Thousands of Mexicans wait patiently for U.S. visa

“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 Departments 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. “

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