My boyfriend and I traveled to Cabo San Lucas as we do every year. After several scans of our passports at us airport we board the plane. He’s is a RSO from 20 years ago which was a *** deal to begin with!! We land in Baja head to Mexican customs we are pulled out of line taken into this little room where they proceed to tell him he is not allowed in the country… They fill out all forms escort us with 5 armed guards back to the same airplane we just arrived on and sent us back to USA.. What the hell is going on? When we arrive to us customs they say have a nice day and they have heard of this happening more and more?? What a way to ruin a 10 day vacation!!!
Got off plane and flew to Hawaii for the week would rather spend my money in the USA anyway!!! As far as I am concerned its over priced there anyway Americans are not safe and they can make rules up as they go!!! Take Mexico and shove it where the sun don’t shine….
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I wonder if this only affects registrants in states that have the 21 day advanced notice of international travel? I understand that California is compliant with that supplemental guideline?
Also, has anyone found this supposed new law in Mexico that prevents registrants from traveling there?
I have to agree with Janice on the comment she made, the RSO and their families need to pony up some funds to help with the fight, but most will not. I know that in my state ( Texas) I give nearly every month, it is really not very hard to donate $20 to $30 dollars a month for the cause. We really do not have a choice if we want to win.
My great grandmother, who escaped Hitler, always said “Never say never, anything is possible, many people came out safe from that awful time.” Sometimes I have a hard time but I keep reminding myself of great grandma and what she said.
Check out the International Tracking of Sexual Offenders Working Group white paper http://ojp.gov/smart/pdfs/InternationalTrackingofSexOffendersWorkingGroup.pdf
It outlines what SMART’s plans are over the next few years to notify foreign governments of visits from register sex offenders to comply with SORNA requirements. Sounds like notification of Mexico of sex offender air travel is in place and operational. Interestingly, the white paper specifically mentions that it will be years before the system can be implemented for land travel.
Looking for answers on where a 290 can still go in the world. I am planing a trip to Belize as to the best of my knowledge it does not discriminate against 290 ex-felons l. Has anyone traveled to Belize this year? Please post places where you have not had any problem getting in.
My wife and child take a cabo trip once a year for the past 5 years no problems, this past Monday I was scanned pulled off to the little room and told I couldn’t enter, and was told my family and I would be held if I didn’t sign a paper in Spanish, there were armed police hovering over me, I explained my situation, I was convicted of consensual sex with a minor in 1990 when I was 18 and she was 16 and since had it expunged and travel here annually, he didn’t care they already had my return tix in hand, so I’m out 5k and worst of all my wife has not left the hotel crying alone with a 11 year old child in Mexico since Monday, I don’t know what has changed but it’s insanity, I’m waiting at the Mexican consulate now here in California, to see if I can get something resolved to rejoin my family and salvage even a day of our family vacation
I just got back from Mexican consulate, they couldn’t do much, they said I can travel thru San Diego cross the boarder then take a flight to Cabo, it’s insanity, I’m thinking about chancing it and taking an am flight back with my expungement paper work and if I get pulled out again I have some sort of proof, the consulates attorney said it’s a crap shoot on the individual agent, im blown away by no one giving me an answer, curious if anyone’s gotten thru with paper proof in hand
I just posted to the site you suggested, thnx K, my family is heading back now, what a nightmare, I just got off the phone with the U.S. embassy in Mexico, they said it’s a problem that’s overwhelming them only lately, it’s his understanding that anyone that the U.S. Gov has decided to include on a data base has been sent to Mexico and it’s only a list, no explanation of any crime, and it’s 100% return policy, before I guess it showed the conviction and 1203.4 info or what have you and you could explain or bring paper work, but now it’s cut and dry to them, the U.S. Embassy has been demanding info on the list and have received no response from the Feds, sounds like getting an attorney from Mexico to fix it in a Mexican court is out( even though that’s what it says to do on the consulate website) the representative told me the only way he knows at this point is to some how get yourself removed from the data base, also he said the data base can be very old, so it might not even show a person having anything expunged only the conviction, what a quagmire, anyone want to buy my place in Mexico lol
Also thnx Paul, I don’t feel you’re being a jerk, I’m sure we all feel the frustration, and you’re right I will research in the future, but like I said I’ve been traveling to Mexico for years as well as multiple other countries, no problem, but in the future the consulate said to stop by 20 days in advance they can issue a travel visa unless I’m flagged right then and there, but I’ll have to research that as well, so this travel restriction is new to me I’ll be working on it for sure
Just returned from Cancun.
