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gategrrlThe words in italics are by a co-worker/friend of my Guy's. His wife is originally from England. I also have a friend from Korea, married to an American, who is jumping through hoops to get a Green Card and start the process of becoming truly legal in the USA.
Here is someone's experience about the process of getting the permits, etc to work in Mexico for a company. I'd like to say that I went through something similiar when I went to work in Korea (legally), only perhaps slighly less draconian.
...OK,..I'm not going to go off on a rant here, but suffice it to say Joan and i went thru red-tape hell just to get her All legal-n-stuff
when we first got married....it is amazing how this government can treat it's own citizens sometimes......
...But....What if YOU wanted to legally go work in mexico as a U.S. Citizen?.......
..Got this from a fairly reliable source:
US Citizens Working in Mexico
The following from a director with SW BELL in Mexico City.
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 certificates for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certif icate.
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 indicating 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 Mexic an 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 were 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 government's 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 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 de bts 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 congressmen 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.
Here is someone's experience about the process of getting the permits, etc to work in Mexico for a company. I'd like to say that I went through something similiar when I went to work in Korea (legally), only perhaps slighly less draconian.
...OK,..I'm not going to go off on a rant here, but suffice it to say Joan and i went thru red-tape hell just to get her All legal-n-stuff
when we first got married....it is amazing how this government can treat it's own citizens sometimes......
...But....What if YOU wanted to legally go work in mexico as a U.S. Citizen?.......
..Got this from a fairly reliable source:
US Citizens Working in Mexico
The following from a director with SW BELL in Mexico City.
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 certificates for Barbara and me.
2. Marriage certif icate.
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 indicating 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 Mexic an 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 were 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 government's 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 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 de bts 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 congressmen 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.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 01:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 02:09 am (UTC)The illegal aliens business is a real hot button for me.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 02:15 am (UTC)Most countries are much more strict than the US about legal immigration. I haven't heard of any other country yet where you can become a citizen without speaking the language.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 02:24 am (UTC)Who the hell wants to work in Mexico anyway? ;)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 03:23 am (UTC)If they could go through it, so should anyone else who wants to be here. I don't buy that sneaking in should make it okay to bypass the law. That's sort of like saying if you sneak into someone's house and don't get caught living there for awhile, then it should belong to you.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 04:22 am (UTC)As far as I'm concerned, even if it weren't verified, it wouldn't surprise me if this was what it was like enter into Mexico to work.
Whether or not this particular incident is true or not - the point is, if you go into another country without doing the paperwork, you have NO RIGHT to expect special treatment, unless it's deportation you had in mind. In fact, you shouldn't expect anything less than jail.
When I was in Nepal, there were signs up requesting that foreigners in Nepal (trekking, etc) to PLEASE go to the prison there in Katmandu, because there were nonNepalese (Europeans, etc) there who had either overstayed their visas, were arrested for possession of drugs, etc - and that the prison system there depended strongly on family to supply meals and goods, etc.
No one gets a free ride anywhere in someone else's country. Why should the illegals here expect free rides from THIS government? Oh, right: the government here wants them to be able to vote in order to stay in power.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 04:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-12 05:30 am (UTC)Exactly.