Well, not really.
But I am without my beloved and hard-earned FM3 booklet.
Those of you who have followed my move south know that one of the early choices I had to make was whether (1) to come across the border on a tourist card (FMT) and then obtain a non-immigrant visa (FM3) after I got settled in Melaque, or (2) obtain my FM3 in Portland before I crossed the border.
The second option seemed the easiest because the process for obtaining an FM3 in Portland is extremely efficient.
The downside, as many of my fellow bloggers told me, was that I would still need to jump through all of the bureaucratic hoops once I arrived and tried to register my FM3.
Tuesday was reckoning day -- when I would discover whether I had simply wasted time by getting my FM3 in Oregon.
My new neighbor (and fellow blogger) Sparks Mexico, agreed to accompany my brother and me to the Immigration office in Manzanillo.
And I am glad he did. I am positive that if we had not had him along with us, I would never have found the office. It is well within the commercial bowels of the Port of Manzanillo complex.
But I am without my beloved and hard-earned FM3 booklet.
Those of you who have followed my move south know that one of the early choices I had to make was whether (1) to come across the border on a tourist card (FMT) and then obtain a non-immigrant visa (FM3) after I got settled in Melaque, or (2) obtain my FM3 in Portland before I crossed the border.
The second option seemed the easiest because the process for obtaining an FM3 in Portland is extremely efficient.
The downside, as many of my fellow bloggers told me, was that I would still need to jump through all of the bureaucratic hoops once I arrived and tried to register my FM3.
Tuesday was reckoning day -- when I would discover whether I had simply wasted time by getting my FM3 in Oregon.
My new neighbor (and fellow blogger) Sparks Mexico, agreed to accompany my brother and me to the Immigration office in Manzanillo.
And I am glad he did. I am positive that if we had not had him along with us, I would never have found the office. It is well within the commercial bowels of the Port of Manzanillo complex.
But, with his expertise, we arrived to take our efficiently-dispensed number: 39, with number 35 currently being served.
I fully expected to witness people shoving ahead in line when the next numbers were called. But everyone was as orderly as if we were in a Norwegian DMV.
When my number was called, I explained why I was there to a young woman who spoke very precise English.
I gave her my FM3, my passport, copy of my passport, and 6 photographs (front view and side view) that could be used to re-issue Franco coins. (No. I did not digitize copies for sharing.)
And, of course, I provided a copy of my newly-purchased Constancia de Domicilio. It worked just as advertised.
She then asked me to fill out two very detailed forms -- one in English, the other completely in Spanish.
I was extremely smug that I figured out most of the questions, and answered a good portion accurately. The fact that my birth date is not 17 March 2009 was more a matter of amusement than embarrassment.
She thanked me, kept my FM3, and told me I could pick up my registered visa in two weeks. When I asked her what needed to be done, she informed me it was the normal time period.
The answer was non-responsive, but I was not in a trial. I was at the mercy of a bureaucracy that needed to grind fine my request to live in mexico.
Instead of a fancy green booklet, I left with a copy of my oddly-completed application form as a temporary visa. Fortunately, we did not run across any military checkpoints on the drive north to Melaque. A folded, scribbly form just does not have the caché of that seal-ensconced visa.
What I did not need to register my FM3 was a police check and proof of income. The checks conducted at the consulate were adequate for those purposes.
The lesson I bring away is preparation will not ensure a perfect result, but it will elimate the number of variables.
Thanks to my fellow bloggers, I knew a number of those variables. Thanks to Sparks, even more were elinated.
All in all, a very good trip to Manzanillo.
We will see how "happily ever after" turns out when I return to pick up the visa at the end of the month.
