# Brit wants to cross US border without Mexican papers



## MikeQro (Sep 15, 2013)

Hi, I'm Mike, 43, from Manchester England and have been living in Queretaro for the last 8 years, but the last 4 years have been without papers, i didnt renew my FM2. Basically i want advice about crossing the USA border for a weekend and then coming back and being given a 6 month tourist visa for Mexico, which i will then take to la migra and start the process again. Prefer to do it this way rather than them hitting me with a huge fine.

Is this possible ?, Wont they want some Mexican papers at the border when i enter the US ? or is my UK passport good enough to cross ?

Many thanks for any help, 
Mike


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

MikeQro said:


> Hi, I'm Mike, 43, from Manchester England and have been living in Queretaro for the last 8 years, but the last 4 years have been without papers, i didnt renew my FM2. Basically i want advice about crossing the USA border for a weekend and then coming back and being given a 6 month tourist visa for Mexico, which i will then take to la migra and start the process again. Prefer to do it this way rather than them hitting me with a huge fine.
> 
> Is this possible ?, Wont they want some Mexican papers at the border when i enter the US ? or is my UK passport good enough to cross ?
> 
> ...


If I were in your shoes, I would bite the bullet and talk to INM (Instituto Nacional de Migración) before leaving. I think your bigger problem is not how to leave Mexico without a valid immigration document. It is how to return. 

If you fly out of Mexico, you need to check with Migración before they will let you board. If you walk out at one of the border cities, Mexico does not stop you at all. I don't know what happens when you drive out, never having done that.

However, when you try to return to Mexico, you seem to be planning to rely on Mexico not connecting you with your past immigration status. I don't know anything about the INM computer system, but, personally, I would not count on it having forgotten about me.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

You will be fined for not renewing, whenever you try to renew or obtain a new visa.
Under current rules, you cannot enter Mexico on a tourist permit and then change to a visa status.
To apply for a visa, you must apply at a Mexican consulate in your home country.
I think you really screwed up by not keeping your status current when you had the opportunity and are now an illegal alien.


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## tijuanahopeful (Apr 2, 2013)

If you walk out at one of the border cities, Mexico does not stop you at all. I don't know what happens when you drive out, never having done that.

When you *walk *out of one of the border cities, you do just that, and are asked when you go through customs if you're bringing anything out, and what did you do in Mexico that day. Driving across is a whole different ball game, though. When you finally get to the CBP agent after crawling in line in your vehicle for 1+ hours, you'll probably get sent to secondary. 

In secondary, they'll examine your vehicle with a fine tooth comb, a flashlight, knock on all of the sides, and pry open every compartment inside. Then they have you step out of your vehicle, so the dog can jump in, and after the dog is finished, they have you drive it through an X-ray machine. Plus, they try to tell you that your vehicle has problems. After they're done with all of that, provided they found nothing, you're told that you'll be out of there in a few minutes.

I'm in the process of moving to Tijuana, and because I have a van, I'm sent to secondary every time,. My last trip (Thursday), it took three hours to cross back into the US, and by the time I got back to San Diego, I was exhausted.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Yes, this is a serious situation which should be corrected. The fine can be substantial, but arrest and expulsion for being in the country illegally is the more substantial/painful possibility. Since you're not a tourist, applying for permission to be in the country as one isn't applicable. My suggestion is that you consult an immigration attorney in Mexico.


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## MikeQro (Sep 15, 2013)

RVGRINGO said:


> You will be fined for not renewing, whenever you try to renew or obtain a new visa.
> Under current rules, you cannot enter Mexico on a tourist permit and then change to a visa status.
> To apply for a visa, you must apply at a Mexican consulate in your home country.
> I think you really screwed up by not keeping your status current when you had the opportunity and are now an illegal alien.


But i could stay as a permanent tourist ?, and go shopping in the states twice a year for example ?


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

MikeQro said:


> But i could stay as a permanent tourist ?, and go shopping in the states twice a year for example ?


You are a resident, not a tourist ... so talking about re-entering as a tourist is inappropriate for your situation. Also, too, there's the possibility that at some point, if you were to sneak back into Mexico as a tourist, someone entering the data into the database would discover your FM2 expired, you did not renew or surrender it as required and you had re-entered improperly.


