bigskydrift
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Jan 25, 2006
- Messages
- 107
The following from a director with SW BELL in Mexico City.<br /><br /> I spent five years working in Mexico.<br /><br /> I worked under a tourist visa for three months and could legally <br />renew<br />it<br /> for three more months. After that you were working illegally. I was<br /> technically illegal for three weeks waiting on the FM3 approval.<br /><br /> During that six months our Mexican and US Attorneys were working to<br />secure a<br /> permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition to my US <br />passport<br />that<br /> I had to show each time I entered and left the country. Barbara's was<br />the<br /> same except hers did not permit her to work.<br /><br /> To apply for the FM3 I needed to submit the following notarized<br />originals<br /> (not copies) of my:<br /><br /><br /> 1. Birth certificates for Barbara and me.<br /><br /> 2. Marriage certificate.<br /><br /> 3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.<br /><br /> 4. College transcripts for every college I attended and proof of<br /> graduation.<br /><br /> 5. Two letters of recommendation from supervisors I had worked for<br />at<br /> least one year.<br /><br /> 6. A letter from The ST. Louis Chief of Police indicating I had no<br />arrest<br /> record in the US and no outstanding warrants and was "a citizen in<br />good<br /> standing."<br /><br /> 7. Finally; I had to write a letter about myself that clearly stated<br />why<br /> there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and why my skills were<br />important<br /> to Mexico. We called it our "I am the greatest person on earth"<br />letter. It<br /> was fun to write.<br /><br /><br /> All of the above were in English that had to be translated into<br />Spanish and<br /> be certified as legal translations and our signatures notarized. It<br />produced<br /> a folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side and<br />Spanish on<br /> the right.<br /><br /> Once they were completed Barbara and I spent about five hours<br />accompanied by<br /> a Mexican attorney touring Mexican government office locations and<br />being<br /> photographed and fingerprinted at least three times. At each location<br />(and<br /> we remember at least four locations) we were instructed on Mexican<br />tax,<br /> labor, housing, and criminal law and that we were required to obey<br />their<br /> laws or face the consequences.. We could not protest any of the<br />government's<br /> actions or we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand<br /> dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When this was <br />done<br />we<br /> could legally bring in our household goods that were held by US<br />customs in<br /> Loredo Texas. This meant we rented furniture in Mexico while awaiting<br />our<br /> goods. There were extensive fees involved here that the company paid.<br /><br /> We could not buy a home and were required to rent at very high rates<br />and<br /> under contract and compliance with Mexican law.<br /><br /> We were required to get a Mexican drivers license. This was an <br />amazing<br /> process. The company arranged for the licensing agency to come to our<br /> headquarters location with their photography and finger print<br />equipment and<br /> the laminating machine. We showed our US license, were photographed<br />and<br /> fingerprinted again and issued the license instantly after paying out<br />a six<br /> dollar fee. We did not take a written or driving test and never<br />received<br /> instructions on the rules of the road. Our only instruction was never<br />give a<br /> policeman your license if stopped and asked. We were instructed to<br />hold it<br /> against the inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on<br />it you<br /> would have to pay ransom to get it back.<br /><br /> We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax annually using the<br />number of<br /> our FM3 as our ID number. The companies Mexican accountants did this<br />for us<br /> and we just signed what they prepared. I was about twenty legal size<br />pages<br /> annually.<br /><br /> The FM 3 was good for three years and renewable for two more after<br />paying<br /> more fees.<br /><br /> Leaving the country meant turning in the FM# and certifying we were<br />leaving<br /> no debts behind and no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets <br />or<br /> liens) before our household goods were released to customs.<br /><br /> It was a real adventure and If any of our senators or congressmen <br />went<br /> through it once they would have a different attitude toward Mexico.<br /><br /> The Mexican Government uses its vast military and police forces to<br />keep its<br /> citizens intimidated and compliant. They never protest at their White<br />House<br /> or government offices but do protest daily in front of the United<br />States<br /> Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly reinforced fortress and<br />during<br /> most protests the Mexican Military surround the block with their men<br /> standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the<br />Embassy.<br /> These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV. There is a large<br />public<br /> park across the street where they do their protesting. Anything can<br />cause a<br /> protest such as proposed law changes in California or Texas.<br /><br /> Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we are being<br />hard on<br /> illegal immigrants.
