Around 250,000 Mexicans could be given visas to join family members already living legally in the United States under new legislation approved by the US Congress.
In an interview published in
Reforma
newspaper, Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow said the Legal Immigration and Family (LIFE) Act would reunite tens of thousands of Mexican families currently divided by immigration policy.
"The new law is going to give more or less 250,000 Mexicans new opportunities to receive visas very quickly," Mr Davidow said.
The LIFE Act also allows illegal immigrants to apply to become permanent US residents without first leaving the country. Mr Davidow said as many as 800,000 Mexicans living in the United States could benefit.
The legislation originally set April 30th as the deadline for illegal immigrants to apply for its protection, but the US House of Representatives voted last month to extend the deadline by four months, although it still requires the support of the Senate.
Since he took office last December, Mexican President Mr Vicente Fox has pushed for a significant shift in U.S. policy to allow many more Mexicans to enter the United States and give a new legal status to millions of undocumented workers already there.