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## MikeQro (Sep 15, 2013)

Many thanks for the replies , i have to make few decisions, but i have noticed a theme happening and a big difference when i talk to Mexicans compared to when i talk to western foreigners, The Mexicans are always saying "Don't worry about it, anything is possible in Mexico", and the foreigners are advising me as if i was living in a Western country living with strict western rules (which of course i am in favour of), but the standards are not that high here and rule breaking is a daily occurrence. I have plenty of time to think about my next step, nobody seems in a rush to contact me, i even went into the immigration office last Xmas and told them i was illegal and they just said make another appointment but with my schedule i couldnt do it....Anyway, thanks again


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MikeQro said:


> Many thanks for the replies , i have to make few decisions, but i have noticed a theme happening and a big difference when i talk to Mexicans compared to when i talk to western foreigners, The Mexicans are always saying "Don't worry about it, anything is possible in Mexico", and the foreigners are advising me as if i was living in a Western country living with strict western rules (which of course i am in favour of), but the standards are not that high here and rule breaking is a daily occurrence. I have plenty of time to think about my next step, nobody seems in a rush to contact me, i even went into the immigration office last Xmas and told them i was illegal and they just said make another appointment but with my schedule i couldnt do it....Anyway, thanks again


I wouldn't rely for a solution to your problem on the advice of Mexican who've never had to deal with INM . You've lived here long enough to know that Mexicans will tell you whatever they think you want to hear, even if they have no idea what they're talking about!


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

You are a foreigner not a Mexican so I would rely on the experience of other foreigners...


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## MikeQro (Sep 15, 2013)

i would be perfectly happy to get my hands on a tourist visa (which i believe is possible even if through an unorthodox route) just so i can stop paying the police 200 pesos in the street once a month because i dont have ID on me. They will need to come up with another excuse for a bribe.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

MikeQro said:


> i would be perfectly happy to get my hands on a tourist visa (which i believe is possible even if through an unorthodox route) just so i can stop paying the police 200 pesos in the street once a month because i dont have ID on me. They will need to come up with another excuse for a bribe.


Those are the kinds of things that can happen to anyone who chooses to live illegally in any country. Funny thing, I have a Mexican residence visa, which I never carry with me, but I never get stopped by the police.


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

MikeQro said:


> i would be perfectly happy to get my hands on a tourist visa (which i believe is possible even if through an unorthodox route) just so i can stop paying the police 200 pesos in the street once a month because i dont have ID on me. They will need to come up with another excuse for a bribe.


Living illegally in Mexico and paying bribes to police? This is spiraling out of control and my advice is to do the right thing. Get legal or they will escort you out if you do run across an officer that is honest and does not take a bribe (read: Doing their job)


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

What are you waiting for?

It appears that you'd rather be arrested than 'fess up.


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

I ived in Mexico for 39 years and was never ever asked for identity papers in the street. I find that very odd.


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## conorkilleen (Apr 28, 2010)

Justina said:


> I ived in Mexico for 39 years and was never ever asked for identity papers in the street. I find that very odd.


I have lived here for a little over 3 and I have been asked about a dozen times. Not "in the street", but I have been asked by officials to show my "papers". I don't find it odd at all, but maybe thats because I have been asked a lot.

I DO NOT carry may passport with me. I DO carry my Visa Card, however. Imagine if you get hit by a stray bus or get mugged and left on the sidewalk bleeding and knocked out. Without some sort of identification that can tie you to your existence in the country, you could be John Doe and your family will never know your demise.

Get legal.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Justina said:


> I find that very odd.


That you were never asked for proof of permission to be in Mexico is indeed "very odd." Asked or not, we are expected to respect the laws and obey the regulations.


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## mickisue1 (Mar 10, 2012)

The OP can correct me if I'm wrong. 

But if I were a cop who wanted bribes, and I knew that Person X had no papers, I would stop him/her every.single.time I saw him/her.

And I'd tell my fellow bribe loving cops about this human cash machine, too.

Could it be that's the case, here?


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## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

conorkilleen said:


> Living illegally in Mexico and paying bribes to police? This is spiraling out of control and my advice is to do the right thing. Get legal or they will escort you out if you do run across an officer that is honest and does not take a bribe (read: Doing their job)


Connorkilleen, I fully agree with you!

Message: In Mexico, as well as any other Country, we do not want nor like illegal people coming to live and doing illegal actions.
Get legal or, get out of my Country


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## Justina (Jan 25, 2013)

Longford, you missed the point that in the street I was never ever asked for identity. In banks when changing a cheque or some official business, then of course I had to produce it.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I bet there is more to that story..who would not renew their FM3 and chose to be illegal and pay bribes? Someone with a deathwish?


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## richardlvance (Sep 23, 2013)

*Drive across..*

I drive to the USA frequently and cross into USA at the Pharr, TX station. They have never ever been interested in any Mexican papers, only your passport and do you have something to declare (some crossings are different). But being American I don't have to deal with a visa to enter the USA, you may need one, I don't know.

Coming back into Mexico stop at the INM and show your passport, you've never been a resident of Mexico, they don't have computerized records going back. Do not ever mention your old status. Reason to enter is to visit friends or relatives. Then you can get the visitor visa, and need to leave the country again a few days at the 180 day point to renew upon return.

