Friday, July 26, 2013

Almost a Mexican

Uhggg...(Im writing on my work computer which has the spellchecker in Spanish... so good luck hope you can translate bad spelling and grammer. hahaha) so I always feel so bad when I go to write a post and realize its been a few months since my last one. The good thing is I constantly have new readers and some of the old stuff I put up before is still giving good therapy to those who need it. That was of course the original point of this blog. To help out people who were hurting or confused. My heart breaks for all you mommys, papis, wifes, husbands, and children out there who are not together as a unit. Or who are together and are in the weird state right before or after the big more out of  or into a new country. Or those who are still not sure what to do to keep there families together. There are so many stressfull stages to the whole stupid immigration game but when we decided to spend our lives with that one special person its something we agreed to. So cheers to all you ladies and men of steal. Keep on keepen on. You can do this and you will come out shining on the other side.

Why am I so sure of that you may wonder. Well I made it and Im a small town girl from Missour for goodness sakes. I came to Mexico and left much behind (you can read past blogs to find out what) in order to keep my family together and to be with a man who has been more of a blessing to me than I ever thought possible. When I came here 5 years ago... (Oh yes crappy blogger didnt even post a 5 year anniversery blog, it was June 29th). I knew no Spanish... wwhhhewww glad that stage is over. I knew nothing about Mexican culture... I actually got ofended by things that now make me laugh histarically. I was almost always uncomfortable... for the first time in my life I was not sefl confident. Since those days... and they were long and sometimes dark... I have grown in  my walk with Christ, as a women, as mother, as a wife, and as a friend. I am a better person than I would have ever been had I stayed in the states. My mind is opened to so many things that would have never made any sense to me before. I may still have a weak gringa stomach but by golly my skin sure is tougher.

So in June I went and picked up my official Perminant Resident Card. Oh yes its a real card not some laminated crap and its official. Im Perminant. What that means is no more renewing or paying every year. It also means I can get more benifits such as cheaper schooling and such. (which is still in the plans but were broke and cant afford the freaking translation of my transcripts, all in good time). I didnt even have a party. I think we still need to plan that one. On the day of my 5 year Mexico anniversery I was actually in the US at a wedding for a couple of the best friends we have down here in Mexico.

About the perminant resident busness it took me a long time to get here but the laws have changed. Aparently if you are married to a Mexican you should be able to just bring in you marriage lic (if from the states appostleed and translated.), birth cirts and ID´s and can apply right off the bat. It costs close to 400usd. Which is nothing compaired to almost 200 every year for four years. I have heard of a few people having trouble getting this done and others who got it done right away. Here is the thing about the immigration system here in Mexico... well the government realy. They make changes for the better and it takes people and offices a while to get on the wagon. Im not sure why its ok and why it happens but its true. So if the office closest to you gives you trouble it may be a good idea to take a weekend to trip to the next closest one and see how things go. Just always have more than one copy of every document you have. Here is there website which clearly states that this process is now faster and can be done without an FM2 or waiting for 2 years. I would also recomend printing pages from the website to show at the office when you go. Im gona post here the link to the website the part thats in English is extreamly limited so if you dont read spanish well find someone that does to help you.  Again if I were you I would make print outs of the scren shots so if the office gives you trouble you can show them you got it off their site.
Home page:
http://www.inm.gob.mx/

For those who have family who are mexican, click on the second pdf, Im gona try to attach it to this post.
http://www.inm.gob.mx/index.php/page/Regularizacion_LM

Heres the link for the pdf. ( when it talks about the payments you have to go to the office to get a paper that has all the info. all you do is put your name and personal data and go to a bank and pay it, make a few copies of the recipt when your done.)

http://www.inm.gob.mx/static/Tramites_LM/Estancia_LM/Regularizacion_LM/Regularizacion_por_unidad_familiar.pdf

I think thats all for today I hope you all have a great day and Im sending hugs to all of you who need them.

From the Almost Mexican.


11 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Amanda!

    I got my permanent residency a few weeks ago, too, and my first thought also was, "Ooo--I should throw a party!" Still hasn't happened yet.

