Living/Working in Mexico

[Evans, Marv]

I haven't actually taken a firm stand on the immigration issue. Although I think we need to do a lot more to secure the borders north & south. Somebody sent this to me & I thought it was interesting.

My friend Real received the following from ( Tom O'Malley ) who was a Director with SW BELL in Mexico City.


You remember I spent five years working in Mexico.
I worked under a tourist Visa for three months and could legally renew it for three more months. After that you were working Illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval
During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was the same except hers did not permit her to work.
To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized originals
( not copies ) of my:
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and I.
2. Marriage certificate.
3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.
4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of graduation.
5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for at least one year.
6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indication I had no arrest record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in good standing."
7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated why there was no Mexican Citizen with my skills and why my skills were important to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on Earth" letter. It was fun to write.
All of the above were in English that had to be translated into Spanish and be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It produced a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and Spanish on the right.

Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours accompanied by a Mexican Attorney touring Mexican Government office locations and being photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location and we remember at least four locations we instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey their laws or face the consequences. We could not protest any of the Governments actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was done we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US customs in Loredo Texas. This meant we has rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.

We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.
We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged for the Licensing agency to come to our Headquarters location with their photography and finger print equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out a six dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never received instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was never give a policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to hold it against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on it you would have to pay ransom to get it back.
We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. I was about twenty legal size pages annually.
The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after paying more fees.
Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were leaving no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs ( warrants, tickets or liens ) before our household goods were released to customs.

It was a real adventure and If any of our Senators or Congressman went through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.
The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White house or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United States Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large public park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.

Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being hard on illegal immigrants.

[bigrubberjeep]

Were you discriminated against?

Were you looked at as a second class citizen while you were there?

Would you be classified as a felon if you did not comply with the documentation?

Was there a 1 year wait to even begin the process for your paperwork?

Were you forced to leave the country and family behing and apply from the outside?

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by bigrubberjeep
Were you discriminated against?

Were you looked at as a second class citizen while you were there?

Would you be classified as a felon if you did not comply with the documentation?

Was there a 1 year wait to even begin the process for your paperwork?

Were you forced to leave the country and family behing and apply from the outside?

Rubber, where exactly are you coming from on your comments? They seem rhetorical. Are you actually in favor of illegal immigration? Do you actually think their rights (which they should not have) are being violated? Or are you sincerely asking these questions? The point is that things would NEVER happen in Mexico as they do here. It's really comparing apples to oranges.

[tabs]

Whew I thought he was talking about California...

[Tervuren]

Originally posted by bigrubberjeep
Were you discriminated against?

Were you looked at as a second class citizen while you were there?

Would you be classified as a felon if you did not comply with the documentation?

Was there a 1 year wait to even begin the process for your paperwork?

Were you forced to leave the country and family behing and apply from the outside?

Having had my aunt, uncle, and two cousins live and work in Mexico for some time.

Where they considered a second class citizen - forget the citizen part - forget even class. They where "outsiders"

I beleive yes to 2 and 3, not sure on the time frame exactly.

4th, no.

[turbo6bar]

Actually, I've heard you can buy real estate in Mexico. Developers are trying to cash in on the RE boom. They will sell you a tiny place near the ocean. Prices aren't cheap. Problem is, the government can and will confiscate your property. It's a nice scam. They flip the property to the next sucker, and you lose your money.

In the meantime, illegals with no documentable income and no SSN (no credit history) can buy a home in the US.

[RickM]

Originally posted by Evans, Marv

We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican law.

I'm curious about the purchase of property. I read an article recently that said Americans were snapping up coastal property like crazy. What's the law or requirement to own property in Mexico?

[turbo6bar]

Mexican government has realized there is money to be made, and laws have been added to permit foreign ownership of real estate. Financing is not easy, and you own coastal property under a land trust, instead of via deed or title. Nevertheless, I'd be cautious of owning property under a president that openly mocks the United States. If they are willing to publish cartoons on how to skirt US immigration laws, one must question if they can manage fair enforcement of their own laws.

