Getting a visa

We are going to get our FM3 visas to allow us to live in Mexico. There are different types of FM3s, one which allows you to work, and one for retired people. If you are wanting to obtain your visa prior to moving to Mexico, you go to the Mexican consulate that serves the area where you live. In our case that is Austin, Texas.
The Austin consulate does not have a website detailing what the requirements are for the FM3. I did find out that they are open from 8 to 1, Monday through Friday. I tried calling numerous times only to get trapped in the voice mail web. And if I made no selection from the menu, the phone just rang and rang. Finally, I got through. I asked the woman who answered the phone if they could mail me the information. She took my number and said they would fax it. Well, several days passed and no fax. So I tried many times to get through again and finally did. Again I was told they would fax me the information that morning. That afternoon, I called again when no fax had arrived. I talked to a man who assured me it would be faxed that day. As of that evening - no fax. We decided that we would have to go to Austin to get the list of requirements, then get the things together and return to Austin. I tried calling the Consulate, but of course I wasn’t able to get in touch with anyone. Just as we were getting ready to leave for Austin, the fax arrived.
We need to have passports with at least 6 months before they expire, passport size photos, proof of financial backing ($1,000/month for 1 person, $500/month for each dependent), police clearance letters issued by the local police department, and certificates of good health issued by our doctor. Everything must be notarized and authenticated.
I had no idea what authenticated meant. So I got smart and faxed the Consulate a note asking some questions. Someone from the Consulate called me the next day. He said the police letter and the doctor’s letter need to be notarized, but the bank statements don’t. Authenticated, he said, means bring the originals. We now have the notarized police letters, have requested the letter from our doctor, and had our bank statements notarized (for good measure). We still need the photos. We are planning on going to Austin on Wednesday, July 13th. If things go like they often do when dealing with Mexican authorities, we will be missing something, or else one of the things we bring won’t quite be right. We are hoping for the best – I’ll let you know!