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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3533
Registered: 8-27-2003
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My FM3 experience in Sacramento
The following is directly from the Mexican Consulate's website:
The requirements for a Nonimmigrant Visa (FM3) for multiple entries are:
Fill out the Visa Application form, available at the Consulate. For a downloadable Visa Application Form in PDF format, click here
Appearance in person at the Consulate
Valid passport in original and one photocopy of the pages containing personal information, photograph of bearer and expiration date/extensions;
Two (2) front view passport size photos
Proof of economic solvency: Applicant must prove a monthly income of $1,000.00 USD dollars, or equivalent in Mexican currency. If the applicant will
be accompanied by members of his immediate family, the minimum income required will be $500.00 additionally per month for each member 15 years of age
or older
The documents accepted as a proof are: Bank statement, Social Security or Pension Receipts; such documents must be notarized and bear the apostille
issued by the Secretary of State of the State where the documents were notarized
(click here to read information regarding Apostilles)
Payment of the Consular Fee.
(Click here to consult fee list)
Your FM3 will be ready next business day after applying for it.
Now this is what really happened:
1. Was required to get another front photo and a profile – right-side only. 3 fronts and 1 right-side profile is required. Of course, how’d I miss
that?
2. I followed the link to the form, printed and filled it out prior to going in. I was given a new form to fill out that was identical in every way
to the one I printed out except for the form date on the bottom, told that the form on the computer was no longer acceptable. Fine, no big deal - I
fill out the new form, take it back to the window and was given another form, way more official looking, in Spanish, with an English cheat sheet and
told to fill this one out using the info on the previous form I had just filled out. OK - I do so, walk up to the window and hand it in. The clerk
trashed the first form I filled out, keeping the official looking one. I am completely unaware of the need for the first form.
3. Go stand in an excruciatingly long and slow line to pay my fee (which did match the fee schedule on the computer, by the way) only to be told that
checks and credit cards are not accepted. I sadly go across the street to a bank, get the money and stand in line again to pay.
4. After paying, I go back to the original clerk to show my paid receipt and am asked to go around the wall and come into a door that is in her
office. She takes my picture and scans my finger prints on my index fingers. I ask if she could just take my profile, print them out and I would not
have to return with the missing front and side views as she had just taken them. She paused for a moment as she looked at picture she had just taken
and the obvious reasonableness of my request, but sadly it was not to be. I am instructed to return with the missing photos before the visa can be
given to me.
5. I am further informed that the 3 copies of my bank statements, which have been duly notarized and apostillized, is lacking by 2 months. The
person I talked to at the consulate over the phone the previous day must have been mistaken, or maybe I didn't hear correctly, because 5 months have
been required since, oh I don’t know – creation maybe?? Stoopid gringo.
I am instructed to return between 10 am and noon, on Wednesday of next week, with the missing photos and bank statements and I will be given the FM3
and my passport will be returned to me. At this point I felt it unnecessary to point out that the next business day would be Tuesday, not Wednesday,
as Monday is a holiday.
So here’s my question: When I return on Wednesday, will she staple the 2 statements to the other 3 or will she then say that the apostille from the
Secretary of State is only good for the original 3 and I must go back and get a new apostille?
I’m guessing 3-to-1 against. Any takers?
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
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Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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You are dealing with the Mexican government. The answer to your question is.....yes and no
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Bajabus
Senior Nomad
Posts: 892
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Elias Calles B.C.S. or NC USA
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Mood: My friends..it's good.
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I vote you will have to go back and get the remaing two notorized and apostilled.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 3-27-2004
Location: La Paz
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What will be really frustrating for you, when you get down here and have to do it all over again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Edited on 1-19-2008 by comitan]
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3533
Registered: 8-27-2003
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| Quote: | Originally posted by comitan
What will be really frustrating for you, when you get down here and have to do it all over again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[Edited on 1-19-2008 by comitan] |
Now wait aminute - don't I just show it to the border guy, he stamps it and I'm on my way????