[sammyg2]

If someone is here illegally, they are breaking the law and do not deserve to be treated as first class citizens. They deserve to be treated as the criminals they are.
Besides, if they are treated so badly they don't have to put up with it. They always have the option of leaving.

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by sammyg2
If someone is here illegally, they are breaking the law and do not deserve to be treated as first class citizens. They deserve to be treated as the criminals they are.
Besides, if they are treated so badly they don't have to put up with it. They always have the option of leaving.

Racist

[sammyg2]

LOL, good one Brad.

Why is it that white people can't speak the truth anymore without being called a racist?

Ooooooo, you can't say something that might offend a minority, it doesn't matter if it's true. You still can't say it unless you are a member of that minority too. BS.

[Vipergrün]

Well, here it goes.......if things keep up in the current direction, white will be the minority, then I guess we can say whatever we want I mainly said this to joke, but there is a little truth to it, especially in some parts of CA.

[pwd72s]

This just in from a friend..it sounds like a peaceful enough protest to me...just support USA businesses that are open on May 1st...refuse to let them be shut down on that day.

Great American Boycott, May 1st,2006

WASHINGTON (AFP) Immigrants' rights advocates, elated by the resounding success of Monday's "National Day of Action," which drew the backing of hundreds of thousands of protesters across the United States, now are planning a national boycott which they hope will have an even greater resonance. Organizers are planning the May 1 "Great American Boycott," urging illegal immigrants -- who cannot vote and who have only limited political power -- to flex their economic muscle. Protesters are being urged to refrain from shopping, and to stay away from school and work.



You should take a moment to let that sink in.



This is a movement orchestrated by people who entered the US illegally,and then want to scream about their "rights." WHAT RIGHTS? YOU DON'T EVEN BELONG HERE!



Let's take a look at some of the many benefits that illegal aliens have blessed our great country with: Street gangs, graffitti, drugs, skyrocketing healthcare, depreciation of property value, illiteracy. The list could go on. What they actually have to offer (cheap labor) pales to what they have given our country to deal with. I'll take expensive vegetables over expensive healthcare anyday!



And now, like terrorists, they are going to attack our economy -- the one entity that makes our nation stand out from all the others. The backbone of our nation. The country they came to like locusts so they could reap the benefits is now the focus of their boycott. You've seen it on TV: Marching on our American streets waving their Mexican flags, boldly showing that they can be more racist than who they accuse of, and yet the obvious is totally oblivious to them..... IF YOU'VE GOT IT SO BAD HERE, THEN LEAVE!!!



To all the real Americans, you can do one small thing on May 1st, 2006. It won't be racist, nor will it be violent. It will not be boastful, arrogant, selfish, nor distasteful. It will not be any of those things that our "guests" have already displayed. What it will do is nullify a movement.



All you have to do is buy something on May 1st. Make up for what they will try to take away. It doesn't have to be a new car or house (unless you were already planning on getting one). It simply needs to be a day of trading.



Hold off grocery buying until May 1st. Take your wife out to eat that night. Get the kids pizza, hamburgers, whatever! Make several trips to the convenience store. Buy your meals at work. Fill up your tank. Shop for clothes, furniture, outdoor equipment. If it needs to be bought, BUY IT MAY 1st!



Those are just a few suggestions. We're not asking you to spend your inheritance that day, but just to spend more than you normally would Even if it's only a few dollars, this will help soften the blow that the Mexicans will try to inflict on our economy that day. It sounds trivial at first, but if this idea gets around, what the Mexicans set out to do will fail.



NOW COMES THE HARD PART: This email will not self-destuct if you don't send it to someone. It will not cause bad luck, nor will it make you impotent. It will not do some trick or show a cute little animation if you send it to "X" amount of people. You will not get paid for doing it.



It will not spread the message though, if it just gets deleted. Forward at will.....