Cancun Airport: Where Immigration Takes Longer Than The Flight

@Marcy I just signed-up online for VC. Form was easy and bilingual. There was no fee to pay for those who are American with Global Entry and/or Canadian with NEXUS (see flyer https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/525979/Triptico_Viajero_Confiable.pdf). I am arriving in CUN on a Saturday and leaving on Thursday so I will try to complete VC registration upon departure before my flight (because IMM office is only open Monday - Friday). I thus won't get to use my (hopefully completed) VC membership this trip, but it will be valid for my next visit.

Marcy - omg that’s terrible and yet sadly doesn’t surprise me. If your app is still valid (and their website is working) you should see if you can get an appointment in another city. When I first got mine I did it in Mexico City and it went fine but then when I renewed it in Cancun last year, even though I had an appointment for a specific time, the woman who did the VC applications was out to lunch and apparently none of the other agents could do it so I had to wait close to an hour for her to come back, but at least the machine worked.

Now trying to get a refund from the Mexican government is almost hopeless. When we did my husband’s VC application, they charged my card twice. I was actually able to get a hold of a real person, I think by using the name of the person who was on the welcome letter and guessing what her direct email was. She responded and said sure, come to our headquarters in Polanco and I’ll give you a letter you can take to the SAT (their equivalent of the IRS) and they’ll issue you a refund. Why she could mail me that letter (or scan and email it to me) is beyond me. So we went to the INM HQ in Polanco and explained we were looking for Señorita XYZ and they asked what department she was in. I said VC and they said oh you have to do that at the airport so I said noooo she specifically told me she works in this office and to come here. The information desk agent had to go in the back and ask somebody else where Señorita XYZ worked because apparently nobody thought about giving the agent at the info desk a computer with access to the directory to look people up. Agent comes back and says okay she’s in the other building around the corner on the Nth floor. We get over to the other building but you need to have an ID or a visitor pass to get through the turnstile. He calls upstairs looking for Señorita X, but she’s not there. He asks what we need help with and then decides maybe the head of IT can help us. The head of IT says sure send them up. We explain the situation again and the head of IT (really nice guy) basically says yeah you would think we would have a way to do refunds automatically, we get this problem a lot, but don’t have any way to do it so we do it the way we do it with the letter. He calls Señorita XYZ who is apparently now available and sends her assistant out to us with the letter. Okay, letter in hand, we now head over to the closest SAT office, which is all the way downtown, only to find out they’re closed for the day. And it’s Friday. And we were leaving Mexico City early Monday morning. So we held onto the letter and the next time we went to Cancun a few months later, we went to the SAT office there. After going through the same procedure at INM - explaining the whole story to several different agents, finally we got to some sort of manager and he explained ohhh so sorry, refunds can only be issued at the office in Mexico City and you have to do it within 30 days. I guess I just made a $100 donation to the Mexican treasury. Don’t get me wrong - I love Mexico - but their bureaucracy can be mind boggling!

I fly in and out of Cancun frequently and to a lesser extent Mexico City. If you come to Mexico a lot - or even once a year - it’s probably worth it to sign up for Viajero Confiable, the Mexican equivalent of Global Entry. It’s only available to Mexican citizens and US citizens who already have Global Entry, but they might have expanded it to other countries by now. You can apply and pay online and the price is comparable to GE, but the catch is you have to schedule an interview with the INM (Mexican immigration) and their offices are in the terminal but outside of security so you’re going to have to wait in the lines one more time. Also you can’t schedule your appointment more than 30 days in advance and it may take them a few weeks to process and approve your application before you can schedule it so you should start the application well in advance but don’t book your flight more than a month ahead because you won’t know if there are appointments available on the day you arrive.

