karenintx
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Unforeseen Problems With New FM-3 Card
I was so excited on May 26th when CSL INM handed me my brand new FM-3 card. I had the feeling of accomplishment and pride.
My first thoughts were...cool I will carry the card in my wallet just in case I need to show/prove to any official person(s) that I am here legally!
My second thought was...no I want carry the card in my wallet just in case when I do show it to any official person(s) and they "keep it". So I went
back to my old system...carrying a copy in my purse and glove compartment in the car.
On Saturday May 29th I was making a quick three day trip back to Houston. Normally, before May 1st, INM would have an agent sitting at a desk in the
lobby of Terminal 1 so anyone with an FM could fill out their forms and get their books stamped. This system worked great! Upon arriving I did not
see the INM agent so I asked the ticket agent @ Continental "where is the INM agent today?" She explained "INM has asked all the airlines to do the
paperwork today." I filled out the new form, she detached and kept the smaller portion then the supervisor wrote on top of my portion...the date, the
flight #, some code # and his initinals. The hubby is a retired Captain for Continental so all the agents know us. I asked "are you sure INM is
going to accept this and I will not have a problem when I return next week?" She said "they told us they would enter the date we put at the top of
the form." I had a sinking feeling in my stomach.
Does anybody else see a problem with this? I DO! At least when I had a book I had proof of my departures and arrivals. Next year we will get a FM-2
and hope to work toward our Mexican citizenship. I am more worried about my "arrival dates then my deparatures." What if INM does not enter the
dates correctly, or at all, then when we go to apply for citizenship they tell us "you have been out of the country too many days."
Last thing...when I showed the card to one of my friends who also has an FM-3 the first thing she said "oh man, that is small and you could loose that
very easily...at least with the book it was bigger and you could put it inside your USA passport and see it." I have to agree with her.
Upon returning to SJD this past Tuesday I handed my FM-3 card and form to the INM agent. She looked at the card funny and said "oh you have the new
card". She typed somthing in her computer then she handed me my USA passport and FM-3 card and said "welcome home."
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karenintx
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Kate,
Funny you should mention about hanging onto your boarding pass...I have already started my file. However since we fly as non-rev's...I can always go
onto our employee website to pull up past travel intinaries if we had to prove anything. Not everyone will have that option so hanging onto their
boarding passes is a good idea.
Before you renew your FM-2...make copies of each page for your records but you probably already know that.
[Edited on 6-4-2010 by karenintx]
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Hook
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I was under the impression that with the new FM-3 procedures, checking in and out when you leave the country (at least by land) would be a thing of
the past.
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karenintx
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Hey Hook,
I am only familar with the flying part. Still have to fill out a two part form...it is just a new form. It does have a two "bar codes" at the
top...one on each side of the two part form. The airline keeps the small portion and the FM holder gets the large one. That portion is to be turned
in when the FM holder returns to Mexico.
I am assuming the airline then turns in the form their collected to INM...or at least I am hoping this is what they do. That is why I am concerned
since the FM holder no longer has "a stamp" to prove anything!
Oh by the way the new FM cards do not have a magnetic stripe, bar code or any other thing to read your data. There are a bunch of numbers at the
bottom on the back side...I guess that is what the agent enters into the computer.
Time will tell
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by karenintx
Hey Hook,
I am only familar with the flying part. Still have to fill out a two part form...it is just a new form. It does have a two "bar codes" at the
top...one on each side of the two part form. The airline keeps the small portion and the FM holder gets the large one. That portion is to be turned
in when the FM holder returns to Mexico.
I am assuming the airline then turns in the form their collected to INM...or at least I am hoping this is what they do. That is why I am concerned
since the FM holder no longer has "a stamp" to prove anything!
Oh by the way the new FM cards do not have a magnetic stripe, bar code or any other thing to read your data. There are a bunch of numbers at the
bottom on the back side...I guess that is what the agent enters into the computer.
Time will tell |
I think that is the form they were talking about for everyone going by land, sea or air-----but, just like the current FM3s, right now it would be
extremely difficult to to do this by land right now so I doubt it will happen by land for a long time.
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bajalinda
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Thanks Karen and Morgaine - great info.
I will also be flying out of SJD in early July and have been wondering what the procedure at the airport will be like now.
I should be able to pick up my new card this coming week, but I have not been able to get to the page on the website where you can check the status of
your solicitud - I keep getting a "cannot display this page" message. Is it just my computer that is being tempermental or did you have trouble with
that too?
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karenintx
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Linda,
I guess we were lucky...we were able to "get in" and monitor our FM-3's from the first day. I know other nomads have had the same problem you are
having. Sorry I don't have any suggestions...ours FM-3's were ready in 10 business days! Hopefully you will have the same luck.
Since we will be in CSL until mid-July, I would be interested in your experience at SJD the day you fly out. Hopefully by that time the INM agent
will be back in the lobby, that is if you are going out of Ternimal 1. Keep us posted...and good luck.
.
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karenintx
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Kate,
US Airways flies out of "Ternimal 1"...was at SJD last evening picking up some newly weds for their honeymoon.
