BajaNomad

Visa

bacquito - 6-21-2010 at 10:28 AM

I was told recently that a person can upgrade their visa status (tourist to FM 3) at a Mexican Consul office in the USA. I tried to do this in Calexico and Yuma but I was told that I need to go to an immigration office in Mexico (Mexicalli or San Luis, Rio Colorado). Is this true in all cases, can I get an upgrade in San Diego? Thanks for any advice.

gnukid - 6-21-2010 at 10:36 AM

It is best to do so in Mexico at the INM office closest to your area of primary residence. IT has been possible to get a FM3 in the US at a consulate but that document provided no advantage and is required to be registered, reviewed and often recreated at the location of your residence in Mexico. For simplicity do it in Mexico, also at the moment things have changed and the new FMM cards may only be available in Mexico.

Thanks

bacquito - 6-21-2010 at 10:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by gnukid
It is best to do so in Mexico at the INM office closest to your area of primary residence. IT has been possible to get a FM3 in the US at a consulate but that document provided no advantage and is required to be registered, reviewed and often recreated at the location of your residence in Mexico. For simplicity do it in Mexico, also at the moment things have changed and the new FMM cards may only be available in Mexico.


Thanks

Heather - 6-21-2010 at 01:23 PM

I went to the Mexican consulate in San Diego to do mine, but that was quite a few years ago.

schwlind - 6-22-2010 at 03:22 AM

It was our experience that you can obtain your first FM3 at a consulate in the US... but no matter what they may tell you... you have to "file" that FM3 in Mexico with Immigration and then all renewals must be done in Mexico... For 4 years, not knowing what the heck we were doing, my esposo and I applied for RENEWALS at the Orlando, FL consulate and unbeknownst to us... every year they gave us a NEW FM3. Not good if you want to eventually end up a permanent resident. Only the last year of those 4 years of "renewals" counted toward the 5 years of holding an FM3 required in the past to apply for FM2 status. We now have a terrific person who handles all the Immigration requirements for us... (too bad we didn't find her 10 years ago, as it would have saved us a lot of time and money!)