Cueless Joey
05-13-2006, 01:39 PM
A timely subject for today, eh?
>
> Work Permits -- US Citizens Working in Mexico....
>
> The following from a director with Southwest 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 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 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 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
> 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 Laredo,
> 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 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 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 Mexican immigrants. Why can't we do the same as
> Mexico, what are we afraid of?? More to the point, what are the
> politicians and bureaucrats afraid of ??
>
>
>
> Work Permits -- US Citizens Working in Mexico....
>
> The following from a director with Southwest 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 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 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 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
> 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 Laredo,
> 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 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 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 Mexican immigrants. Why can't we do the same as
> Mexico, what are we afraid of?? More to the point, what are the
> politicians and bureaucrats afraid of ??
>
>