Your vehicle will need a customs (ADUANA) sticker to be renewed at the same time if its not a Mexican tag, so be sure to have the sticker removed before crossing the border to the USA. You have to watch for the sticker removal stations on the Mexico side. They will remove the sticker, take a photo of your VIN, and in a few months the money will flow back to your credit card.

It is true that if you wish to go for the residency visa you now must return to the UK and apply at a Mexican consulate. You're kind stuck there... The car sticker and visitor visa every 180 days will get old, but people do that.

What Mexico is "really" interested in is extracting money from your wallet. INM is a pussy compared to ADUANA. I've lot count of the times I've crossed into Mexico and drove inland past the customs checkpoint and have never been asked for any identification at all, just "do you have anything to declare." And some will ask for my car tax papers.. They are vigilant about desktop computers, for whatever reason. You an carry a hundred laptops and they don't care, but a desktop will get you some customs duties. And the best time to enter Mexico is around Christmas. Mexicans come back from the USA shopping trips with the car/truck obviously jammed full of everything but they have "nothing to declare". Customs gets really loose at Christmas. My first entry to move here was a Christmas week at Laredo crossing. I had a pickup truck with 4 computers and all kinds of electronics pretty obvious in the back seat. The place was like Rome just chock full of vehicles of every sort and the guy waved me through saying GO ******, you are slowing the traffic. At the inland ADUANA station I told them I was retired and moving to Monterrey they smiled and waved me through, no checks.

Good luck.
Its an adventure here.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

richardlvance said:


> Coming back into Mexico stop at the INM and show your passport, you've never been a resident of Mexico, they don't have computerized records going back. Do not ever mention your old status.


The OP is in the "system," having been issued an FM-2 which was not renewed nor turned-in to INM.



> It is true that if you wish to go for the residency visa you now must return to the UK and apply at a Mexican consulate. You're kind stuck there...


Maybe "stuck" with the USA as well, because, if I'm recalling correctly, there's certain paperwork someone from the UK must present which has a time-limit on the stay. The visa waiver program. The stay may have been substantial and the penalty could be, as well. Other folks from the UK might offer some comments on that.



> The car sticker and visitor visa every 180 days will get old, but people do that.


The tourist/visitor permission doesn't apply to foreign residents in the interior of the country.


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## richardlvance (Sep 23, 2013)

The tourist/visitor permission doesn't apply to foreign residents in the interior of the country.[/QUOTE]

I'm in the interior, more than 100 km. The purpose of the ADUANA sticker IS to drive in the interior as you can drive all you want around the border regions with no sticker.
However practically if you are in the serious interior (DF area) its not fun to drive all the way to the border every 180 days. Some in the Yucatan make the run to Belize every 180 days.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Or Guatemala.......


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Europeans can stay 3 months in the US without a visa., they need a clearance from Homeland security when they fly in , not sure if they drive in..


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## PanamaJack (Apr 1, 2013)

citlali said:


> Europeans can stay 3 months in the US without a visa., they need a clearance from Homeland security when they fly in , not sure if they drive in..


I am not so sure "ALL" Europeans can stay 90 without a visa. I believe there are some that need a visa.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Here's a link to the USA Visa Waiver program and requirements:

Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

My impression, after reading the requirements, is that the OP here may have legal difficulties ... no matter the course of action taken.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Panamajack, you are right I believe that is you are from some countries from Eastern Europe, the story is very different. I had some Romanian friends who could not get a visa to visit their family but I bet you a Brit , French, German,Italian and so on are on the visa exempt list and can get in for 90 days. 
In the case of the OP I cannot see him having problems going to the States for a few days if he comes up with the name of a hotel or contact in the US but I can see him having problems going into Mexico if the Imigration starts looking at his passport. It is a crap shoot and will depends if through addresses or exit stamps they can determine he has been living in Mexico. It is all a question of luck wether he goes in or not.
If he does not he will be kicked back in the US where he can overtay his stay and live illegally there (speaking English helps passing under the radar there).as well or go back to Great Britain and apply for the proper paperwork.


I remember working for a winery that had a restaurant back in the 70´s. Most employees at the restaurants were illegals from Europe mostly France Spain and Great Britain while most of the vineyard and cellar workers were illegals from Mexico. When the patrol would come they would grab every Mexicans they could find on the premises (always missed the Los Amigos wine tank where most of the cellar workers were) but the vineyard guys were usually deported. The cellars guys would come out and go back to work after the patrol left, the vineyard guys were back in a week or so with the coyotes who cashed in their checks and the Europeans were never asked for their papers....


The op will have to get the permit from ESTA which is good for a couple of years so it is just another place to trip...


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