    So I'll just get myself down to GDL and we'll celebrate together! ;)

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  2. Congratulations! on getting your permanente.

    While your spelling is getting better, mine is getting worse, I now use "e" when I should use "i" because of speaking Spanish all the time:LOL.

    Hopefully, we will be granted our permanent visas this year too. Husband for sure. My issue is going to be that several years ago,due to a change in our bank's printout, I became his dependant. So I am waiting for an apostille copy of our marriage license to come. Hopefully that will be all that I need.

    I've been reading your blog from the beginning, it's been an interesting journey, I'd love to know what you see differently now. What used to bug you but no longer does etc.

    When I go NOB (north of the border) it seems strange to me. Does it to you?

    regards,
    Theresa
    regr

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  3. Theresa yes you have been a faithfull reader and I love reading your posts also. I think thats a great idea for another post. It will be coming next.

    Jill thats when you know your becoming a Mexican... Good intentions and most of the time you follow through... but always a little late. hahahahah

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  4. Hi Amanda! I'm an expat from CA, pretty much in the same situation immigration-wise. Just wanted to get in touch- would love to hear more about where you are in GDL, what you do, etc. Couldn't find your contact info :) -Nyima

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  5. Congrats!! Glad things are going good for you!

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  6. Yvonne- me to!:) enjoy, I havent been a great blogger over the last few months but I always have good intentions of getting back into it. lol

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  7. Just curious why your husband is inadmissible? Have you ever heard of American Families United? We are pushing for waiver reform this year... and we have a bill being introduced in 2 weeks for this. You should check it out.. it's a support group for families like yours and lobbying group:

    http://americanfamiliesunited.org

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  8. Steven: yes I know american families united. I love the cause. My husband is inadmissible because the officer during his visa appointment decided that my husband must have said he was a US citizen upon entry otherwise he wouldnt have been admitted. There is no proof of this and my husband denies it. The charge was initially given him by the immigration system when we were in st. Louis and was actually thrown out in immigration court due to lack of evidence. But as you may know Juarez is an intity of its own and can make its own decissions depending on the whem of the officer. I love americanfamilies united I get updates from them via email. Im slightly embarrased to say that the reason Im not more involved is because it makes my life... ummm... well easier, To not hold a constant hope that we may someday get admitted back in helps me to live my life more fully. My first two years here were such a struggle of trying to learn how to live here and deciding if we should plant roots or keep hovering. I finally decided to pull my self up by my Missouri boot straps and learn to be a Mexican. We have been here 5 years now and Im adjusted and grounded and life is good. Im thankfull for those families who still fight and some day if those bills get passed and our case gets reviewd I will owe all you hard working families ALOT. Hope that you can understand me on that standpoint and that you dont view me baddly but basically that has been my coping mechanism. Im all about sharing my story so the world can see how many of us there are, so for example I have often written letters for americanfamilies united to use when sending to congress men or the presedent and have given them full rights to use stuff from my blog. Thanks for the suggestion and I can only hope more people reading my blog see your comment. As a matter of fact maybe I should write a post soon promoting them. Thanks for the idea.

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  9. Hi I love your Blog. It has helped me a lot. I moved here to Mexico with my husband and 3 girls ages 8, 4 and almost 2, 5 months ago. I have a question about the permanent residency.. Do you only have to go in one day? Or does it take more than one? and how long until I am a resident? Because my problem is that my tourist visa runs out in November. I know last minute :).. it all has to do with having the money. But it looks like we will have it in October. Oh ya all my girls already have dual, I don't know if that helps me... Thank you for any help

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  10. Thank you for responding! I am sure you are busy! We went into the office in Zihuatenejo. The problem I have is that my passport is in my married name and my marriage license and my girls Mexican birth certs have my maiden name. They said that i need to get a letter from my government saying that it is the same person. I guess we need to go to the embassy for that, I think the nearest one is Guadalajara. They did say that I could get a 20 day extension on my visa so that I would have time to get it done. Aye it was very disappointing... oh well.

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