# HUGE MISTAKE with FM3 renewal...help!!



## lancet (Feb 27, 2013)

Hello all, 
I need to know if any one else has run into this and if so what they did to correct the situation. I got a FM3 on March 27, 2012 which means it expires March 27, 2013. Last friday, the 1st, I went to the immigrations office here in Puerto Vallarta to begin the process of renewal. However I was told by Norma at the information desk that my FM3 status had been annulled because of a mistake I made when flying back into the country back in September. Here is what happened:
On the plane they give you the declarations form AND the FMM card to fill out which you are to give to the customs agent (along with your passport and FM3 card) at the airport upon re-entry. I made the mistake of filling out the FMM card!! I also supposedly forgot to give the agent my FM3 card along with these papers (even though my wife is POSITIVE that I did give him my FM3 card). SO because of that, both Norma and another INM agent that I talked to are telling me that I subsequently changed my status from an FM3 to just a visitors visa (FMM) which gives you only 180 to be in the country. They informed me that I will have to return to the States and visit a Mexican consulate office and start a whole new FM3 over again! If this is true then I am now here illegally as the 180 days ended yesterday. I also have a car here which means that it is technically illegally as well and a lady at Aduana told me over the phone that if this situation above is correct then I could have my vehicle confiscated if I got pulled over. 
In an attempt to get a straight answer I visited the INM desk at the airport on Friday afterwards and met a very nice INM agent who informed me after looking at the copy of the FMM I have that he was the agent who processed everything when I entered back into Mexico in September. I explained to him everything that I had been told at the INM office by the port and he said that he could help me. He gave me his name, phone number and email address and told me to call him today (Monday). I called him this morning and he wants to meet me this evening. I'm just a little nervous that I'm being taken for a "ride" and he's going to tell me he needs "x" amount of money to "fix" my problem when in reality all of this could be handled in a better way....LEGALLY. 
I'm REALLY stressed about this and frustrated that if this is true that such a simple little mistake can cause such a huge problem. 
On the front of the FMM paper it states: "THIS FORM MUST BE FILLED OUT INDIVIDUALLY BY EVERY FOREIGNER ENTERING MEXICO, INCLUDING DIPLOMATIC PERSONNEL, AND WILL BE HANDED IN UPON DEPARTURE FROM THE COUNTRY" 
On the back under "Important" is also states: "For foreigners holding non-ordinary passports, as well as for holders of current immigration forms, this FMM does not vouch for legal stay; it only has statistical purposes."

Have ANY of you had anything similar to this happen to you and if so how did you correct it? I'm open to any suggestions! Thanks so much for your help!!


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## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

You live in Puerto Vallarta and flew out and back, correct? What did you do when you left Mexico? You should have shown your FM3/No Inmigrante card to the departure check-in agent and filled out the exit portion of an FMM, then saved the entry portion of the same FMM to use for your return, submitting it to the INM agent along with your passport and No Inmigrante card. I don't know how you'd have been given a departure boarding pass without turning in the exit half of an FMM. Do you still have the entry half? Showing that to the agent may help.

If you filled out a new FMM for your return instead of using the entry portion of the one you already had, then yes, they could have recorded you as a visitor if they didn't realize you had the FM3/No Inmigrante card. In that case, you still have the exit portion of the second FMM, right? If it says 180 days and doesn't have Box 8 filled in with your residence card number, then that's probably what happened. I don't know of anyone who has faced this situation so can't offer suggestions for rectifying it, other than to show all the relevant documents to the INM folks and hope they'll accept it as an honest mistake.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

makaloco said:


> You live in Puerto Vallarta and flew out and back, correct? What did you do when you left Mexico? You should have shown your FM3/No Inmigrante card to the departure check-in agent and filled out the exit portion of an FMM, then saved the entry portion of the same FMM to use for your return, submitting it to the INM agent along with your passport and No Inmigrante card. I don't know how you'd have been given a departure boarding pass without turning in the exit half of an FMM. Do you still have the entry half? Showing that to the agent may help.
> 
> If you filled out a new FMM for your return instead of using the entry portion of the one you already had, then yes, they could have recorded you as a visitor if they didn't realize you had the FM3/No Inmigrante card. In that case, you still have the exit portion of the second FMM, right? If it says 180 days and doesn't have Box 8 filled in with your residence card number, then that's probably what happened. I don't know of anyone who has faced this situation so can't offer suggestions for rectifying it, other than to show all the relevant documents to the INM folks and hope they'll accept it as an honest mistake.


