# Have I already Jeapordized my chances of returning?



## A gringo (Jan 8, 2014)

Hello all, I have been living in Mexico since May 31st, on an FMM card for 180 days. You don't have to be good at math to figure out that my FMM has expired and I am living here illegally. I have every intention of returning to the States to get a new tourist card but I am held back by lack of funds and fear. I fear that upon making it back to the States, the INM will refuse to give me another FMM because I stayed here illegally. With a baby on the way in March, I do not want to be stuck unable to cross back into Mexico when he is due. But from what I have read, you are charged $5 for every day of your stay without a valid FMM. So I am feeling in a quagmire where I sink deeper and deeper everyday that I stay here but leaving here may mean me not being able to come back. Please give your input, you all are the only support group I have down here. Thank you.


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

If you're residing in Mexico, you're not entitled to tourist card ... from what I understand of the regulations. Your overstay as a "tourist" isn't the primary concern you should have. Expulsion from the country or a stiff civil penalty for violating the residency requirements should probably be of more concern and depending upon facts which we're not privy to ... any future application for residency status could be negatively impacted. If living in Mexico is something you feel compelled to do, for whatever reason, then you should probably be seeking legal advice from an attorney experienced in immigration matters. Best of luck.


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## vantexan (Sep 4, 2011)

A ****** said:


> Hello all, I have been living in Mexico since May 31st, on an FMM card for 180 days. You don't have to be good at math to figure out that my FMM has expired and I am living here illegally. I have every intention of returning to the States to get a new tourist card but I am held back by lack of funds and fear. I fear that upon making it back to the States, the INM will refuse to give me another FMM because I stayed here illegally. With a baby on the way in March, I do not want to be stuck unable to cross back into Mexico when he is due. But from what I have read, you are charged $5 for every day of your stay without a valid FMM. So I am feeling in a quagmire where I sink deeper and deeper everyday that I stay here but leaving here may mean me not being able to come back. Please give your input, you all are the only support group I have down here. Thank you.


Google "overstaying tourist visa in Mexico". Apparently others have overstayed and it doesn't seem to end the world. Mexico wants you to spend money there, and it's not like you are taking work from citizens or committing heinous crimes. Probably not a good idea to do it again though.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

Longford said:


> If you're residing in Mexico, you're not entitled to tourist card ... from what I understand of the regulations. Your overstay as a "tourist" isn't the primary concern you should have. Expulsion from the country or a stiff civil penalty for violating the residency requirements should probably be of more concern and depending upon facts which we're not privy to ... any future application for residency status could be negatively impacted. If living in Mexico is something you feel compelled to do, for whatever reason, then you should probably be seeking legal advice from an attorney experienced in immigration matters. Best of luck.


If this young couple does not even have the financial wherewithall for him to take the bus to the border and back (as he has described in posts on other threads), they won't have enough to consult an attorney. Unless someone has lived in true poverty - which includes not only having insufficient money to meet your basic needs, but also not having the opportunity to earn enough money for your needs - it is hard to grasp how paralyzing it can be. People in poverty make decisions and actions that make others ask, "What were you thinking?" , but those decisions were made due to not having the money for what might be the best course oif action. 

Unfortunately it appears from A ******'s various posts that he needs enough money to take the bus to the border, pay the fine for overstaying by about 45 days and counting, (approx $225? based on $5/day overstayed), then re-enter on another 180 day visa. When his Mexican wife gives birth to their child in March, he can apply for residency as the father of a Mexican-born child. This should not be that difficult - except he does not have enough money for the return bus fare and fine. 

All in all most of us would not consider the amount of money involved to be that much, but when you don't have it and have no way to earn it, what can you do? 

A ******, is there anyone in the States (family/friends) who could make you a small, interest-free loan just for you to regularize your status, then when your baby is born and you get residency, you'll be able to work and pay it back? I know it's hard to ask for a loan, but you are in a very tricky situation. BEWARE of taking a loan from a prestamista or even a "Caja Comunitaria" in Mexico - the interest is a killer. If they say "3% interest" that's 3% a month 36% a year!

Wishing you luck!


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## A gringo (Jan 8, 2014)

Thank you for your understanding ojosazules, my parents are pretty well off and I think they would be willing to help me out. I hate to ask them for help, but I think sometimes you are put into a worse situation by never asking for it when it is available. And thank you to all of you for your responses, it is hard at 20 to know if the decisions I make are the right ones. I simply do not have the life experience to have keen foresight. I will speak with my mother and see what she says.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Could your wife's family help out with a small loan?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Well great if your mother can help you the faster you get out the better off you are. Talk to the consulate to see what your options are to go back but the sooner you get out the less money it will be. Before going back no matter how much you want to be there for your babie´s birth, check all options with pluses and minuses and then make the decision. Maybe while in the States your mother can help you and go with you to talk to an immigration lawyer.
You and your wife and your baby will be way better off if you are legal and can go to work legally.


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## A gringo (Jan 8, 2014)

Very well, I will start that process. And does anyone know, am I partly protected from deportation and denial of re-entry through my marriage in Mexico to a Mexican? Or does this hold no significance?


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## maesonna (Jun 10, 2008)

I don’t know, but I’m guessing not.

I base this on the fact that being married to a Mexican offers no fast-track to residency status. Yes it does open the possibility for family dependent status and it does speed up elegibility for nationalization, but it doesn’t make getting residency automatic nor does it reduce the paperwork required.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

Simply walk out of Mexico at the border, present your US passport and enter the USA. Then, spend some time with your mother, etc. and return as a tourist on an FMM permit. You do not need to turn in the old one, nor even visit INM on the way out. You will be in the free zone and not expected to have a tourist permit or visa. 
When the baby is born, register the birth at the municipal registry AND with the US Consulate ASAP. Then, you and your wife, with the childs documents in hand, can visit INM and you can apply for residency under the vinculo familial rules.


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## ojosazules11 (Nov 3, 2013)

A ****** said:


> Thank you for your understanding ojosazules, my parents are pretty well off and I think they would be willing to help me out. I hate to ask them for help, but I think sometimes you are put into a worse situation by never asking for it when it is available. And thank you to all of you for your responses, it is hard at 20 to know if the decisions I make are the right ones. I simply do not have the life experience to have keen foresight. I will speak with my mother and see what she says.


Believe me , there are those of us two or three times your age, and we still don't always know if we're making the right decisions...

Hopefully you'll be able to get this all done posthaste, and be back in plenty of time for the new arrival. Remember, babies don't come with instruction manuals, but they can be good little teachers! Be sure to let us know once he's arrived.


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## geaaronson (Apr 4, 2013)

I don`t see there being much of a problem, but be careful. Twice in 8 years I exceeded my work visa schedule and yes, there was a tongue lashing, but other than that I was able to get my work visa renewed, and yes, i would have been taking the job of English teacher away from a Mexican national. The times we`re talking about are similar to your own-several months time.


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## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

geaaronson said:


> I don`t see there being much of a problem, but be careful. Twice in 8 years I exceeded my *work visa* schedule and yes, there was a tongue lashing, but other than that I was able to get my work visa renewed, and yes, i would have been taking the job of English teacher away from a Mexican national. The times we`re talking about are similar to your own-several months time.


Your example does not apply, since* A ****** never had a visa*, just a tourist permit, which has lapsed. He is now an illegal alien, who needs to get back to the USA and re-enter Mexico legally, with a new FMM Touirst Permit to await the impending birth of his Mexican/American child. That event, properly registered, will allow him to become a legal resident with a *proper visa under vincula familia* rules.


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