¡La FeliZIHdad Es Grande!

I'm hearing about regular long-term visitors from abroad having problems getting 6-month visas like they used to be able to get every year. If this has happened to you or someone you know, please post the details here. We need to get this fixed!

I have seen several reports of this on a couple FB groups I follow. The "up to 180 days" tourist visa is no longer a given and seems to be an arbitrary decision by the Mexican immigration agent at the airport. The rationale for skimping on the number of days approved on a tourist visa is not clear.

Some theorize that with the upgraded immigration computer systems, regular long-term tourists are flagged because they are more likely to try and extend their stays through the practice of "border runs". Another theory is that the Mexican government considers a tourist who stays 6 months every year as a temporary resident who should have to go through the formal residency process and pony up the fees and documentation if they want to spend half their lives in México. Or it could simply be misused authority on the part of the agent who stamps your passport. Who knows?

All tourists should have a return flight already booked in order to show the immigration agent if the alloted number of days are fewer than, for example, a rental agreement.