One other drawback with VC is that when they first installed the kiosks They were great, but in the last 2 years or so they either don’t work at all or you’ll get through the whole process onscreen only to find it’s out of paper and then it freezes or shuts off. If that happens, just go directly to the nearest agent and explain the situation. I’ve had several agents say that if you have VC and the kiosks aren’t working you can go to the Mexican citizens line - but in any event you should make sure you have a hard copy of the confirmation/welcome letter from VC. Some agents ask for it, some don’t, some may argue with you and say you shouldn’t be in the line for Mexicans but then they’ll grumble, give you a dirty look and stamp your passport and immigration form just to get rid of you. The bottom line is that You paid for the privilege of priority access and you deserve to use that access even if the kiosks aren’t working.

On one occasion I arrived in Cancun and the immigration hall looked like your picture (albeit without the line snaking all the way upstairs and down the hall to the jet bridges). It was so packed that I couldn’t easily get over to the kiosks and I tried to make my way through the crowd - unfortunately some people were snotty and entitled and didn’t budge even when I asked politely - so I had to push my way through the crowd. Of course they thought *I* was the one being rude and yelled at me where do you think you’re going? I shot back “I know where I’m going and it’s none of your business! If you had let me through when I asked nicely I wouldn’t have had to shove you out of the way!”

Also bear in mind that they only have the kiosks in major tourist destinations like Mexico City, Cancun, Cabo and Puerta Vallarta so if you’re flying into Guadalajara or Merida or another smaller city, you can’t use VC. But then again, the lines are usually so short it doesn’t really matter.

I have used the new kiosks a couple times even though they’re roped off. They do work and will print out your immigration form (also know as the FMM) and you don’t need to have VC. I’m told that they’re supposed to be for flights where passengers weren’t given forms onboard and that eventually they’re going to have everybody use them.

Another thing you can do to help the process is fill out your FMM online and print it out at home before you leave. You’ll still have to wait in the normal lines but at least you won’t have to try to find a pen and fill out the form on the plane while it’s bumping around lol. You can find the online form here:
https://www.inm.gob.mx/fmme/publico/en/solicitud.html

INM recently reorganized the immigration hall at Cancun’s terminal 3 (where most flights from the US and Europe arrive) so instead of having one huge line for non-Mexicans, they’ve created several smaller lines that each feed into two immigration desks. It seems to be working more smoothly but you run into the same problem you do at the grocery store - if you pick the “wrong” line you could be standing waiting while other people who came in after you are zipping through other lines. Such is life.

Now with the Covid situation, ALL flights at Cancun are operating out of terminal 4 and the other terminals are unoccupied. And ironically even though it’s newer than terminal 3, they’re still using one big line. But fortunately when I arrived this Sunday, there was only one person ahead of me - our flight from Miami was the only international arrival that morning and I was in first class so I was able to hustle down to immigration and beat the rush. I was concerned about how they would handle large crowds in light of social distancing, but they have big signs and tape marks on the floor that should help remind people. And one final point - make sure you keep your face covered EVERYWHERE you go. Otherwise you could face fines, arrest or even being deported. Mexico is taking the situation much more seriously than many parts of the US. The health department has a checkpoint after you go through immigration where they’re presumably checking temperatures and asking where you came from, if you have any symptoms, etc. But I was waved right through so maybe they’re just spot checking people. I found it a little ironic that went I went to the mall, almost every store was checking everybody’s temperatures (36 Celsius is normal) while the airport was not. They all have mandatory hand sanitizer to the point I think I got a little buzzed inhaling all the fumes lol. One department store even has a full-on walk-through “sanitizing booth” which is actually quite refreshing. I joked with the security guard that I might just have to exit and enter several times lol.

Cancun is reopen for business and they really want tourists to come - but be aware that not all hotels, restaurants and shops are open yet and you’re going to have to follow face coverings, social distancing and sanitizing EVERYWHERE - supposedly they’ve even spaced out the lounge chairs on the beach. But it’s a small price to pay.

Every airport outside the US should have a single special immigration line for US citizens. It should move at not more than 30% of the slowest other line and be staffed by an officer who has been specially trained to be as surly and aggressive as possible to each person in line.

