The next step – getting the FM3s

We had gotten the list of the requirements for our FM3s from the Mexican Consulate. It was sort of like a treasure hunt. We had been to the police station for letters stating we weren’t criminals, gone to the doctor to get a letter of good health, obtained bank statements, statements regarding my retirement, and made copies of our passports and marriage license. Of course, everything was properly notarized. We also got our passport size photos. Actually, we took digital pictures and got the 19-cent prints from Wal-Mart instead of $8.99 each for the official passport photos.
We took all that plus a pocket full of cash to the Mexican Consulate in Austin. We found a parking place very close to the building. When we got in the building and to the correct suite, we found that the Consulate was no longer at that address. The letterhead they had used to send us the requirements still had the old address. Luckily there was a sign giving the new address. So we went to the new office, which was nearby.
As we entered the lobby of the building, we saw many people in line several places. Of course there didn’t appear to be any sign directing people to the correct office. I decided to wait in what appeared to be the shortest line. On the phone, the representative of the consulate’s office had told me to ask for Angelina, so I did. Luckily, Angelina happened to be the person at the desk. She asked us to wait 5 minutes, please. We knew 5 minutes would really be longer so we sat and waited. There were many Mexican citizens at the Consulate obtaining their national ID cards. I will write more about those ID cards and that process later.
After 5 Mexican minutes, we were called into the office. Francisco Flores is the official in charge of documentation. We gave him all our documents that we brought. We had everything he needed, and then some. Even though I had read several places that you need to bring a copy of your entire passport, including all blank pages and the covers, he only wanted the main page with the picture and personal information. In my mind, I kept expecting a situation out of Seinfeld. On that show, a character called the Soup Nazi goes into a rage if the customer pauses too long in ordering or doesn’t follow the rules, written or unwritten. He yells at them, “no soup for you today!” and throws them out of the store. Sometimes he tells them they can never come back.. We were hoping we wouldn’t end up with the documentation Nazi who would yell, “no visa for you today!”
One of the first questions we were asked was what city we would be living in. When we told him, Bucerias, a suburb of Puerto Vallarta, we found out that Francisco and his family own a house in Puerto Vallarta. In addition to doing all the paperwork we talked about houses and Puerto Vallarta. Their house is in El Centro and sounds really nice. Maybe when Francisco is there at Christmas we will visit him.
We filled out the visa applications, paid our $390 (cash) for the two FM3s and were told to come pick them up on Friday or later. Francisco offered that since he would be in Mexia, a small town closer to Waco, on consulate business next week, he would bring them along and we could come get them there. So that’s our plan.
After the consulate, we went to the Customs office next door. When we returned home to Texas after three months in Puerto Vallarta we didn’t cancel the car permit. We wanted to make sure that since we are obtaining our FM3s before the permit expires that we would not need to cancel one permit and get another. We found out that we do not have to get a new permit. Imagine that, customs officials missed a chance to get $35 more from us. FYI, we also found out that you can cancel a car permit at the local office, it doesn’t have to be done at the border.
Of course, just to ask that question required waiting in another line! Mexico ought to change its national slogan to “Mexico, land of lines”.
Altogether the experience went better than we expected. Sometimes it does pay to expect the worst, then you can be pleasantly surprised when things go more smoothly. After finishing up at the Consulate, we did a little shopping in Austin, ate dinner and headed back home.