Tucson is getting ready to welcome a Mexican major league baseball team this month — the first Mexican team to have a U.S. home base.
But, as the team reports, an issue getting U.S. visas for players is delaying the season.
The newly-dubbed Tucson Baseball Team is a Mexican team part of the Liga ARCO Mexicana Pacific, the largest professional baseball league in Mexico.
The team used to play out of Navajoa, Sonora, and announced it was moving to Tucson earlier this year. They were scheduled to play their opening series against the Hermosillo Naranjeros starting Oct. 16.
That series has been postponed until further notice, team owner Victor Cuevas says, as they work to settle a visa issue with the U.S. State Department. Cuevas says the team was informed its B2 and B1 visas were no longer valid because of the relocation.
Citizenship and Immigration Services did not respond to questions about the team’s visa delays or possible processing issues during the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1.
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