the front entry  of the Customs   and MIGRACION  building.

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Everything you need to know to be successful in Laredo: 
http://centraloverland.com/2011/12/running-the-gauntlet/

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