Remember in November !
For anyone thinking we are being too hard on our illegals,
JUST READ THIS!!!
American working in Mexico
"I spent five years working in Mexico . I worked under atourist 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 U.S.
attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa called
a 'FM3'. It was in addition to my U.S. passport that I had to show
each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's wasthe same,
except hers did not permit her to work.
"To apply for the FM3, I needed tosubmit the following
notarized originals (not copies):
1. Birth certificate for Barbara and me.
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 workedfor at
least one year.
6. A letter from the St. Louis Chief of Police indicating that I had
no arrest record in the U.S. and no outstanding warrants and,was "a
citizen in good standing".
7. "Finally, I had to write a letter about myself that clearlystated
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 Englishthat 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& Spanish on the right."
"Once they were completed Barbaraand 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
where 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 thiswas done
we could legally bring in our household goods that were held by
U.S. Customs in Laredo , Texas . This meant we had rented furniture in
Mexico while awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved
here that the company paid."
"We could not buy a homeand were required to rent
at very high rates and under contract and compliance with Mexican
law."
"We were required to get a Mexican driver's license. This was an
amazing process. The company arranged for the licensing agency to come
to our headquarters location with their photography and fingerprint
equipment and the laminating machine. We showed our U.S.
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 instructionson the
rules of the road. Our only instruction was to never give a policeman
your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to holdit
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 company's Mexican
accountants did this for us and we just signed what they prepared. It
was about twenty legal size pages annually."
"The FM3 was good for three years and renewable for two more
after paying more fees."
"Leaving the country meant turningin the FM3 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 Congressmen went through it once they would have a
different attitude toward Mexico ."
"The Mexican government uses itsvast military and police
forces to keep its citizens intimidated and compliant. They never
protest at their capitol or government offices, but do protestdaily
in front of the United States Embassy. The U.S. Embassy looks like
a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the Mexican
military surrounds the block with their men standing shoulderto
shoulder in full riot gear to protect the Embassy. These protests are
never shown on U.S. or Mexican TV. There is a large public parkacross
the street where they do their protesting. Anything can cause
a protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas ."
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