For Rich Mexicans, Parallel Lives in U.S.
ANA LUISA SANCHEZ MACCISE, a Mexican citizen, is neither seeking a path to American citizenship nor living a fitful undocumented existence. Yet she lives and works in Houston, where she sends her son to a local private school. She has another home in Mexico City, where her husband still works. He visits his family in Houston regularly.
Mrs. Maccise is among a small but growing group of Mexican citizens who are creating parallel lives in this sprawling city north of the border; Dallas and San Antonio are other cities of choice.
Their motives are more than economic. They are also seeking a safe haven for themselves and their families, away from the threats of kidnapping, ransom and even murder that are routinely directed at wealthy Mexicans.
“Right now in Mexico City, the situation is not good because of safety problems,” said Mrs. Maccise, who is 43. “You can be robbed anytime in any restaurant. You can’t drive a nice car. You can’t wear a nice watch. So I really like the U.S. because I feel free.”
Mrs. Maccise lives and works in Houston on a business visa issued as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. A treaty provision allows visas for those making a significant investment in a new business and also for those with Mexican companies doing business in the United States, along with their spouses and children.
United States State Department statistics, not broken down by city, show a national increase in the most popular business visa, to 72,613 last year from 57,721 in 2002.
Making the move from Mexico to Houston is both a cultural and logistical challenge, and an industry of professionals has grown up around the need for real estate agents, immigration lawyers, bankers and others to ease the way.
Mariana Saldaña, a broker and owner at the Uptown Real Estate Group, is in no small part responsible for Mrs. Maccise’s life in Houston. Ms. Saldaña, 56, directed her to an immigration lawyer and helped her to rent space in the Galleria, a shopping mall in Houston, where Mrs. Maccise runs a franchise of the Tane jewelry store. Tane specializes in expensive handmade jewelry and silver and gold art from Mexico. Ms. Saldaña even arranged for telephone and cable service for Mrs. Maccise.
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