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Wally
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FWIW:
Two of us flew out on 5/25 via US Air. INM station on the ticketing side of terminal was closed. Asked the ticket agent if we would have to go around
to the other side. Agent told us "new procedure is that the ticketing agents process outgoing INM forms."
No issues getting in on the return a week later.
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Hook
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Well, now we know who the jetsetter Nomads are.....................
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bajalinda
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Karen and Kate - will let you know how it goes at SJD. The two other times I've flown out of SJD it has been out of terminal 2 and the ticket agent
actually walked me over to the INM agent. We had to go out the main front doors and around to the back of the building and in through a small service
entrance, then wind our way over to the INM office where I got my book stamped....then back to the ticket counter to finish the check-in. So not a
good idea to arrive at the last minute at terminal 2 if you need to get your book stamped! INM at the La Paz airport does this so much better.
Are there 3 terminals at SJD now? (or did you just use that as an example Kate?)
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karenintx
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Linda,
Ternimal 2 is for the real jetsetters...Jennifer, Jessica & Oprah.
Hook,
One day I hope to be a "real jetsetter!"
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bajalinda
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OK, I know who Oprah is, but Jennifer and Jessica.....quien sabe???
That must disqualify me as a jetsetter, and here I thought that not knowing about terminal 3 would have done the trick.
On a more serious note, I still can't access that webpage.... got a friend to check for me using another computer and the message was 'no se
encuentra'. Hhhmmmmmm....me thinks a trip to INM in La Paz in the next couple of days is in the cards.
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karenintx
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Hey Kate,
Yeah hard to belive they...the city of San Jose/Cabo San Lucas have not updated their airport website. In the USA each city is responsible for their
local airport website.
The SJD website has several airlines listed incorrectly. Example: Continental, American and US Airways all go out of Terminal 1. I would agree that
Terminal 2 is "charter"...which is private jets, "cargo" but the general avation...who knows what they mean. I do not fly out of Terminal 3 so only
know for sure that Alaska flys out of it.
Linda,
Aniston & Simpson when they stay at The One and Only Palmilla!
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SDRonni
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If you are renewing your FM-3, do you complete this form online, then print it out and take it to the local government office where you live in Baja?
If not, how else do you do it?
Also, for Rosarito, are the photos to be in black and white or in color?
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karenintx
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Yes you can complete the form online, print and take it to your local INM. Besure to write down "the number" assigned to you.
Pics in CSL had to be the new smaller color pics. Also we had to provide:
Three months of bank statements per person...used our USA account
Copy of an electric bill...could have used a water bill.
Renewal letter in Spanish
Copies of USA passport...pages that has your pic and expiration date.
Copies of certain pages of FM book...CSL INM required several pages so check
with your INM as to what pages they want.
New photos
Don't think I forgot anything...just for our records I made a complete copy of our FM3 books before turning them it into INM.
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bajalinda
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Yikes - that SJD website is a complete mess. The initial written list of airlines and terminals doesn't correspond to the map at all. I guess
terminal 2 is so small that I didn't even notice it when I was there, and I was actually in terminal 3 for my flight. I guess I just know what the
building looks like and not its number.
Ronni - yes, you can print out your form ahead of time. Apparently some INM offices have a computer set up in the lobby and you can print out what
you need on site. The La Paz office does not have that kind of set-up, so you have to print out the form ahead of time.
I'm still getting a "no se encuentra la pieza" message when I check on the status of my solicitud. Heading to La Paz tomorrow to see what the problem
is - if my request has been "lost", I won't be a happy camper......
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maspacifico
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bajalinda.....we couldn't get our online update either. We went to immigration last week and we were using the wrong number to get in. Use the Pieza
numero on the top left corner. Then your contrasena. We were using the NUT number probably like you are.
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Bajahowodd
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My understanding is that the third terminal is just for general aviation. It just happens to be located between the two major commercial terminals.
So, the original terminal hosts most of the commercial international flights, and the newer terminal, while once seemingly only for Alaska,, now hosts
a number of other airlines. But, in between them, is the infamous general aviation terminal. So, basically, for anyone flying commercially, it's one
of the terminals on either end of the airport.
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bajalinda
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Thanks maspacifico. The good news is that I did get my new card yesterday.
The INM agent in La Paz also got the "no se encuentra....." message when he tried to pull up my file using the pieza number and then also using the
NUT plus contrasena. His comment was "Oh, que raro." He also said a few other people have had the same problem. He got my file to appear by just
using my name.....go figure.
In any case, the whole process took about 10 days from turning in of paper work to receipt of new card.
After I left the office and got all the way back home I realized that I had my nice new card, but I did not receive a nice official letter signed by
the subdelegado regional as in the past - you know, that letter that states all the terms of the new tramite, expiration date, etc...
I don't know if that was an oversight and the agent forgot to give it to me or if they just aren't doing that any more. And if not, if you have the
misfortune to lose your card....where is the proof that you ever had one? the computer print-out? Hmmm - think I will double-check on this letter
question on next trip to La Paz.
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