Getting My FM2

So one of the many things i was working on last week, was getting my fm2. FM2 is actually called an inmigrante familiar now, though im not sure if i spelt it right.. Either way, it it used for those that would like to become a Mexican citizen later down the road. If your married to a Mexican, I think this process is easier. I say this because its how i had to do it, and i have NO idea how i would do it if i wasn't married to a Mexican.

Okay so here's the thing, i haven't actually gotten my fm2 yet. I'm in waiting. But my paperwork process went like this:

This past wednesday my husband and I went to the INM office in Puerto Vallarta. If you go to the INM website, for the state of Jalisco, it only shows the office for Guadalajara. Though there is one in Puerto Vallarta. Before we went i spent many hours on the internet insuring that we had everything. Though when we got there we didn't. So you can probably count on having to make two trips there. Please note, I am not giving legal advice, and i am married to a Mexican Citizen so my process is different then others.

Paperwork I Had to Have:

1. You still have to got to the INM website and complete an application form that has your information. i.e name, passport number, address, etc. I will provide a link below, because i'm unable to explain this process. Caution, it's in spanish. Which is why i had my hubby do it for me.
2. 5 infantil photos. 3 front & 2 side (ears uncovered, no glasses or hats.). We found it was best to get them done at the Soriana thats around the corner from the INM office.
3. Your FMM. The tourist card that you recieve either at the airport or boarder. And a copy (front and back)
4. I had apostilles for the next following document, I am usure if it is required or not (and they will want to see the originals): Copy of Marriage Certificate, Translated
5. Copy of Passport demographics
6. Copy of husband's pay stubs. They ask for proof of $1000 monthly income, but they let it slid if your married to a Mexican.
7. Copy of Husbands Mexican I.D. card (front and back)
8. Two Letters (in Spanish), one from your spouse and the other from yourself, stating why you want an fm2. Your spouse must include in their letter that they will support you (financialy)
9. Proof of your Mexican address. i.e. electric bills, phone/internet, letter addressed to you, etc. (Bills do not have to be in your name)
10. When you first go to the office you will meet a women at a desk on the first floor. She will give you two documents. One is a list of what you need, the second is a form to be filled out. It's best to take copies of the second form incase you make a mistake. You will give the second page to the officer upstairs.

The person located at the desk on the first floor is where you want to go first. (Our person was a woman). She spoke english and talked with us about what we needed and made sure that we wanted to file an fm2 and not an fm3. She gave us the two documents and told us to return when we had everything. Because they close at 1pm it was too late in the day to gather the rest of what we needed, so we returned the following day. On Thursday we returned, she went over our documents, gave us a number, and sent us upstairs. We got very lucky, we were the third in line. Our number was 39, and they were on 36 when we went up. The room is a tight fit and has 4 couches crammed inside. When our number was called we went up to the officer and gave him our documents. He said that we were missing a copy of my husbands Mexican I.D. card (we weren't told that we needed it), and also a complete copy of our translated marriage certificate. He told us we could return to him without having to get another number. After a quick stop at Soriana we were ready. There were many more people waiting when we got back, luckily we just cut in line and went to the same officer. After he had everything he typed some stuff on his computer, gave us a print out, and said "two weeks". The print out contains a website where you can check your status online with your pieza and contrasena (a pin and passcode).. As soon as its approved you return to the INM office with your print out. They will give you a paper that you will take to the bank to pay for your fm2. When you have paid, you will return once again and go upstairs to get your card.


You can read up more on documents you need Here.

Here you can find help filing out the application form on the INM website.

If you'd like to find out more information on Mexican Visas, you can go here.

Changing blog plots

So i know i originally planned for this to be a go to blog about my life living in Mexico, but my husband and i came to the conclusion that we want to live in the United States. I know we did'nt seem to last long here, but Puerto Vallarta has left a mark on me. Though we've only been here a short time i feel as though i have learnt more about myself then i had in the past 5 years. I will continue writing on my blog about living here while i am still here, but i will also be writing about the immigration journey of my husband.

First a bit about my husband. Martin, like many immigrants, was brought into the United States at a young age, and was raised there. But due to his unlawful presence past 365 days after his 18th birthday, he has a 10 year bar from re-entry into the United States. He abided by the laws, and still does. That was the main reason for us leaving the US.

Sadly, i recently found out, i am going to be unable to file for him while in Mexico. It will benefit his immigration process if i am working in the US while awaiting his paperwork to go through. This honestly breaks my heart, and i pray i have the strength to do it. Once i took a trip with some family for 2 weeks, i thought i was going to go crazy not seeing him for so long. But i don't have much choice. And this is something i have to do for my family.

So before our 180 days is up here in March 2012, i will be making the trip back to the US with Maya. Where i will get a job and work to bring my family back together.

Tosha

Happy (late) Halloween!

Just like the title says "Happy (late) Halloween". I majorly slacked this time, but if your still interested in hearing how my first halloween in Puerto Vallarta went; then here it goes!

31/10/2011

I was very excited for this day to come, so i started of early with dressing maya up in her costume. And even though i dressed her up early i was barely able to take 5, mostly blurry, pictures of her as she ran out the door. Maya was a pumkin witch, at least that's what im going with. Though you can look at the blurry picture below and decide for yourself.

I had even tried painting her face, everything was going well untill she smeared it all over the place. Note to self, don't do face paint on a toddler..it never lasts for more then 5 minutes... I did however face paint my brother-in-law's face. He is 10 years old and he wanted me to make him a pumpkin.