Then US citizens will know what it's like for the rest of us wanting to travel to the US.

Sort out your own mess before uttering a word about other places because US immigration is worse than any third world country I've been to where usually the staff are just inefficient but not openly hostile.

Tsk, tsk! Photos and cell phone usage are NOT permitted in the Immigration arrival hall!

You arrived at T3, which is almost exclusively for international travel, so it's not at all strange to the the liveries shown. Also know that there is a restroom in the arrivals hall along the back wall. (T3 serves US legacy carriers; T4 serves second-tier US carriers, but the immigration experience will be similar in both).

As others have noted, timing is everything. Heaven forbid you arrive after a weather delay closed the airport. It *used* to be that we could use the Mexican nationals line with our Mexican residence visas, which greatly reduced the wait, but I believe there are so many resident expats now that we have to wait in line with the hoi polloi.

Long story short - if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the Cancun airport!

Took me 2 hours 2o minutes to clear immigration at JFK last October with a German passport. Visiting the US as a foreigner you better get used to be treated like cattle.
A couple of years ago Immigration ran a campaign "One Face at the Border". After another one of those long waits standing in line with just one or two windows open for hundreds of foreign visitors (the smaller number of Americans returning home was quickly taken care of with several open windows) I sent a complaint letter and wrote that I didn't expect that the campaign slogan had to be taken literally. Never received a response of course.

My approach is simple for travelling. Survey the internet re waiting time at target airport of holiday destination. If queues check for available fast track solutions (fly business or better, VIP exit etc). If affordable choose that solution. If not LOOK FOR ANOTHER DESTINATION.
Simple as that I will never travel to any of these places privately if I can't get a smooth solution. US is off my list for that reason. Fast track costs are ouch to paraphrase Lucky.
For BKK no issue, for example just fly in on Business and you automatically get fast track.

Nothing is worst that US airports! At leat for foreigns. Couple of weeks ago I waited 4h15min to clear customs at FLL. Last year 3h iat JFK. The only Us Airports I got luck flying from south america was Atlanta and Detroit. At FLL in last week of january there was 2 officers working and several cabin empty.

Told my wife never more I wll take a red eye to USA. next time only AZUL day service arrivel in the evening in Florida or COPA and Avianca that normally land mid afternoon.

Hilarious to see American complaining about the wait at immigration while non-US citizens spending a lot more time than that is totally normal at any US airport. It’s also kinda funny to see other countries returning the favor to US citizens lol.

I’ve been in the line for a lot more than 90 mins at JFK, EWR, SFO and SJC and I use to live in Buffalo, NY. I’ve always been flying into YYZ and back to Buffalo by land, just because I hate dealing with ridiculously long queue at any US airport CBPs.

I work a lot in Lebanon and agree with you about Beirut. The place is a hot mess in the summer, particularly for departing passengers. Last summer you couldn’t even get through the terminal doors for crowds. The check in area was absolute bedlam. You get used to this kind of chaos in third world countries but I still have cold sweats about that particular journey.

On a different note I often wonder the U.K. has automated passport control for North American citizens but in my admittedly limited experience of travelling Stateside, we aren’t afforded the same and are consigned to enormous queues.

It all depends on the time of arrival and if there are other incoming flights at the same time.
In Mexico, GDL and MEX are usually fast for me, though if one is reconnecting, it is a drag to get one's luggage just to drop them again past customs on the coveyor belt (when it is working), just like in the US.
In the US per se, that also depends on the airport, I usually keep off third world airports like LAX or JFK to enter via say PDX or SMF.

On a side note, US airlines have Anschlußed ( annexed) all of Mexico by applying all flights there the same rules as flying US-domestic, no frills & charging for luggage. Not to mention that DL owns 49% of AM ( and 20% of LA ). If I were ABB, before I take over IAG ( now at 25% ), I'd be looking at buying my way into DL ( since OW AA does not want QR in bed with them ).