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Hahaha.....................after you get it stamped at the border, you have to have it registered in the "county" where you live.........they may ask
you to do everything all over again, ask for a partial list of documents, or ask you to provide something that is not on the consulate
list.............it's like applying for a different country
[Edited on 1-20-2008 by bajaguy]
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comitan
Ultra Nomad
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Location: La Paz
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Santiago you have been around here long enough to know this.
Strive For The Ideal, But Deal With What\'s Real.
Every day is a new day, better than the day before.(from some song)
Lord, Keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
“The sincere pursuit of truth requires you to entertain the possibility that everything you believe to be true may in fact be false”
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Don Alley
Super Nomad
Posts: 1997
Registered: 12-4-2003
Location: Loreto
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Bank statements notarized by the state government?
Sure hope they don't ask me for that for renewals; living in Mexico how in the hell could I come up with that?
But everyplace has slightly different requirements.
Anyway, be sure to bring duplicates of everything down with you with your FM3, 'cause you'll probably have to do it all over again.
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luckyman
Junior Nomad
Posts: 60
Registered: 12-19-2007
Location: near chico, ca
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my fm3 experience in sacramento was smooth; after a month of calling the consulate and getting no answer (literally), i had a mexican coworker call
for me and get my call routed to the proper person in sacramento, who detailed the list of documents, photos, etc that i would need to bring. got
down there, filled them out, forked over the cash, came back the following week to pick the fm3 and my passport up.
my neighbors in la ribera chuckled as i recounted the ease with which i obtained my fm3 in sacramento...yes, i still needed to register in cabo, and
no, they couldn't do that anywhere NEAR christmas, new years, or the week after even. seems the entire immigration office comes to a grinding halt
around that time, so i'll miss the 45 day registration period as i'm now home in n. calif....supposedly i can register with immigration next time i'm
there, with the addition of a $50.00 penalty, but who really knows.
ALMOST as frustrating as the CA DMV!
gotta laugh, govt. stuff is so slow and cumbersome.
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3533
Registered: 8-27-2003
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Don Alley
Bank statements notarized by the state government?
Sure hope they don't ask me for that for renewals; living in Mexico how in the hell could I come up with that?
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To be fair, the whole bank statement business was completely bogus: I printed the bank statements on line from my home and called my bank for them to
be 'notarized'. The bank officer said that all a notary does is confirm a signature, not a document (duh), and they would not do it. I go to the
secratary of state in Sacramento and ask for an apostille which they won't do until the statements are notarized????? I'm standing under a sign with
2 foot tall letters that says 'NOTARY' so I ask them to notarize the statements which they refuse to do, siting conflict of interest with all the
notarys. They refer me to a credit union across the street. I go to credit union, of which I am not a member, and ask to have the statements
notarized. The notary says they only notarize signatures but gives me a paper with 6 blank lines on top and I write that these statements are an
accurate reflection of the account and she notarizes that. I go to the state and they slap their apostille on top of that and I give that to the
Mexican Consulate which they were happy with (well, except for 5 copies). My point is that I could have just phonied up some statements - no one
actually checked that these docs were true. The mexican consulate relied on the secratary of state who relied on the notary at a credit union to
which I did not belong who relied on me to tell the truth.
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CaboRon
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3401
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Location: The Valley of the Moon
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I had a similar experience at the Consul in Santa Anna in Orange County..... gave up and went to San Diego.... took twenty min.... nothing
notirazied.... just used downloaded bank statements.... and picked up my Visa the next day.
then in La Paz had to submit all paperwork plus more pics to Immigration there. Again two visits and had my FM3 with the page six stamped.
All I can say is..... go to San Diego.... or get an FMT and apply when you reach your destination.
By the way the La Paz office has been generally very nice and quick.... but no one has been as quick as San Diego.