With maya dressed up and ready to go, our first trick-or-treat stop was the corner store. The owner there, Don Tonio, knows us well since we always go to him. He was sitting outside on his bench happily handing out candy to a group of kids who were dressed as all sorts of goblins, vampires and skeletons who would sing "Te quiero halloween" as they went. I found this funny, because it translates to "I want halloween".

As 8pm approached, my husband, Maya and I headed to la malecon with my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and nephew. The malecon was packed with people! Locals and tourists a like. In the middle of they had several vans, some with a person sitting on top of them throwing candy to the people below. You can imagine how crazy this got. All the candy crazy people, including us, would tail the vans trying to catch the candy as it fell. There was a lot of candy hitting heads, feet stepped on, and fighting over candy that landed on the floor. Even though it was some what dangerous, i think was very exciting and i can't wait for next years!

Happy (late) Halloween Everyone!

My Trip to The Dentist..In Mexico [Insert Horror Music Here]

Okay, so it wasn't that bad. Really...


I have a wisdom tooth that took the place of a molar i had lost. So it was my first wisdom tooth. Well now my bottom row of teeth were too full for another, so the second wisdom tooth (for my left side) had no where to go and decided to cause a lot of imflamation and pain. I was tempted to leave it alone to avoid..the dentist..and after 3 days of it bothering me, my husband forced me to go. Darn that caring husband...


So today we headed down to Pitillal to go to a dentist, who is the boyfriend of my sister-in-law. The things you get by knowing people. He checked my teeth out and said i needed an x-ray of the tooth, but that he doesn't do them in his office. So he directed us where to go. After ariving the woman at the desk tell us that this dentist was at home. So she called her and we were told she would be there in 25 minutes. We decided to go ahead and spend that 25 minutes at Martin's families house. We then headed back to the dentist #2 and she started to take x-rays of my mouth. But her machine wasn't working properly. She did nnot charge us, even though she came from home to assist us. She then told us another dentist to go to. We followed her directions and realized that it lead us to dentist #1.. Dentist #1 laughed about this and told us of another dentist around the corner. At dentist #3's office we were able to get the x-ray. We then procceded to go back to dentist #1. He took us to his torture chamber and told us that the wisdom tooth was coming up straight but there was no room. He then asked me something i was not prepared for.. "do you want me to take it out now?".. Are you serious?! I am totally unprepared for this! (was my thought)...But sadly what came out was a measly, "sure". He began working on my mouth and honestly it wasn't bad. At all. I was so grateful. But thenn come to find out, the tooth was really close to the jaw bone. So when it was finally time to pull it out, i swear i thought he wanted my whole jaw to come out with it! Finally it was over. And i gotta say, that sucker was huge! Lol

(These numbers are based on people without insurance)

Minutes spent in a waiting room (US): 15+
Minutes spent in a waiting room (Mexico): 0*
Cost of x-ray (US, i'm guessing): $200+Cost of x-ray (Mexico): $15
Cost of wisdom tooth removal (US): $500+ (per tooth & totally guessing)
Cost of wisdom tooth removal (Mexico): $50

Amount of pain i was in either way: ... priceless

*Seriously, every place i wen't to today, x-rays and dentist, i did 0 minutes of waiting. I don't count waiting for dentist #2 because we left and came back..you can't do that in the US.


This story was not to scare anyone. Please do not make any reference to my use of horror terms, this is simply how i have always veiwed dentists as a child. And sadly i still do. My experience did go better thenn previous ones in the US.

My Daughter and The Churro Man

So as you may know, i am a mommy. My blog so far has been mainly about my experiences and knowledge thus far of Puerto Vallarta, which is my intentions, but my blog is also suppossed to be about being a mom. Not only a mom in Mexico, but a mom in general. Parenting, stories of my little one, the works!

This is a burro.. not a churro... my daughter is very confused :)

Well the above is not what i had entended for this post. It was a draft stored in my phone that i had slacked on completing. As it would turn our my duaghter more than likely posted it for me.. So below, i will post what i had originaly planned.

My daughter loves the churro man. He is convienently located right next to my in-laws taco shop. So whenever my little one gets the urge for something deep fried in oil and covered in suger it's right at hand. And sadly the churro man doesn't mind giving up his precious churros to Maya. I think it's an animal instinct that Maya has, much like a cute puppy or kitten. They get those big eyes and stare right at you, not budging untill they get just what they want. Like candy from the corner store lady..or churros from the churro man. It's safe to say that Maya has a secured amount of highly sugary treats here in Mexico.. Though it's safe to say she could get them anywhere...

Dear Mr. Onion

Dear Mr. Onion,

I would like to inform you of how much i hate you.

Tonight i had to use you for a dish, and even though i have had to cut you before, i still have no idea how to properly do it. As if that wasn't bad enough, you made me cry like a baby. Or like i do when i watch the happy and sad parts of disney movies'; because the pregnancy hormones from having my daughter forever changed my emotions and still haunt me today. To add to the embarassment of crying over you, litterally, i sliced the tip of my thumb.

Once it was all over, and i added you to the pot, it was to my horror that i needed more of you...

P.S
My dear limes, don't feel left out. I hate you too. After my run in with Mr. Onion, you were sure to add your own fun into the mix. So you squirted my eye with your juices.

I would like to add, that i will enjoy you more then usual tonight as i devour you both.



Love,

Tosha