I should have done some homework. I wrongfully assumed a passport would get me in. I was taken off the plane to the “little room” where five agents suddenly would not converse in English. I filled out their form while my wife and son waited and then was told I was not welcome in Mexico. (Convicted in 1998. No jail time, released from probation in 2013). They gave us 2 minutes to decide weather we all returned or just me. My wife and adult son stayed since everything was already paid for. They hurried me back to the same plane I arrived on and I was gone within an hour of landing. I arrived in Phoenix with no connecting flight or boarding pass. Luckily the guy at American Airlines took pity on me and put up in the Sheraton and booked me home the next day.
I have traveled to Hawaii, Florida and all over the western US with no problems, even while on Probation. Florida has you register if you stay longer than four days, Hawaii ten days, Maryland – I couldn’t even find out, I called the State Police and they didn’t know. It wasn’t on the their website.
I asked my local sheriff who does my annual registration “what happens when I retire, buy a RV and just travel around the US not staying long enough to register in any one place? No answer.
What if your offense had nothing to do with a minor? Does anyone know if this has any impact on international travel?
I am a registered sex offender in CA and a CA resident. My conviction was in 2000 in VA. It was a felony offense that was basically the result of a drunken case of mistaken identity on my part. Blacked out in college and got in bed with a girl’s roommate instead of the intended girl. No force or coercion was used because she thought I was her boyfriend (just as I thought she was a girl I knew well), but there was penetration and police were called, so it was a felony.
I didn’t go to prison but did do time in county jail and was released from probation early after 3 years.
In the years since I’ve traveled pretty extensively with no problems – except in Canada. Last year I was making a connecting flight through Toronto on my way to Europe and was turned back. Flew to New York, bought a new ticket to Spain, and entered with no problem. I’ve also had no problems in the UK, France, Russia, Mexico (most recently in 2011), and many other countries. Sympathetic Canadian officials suggested to me that the problem was that their criminal databases are much more tightly integrated with US databases than other nations are.
My wife and I are now planning a trip to Mexico in May, and I’m here reading these horror stories for the first time. It never occurred to me that I might have a problem, especially because I’ve been there twice before and it was fine.
Can anyone advise me here? Does the fact that no minors were involved in my case help me at all? Are some people successfully making it into the country, but they’re just not posting here – or is everyone being turned back? Do I need to cancel this trip? Is there anything else I can do?
Thanks…
As a separate question, has anyone actually used the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP) to avoid being hassled when returning to the US? I never knew this was possible. Does it actually work? Are you doing yourself more harm than good by attracting attention to yourself, or is it legitimately beneficial?
Thanks
So the concensus is ….
If you’re off the registry you’re ok?
Even if your offense was involved a minor?
Hello,
I travel to Mexico a lot. I don’t keep up on these laws so I just found out today that I needed to give notice for international travel.
Outside of being taken to secondary inspection when I return to the US, I have never had any issues flying to or walking across from San Diego.
I am a parent of two school aged kids. We go to Disneyland, amusement parks, vacations, etc. I’ve never had any issues.
My offense was Rape against an ex girlfriend. We were both over 18. The case is a he/she said. It involved her finding out I had cheated on her after we had sex. Anyway, this happened in 2005. I took a 3 year deal and the charge versus the DA charging me with kidnapping and rape and a potential life imprisonment if I went to trial.
I wanted to give my experience and some background for those searching for answers.