CaboRon
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Bajabus
Senior Nomad
Posts: 892
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Elias Calles B.C.S. or NC USA
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The whole Bank Statement Notary Apostille thing is ludicrous. Makes you feel like a character right out of a Monty Python movie.
See my other posts in the thread "police shakedows" for hints at my simple solution.
items indespensible for mexico
a good injet printer, a good scanner, a good laminator, my grandmas old notary stamp, various nice paper in lots of colors, holographic stickers with
patriotic themes and outlines of states. If you really wanted to be creative and impress you could get a nice wax seal kit and some ribbon.
Funny story, here in my town about 4 delegados ago I needed a carta de residencia. I went to his house but his typewriter was not working. I told
him I could help so he gave me a bunch of his blank, signed govt letter heads and a sample. I went home printed it out and viola. He loved it. From
that point on whenever someone needed one he would just send them over to my place.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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Bajajorge
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2604
Registered: 10-13-2005
Location: Topaz Lake, NV/San Felipe
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About 3 years ago I decided to get legal and get an FM3 after owning (lease) property in Mexico for over 3 years. I called the Las Vegas consulate (I
live in Nevada) and requested info on what I needed to get an FM3. I got all the necessary items together and took them to the Sacramento consulate.
Reason: Sacto is 200 miles closer to my home than Las Vegas. The nice folks at the Sacto consulate informed me all my stuff was wrong. So much for trying to deal with 2 different Mexican entities that are in charge of
doing the same thing. When I returned to San Felipe for that season I went to their Immigration office and got my FM3. I can now proudly say I am no
longer an "Illegal Alien" in Mexico, but I am a "Legal Gringo". 
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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hey georgie....you down south or at Topaz??
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bajalera
Super Nomad
Posts: 1875
Registered: 10-15-2003
Location: Santa Maria CA
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Wells Fargo has made some kind of change in their notary service. Used to be you took something to a teller, who affixed a notary's stamp and that was
it. No big deal.
On trying to have this dpne a couple of weeks ago, I was told s to go see a specific officer at another branch and there would be a $19 fee. Have
banks gotten picky about verifying the truth of a statement you present, or what?
\"Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest never happen at all. The conscientious historian will correct these defects.\" -
Mark Twain
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rts551
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6700
Registered: 9-5-2003
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Lera
I just got something Notarized the other day at Wells fargo - Free and they didn't even ask if I had an account
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rts551
Elite Nomad
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Santiago - just wait till you get to your destination! Make sure you have all the same stuff and maybe more.
Luckyman - last I checked the fine is per month late... Some people have found it Cheaper to start all over again
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vandenberg
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Santiago,
Even with all the delay stuff you're experiencing, this is NOTHING compared to the sh*t we had to go through in the 80's. Took
litterally months to get your stuff together. And ,yes, we too did our applications in Sacramento. In those days everything needed apostilles; birth
certificates , marriage license, Police statements and whathaveyou. Even some kind of bank letter from your bankmanager. IN SPANISH !! And
notarization. And 20 copies of each it seemed. And in those days we, here in Loreto, had to deal with the Santa Rosalia office, where the officers
were always looking for a way to make an extra buck. Only way to speed things up a little. And always told to come back tomorrow or in 2 or 3 days,
like Loreto is down the street. And be prepared, even this day, to have to redo most of your stuff. Have lots of duplicates of everything. Never
enough it seems. The advise to do it all at your destination is a very valid one, which I always advise to my friends who move here or keep
possessions here. Easier to establish a renewal date that way, so you don't have to come back at a very inconvenient time. They seem to aim
for that   
Lots of luck
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Santiago
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3533
Registered: 8-27-2003
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Okay - so am I going to get all my stuff back from the Sac-a-tomatoe office or will I need to get all new statements, apostilles etc? And what is
this about a police letter? No one has asked for that.
Is there a place in Bahia de los Angeles that I take this to?
I thought I was supposed to give it to the customs agent at the border within 45 days of the consulate giving it to me.
I am clearly out of my element here......
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Santiago, check your u2u
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