By H. Nelson Goodson
Hispanic News Network U.S.A.
December 9, 2018
Milwaukee, WI - On Sunday, hundreds of Latinos began to line up around 7:00 a.m. in 16 degree Winter dry conditions outside of the Candela's Banquet and Conference Facility in the 2500 block of W. National Ave. to sign up for a Club de Migrantes Nueva Visión (CMNV) membership for $100 to $500 each in the hopes to get certain family members a visa to get into the U.S. The current president of CMNV is Christian "Chris" Palacios, an attorney from Mexico. Palacios and her group travel around the U.S. to promote their services, which includes the processing and applying for visas for certain family members to get tourist visas to travel to the U.S. for its paid membership.
Palacios does inform those that gather at the scheduled gatherings and who want to pay a membership for a service that is not guarantee that a family member of the paid membership will actually get a visa. Also, a $50 dollar fee is required on top of the $100 membership fee, which is geared for info document packaging send to CMNV, according to Palacios.
Hispanic News Network U.S.A. (HNNUSA) went to the CMNV Milwaukee gathering on Sunday and estimated that more than $45,000 dollars in cash of new CMNV memberships including the $50 additional fee for sending info packaging by Servimex was generated. Those applying for memberships have to be present at the scheduled gatherings in order to join the CMNV club by paying up front.
The membership cost is $100 for Mexico and $500 for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras for each person that is registered by the member in the hopes that they will get a possible visa. If the person or persons don't qualify, there is no reimbursement of the membership, but those that become members do get certain discounts at some local participating businesses.
So, what is the success rate of CMNV for each scheduled gathering to collect fees for membership by those joining the org who would like their relatives or families members to get a visa? The following are stats from the CMNV Facebook (FB) page account.
• On May 18, 2018, CMNV reported on their Facebook page that between October 2017 thru May 2018, at least 350 families were united.
• On October 14, 2018, CMNV reported that between 842 visas were approved between July 2017 thru October 2018.
• On October 11, 2018, CMNV reported that at least 121 visas were approved by the U.S. for people from Michocan, Jalisco and Morelos, which their destinations were to Missouri, Washington, Minnesota, Chicago and Wisconsin.
• On October 19, 2018, CMNV reported that at least 40 people from Veracruz and Oaxaca had their visas approved to travel to Milwaukee as tourists.
• On October 6, CMNV reported that a Consul in an American Embassy approved 195 visas for people from different Mexican states traveling on January 2018 to Minnesota, Chicago, North Carolina, Washington, Wisconsin and Missouri totaling 1,225 visas approved since 2017.
• CMNV members who pay fees in the hopes to get family members a visa would also have to pay $2K extra for flight costs, required Mexican passport for family members, transportation, medical insurance and family reuniting showcases in different states and cities. Palacios confirmed that "... this money is the expenses of the relatives, it is not a charge for us."
The Milwaukee gathering on Sunday in Southside attracted at least 1,000 people, which most registered as members of the CMNV. Actual totals of how many people do register at each gathering around the U.S. are not available by CMNV nor posted on the FB page.
According to Palacios, CMNV is not affiliated with any government agency and their staff at gatherings are working as volunteers.
CMNV says that other groups charge more than $5K for the same visa application service.
CMNV as a non-profit registered in Minnesota, its paid members have a right to ask for transparency and accountability of funds generated on behave of the organization.
Club de Migrantes Nueva Visión Facebook page: https://bit.ly/2EkZuJD
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