I would add that I think the Original Poster's instincts are correct about meeting an INM agent after hours. That sounds like a scam to me and seems unlikely to help resolve the problem.


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## lancet (Feb 27, 2013)

*thanks*

Thank you both for your comments.....all I have from the trip is the FMM slip that was stamped on our arrival at the airport here in PV. I'm going into this meeting with the agent with skepticism. If he asks for any money up front then I know he's trying to scam me. I'm just hoping that maybe he will help know who to talk to or something.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

It appears that you made two mistakes.

1 - You didn't go through the process of getting an exit FMM by showing your FM3 to INM at the airport when you left PV. As makaloco mentioned, you must fill out half and they give you the second half for use when you return to Mexico. Not doing all that is a violation.

2 - When you returned, you compounded your error by filling out a standard tourist FMM, another violation since you now hold multiple immigration statuses as a foreigner which is illegal.

I have heard of fairly hefty fines for committing violations like those but I haven't heard of having your visa revoked, especially without notifying you. However, with the chaos that is INM these days, who knows how they are handling things.

I usually tell people that an immigration lawyer is a waste of their money since you can handle it all yourself but, in your case, I think an abogado de inmigración is exactly what you need to not get raked over the coals any more than is absolutely necessary.

Good luck, I hope you can get it sorted out.

And I'll bet you never again fail to visit the INM booth in the PV airport and fill out that paperwork when you fly out of the country!


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## lancet (Feb 27, 2013)

Circle110,
I did indeed visit the INM at the airport before flying out of Mexico but I have no idea where I put the exit FMM and thus didn't show it to the agents when I entered back into Mexico. Would they have any file of this on hand? Thanks for your help.


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## circle110 (Jul 20, 2009)

lancet said:


> Circle110,
> I did indeed visit the INM at the airport before flying out of Mexico but I have no idea where I put the exit FMM and thus didn't show it to the agents when I entered back into Mexico. Would they have any file of this on hand? Thanks for your help.


They might - it would be worth looking into. "On hand" may not be the best way to put it since their systems are still in chaos but you'd think that they would have a record somewhere since you filled out your exit FMM at the PV airport. Good luck.

INM is in such a mess these days. I just went through the process of changing my INM status to "married to a Mexican national" and, at the same time, renewing my visa. It was an utter nightmare of confusion on their part and cost me eight trips to INM in San Miguel Allende, which is a two hour round trip from where we live. Not fun. If I didn't have a shaved head, I would have pulled my hair out. Everyone we talked to there was having some kind of troubles.


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## lancet (Feb 27, 2013)

Well that's reassuring....an not reassuring...hehe. I know what you mean though by utter chaos...it's a joke how bad this organization is, well, unorganized. I get a different answer from each person I ask at INM...who knows who is correct! Thanks for your response!


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

So when visiting this agent tonight he says he can fix for 500Pesos, what you gonna do?


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## lancet (Feb 27, 2013)

*I will ONLY do this legally*

I wasn't able to meet with him tonight as he had to cancel. I am suppose to meet him at work tomorrow so that makes me feel a little bit better. However, the second he asks for one peso I'm walking. I refuse to do this illegally and have already contacted a couple of immigration lawyers to see what they suggest. I am only hoping that maybe the agent who has offered to help is going to give me some suggestions or people to contact to get this straightened out.


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## chicois8 (Aug 8, 2009)

Good luck, hope everything works out well for you..........


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## cuylers5746 (Mar 19, 2012)

*Visa Hassle*

If you're actually temporarily or perminantly residing north of the river into Nayarit you could go to the INM Office by the Fair Grounds, in Tepic where there are a lot of extremely nice knowledgable and friendly ladies there that could help you out.

I wouldn't be worried about meeting the INM agent, after work - just meet him at a coffee shop there in the Airport. He has specific duties at the Airport and can't leave during work hours to help correct some other matter. Your just there for his advice and consul, and let him know that when you call him. Maybe he can just issue you another Tourist Visa for 180 days, while you're hassling out your Visa Temporal problem? It might not be kosher, but who knows maybe that's what he had in mind when he gave you his number?

To get your car out, you can go to an Aduana Office and ask for a Temporary Transit Permit to get the vehicle out. You will then have only 3-5 days to get it out and return the sticker at the Aduana by the border before you cross. That can save your car from being confiscated.


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## blackmarigolds (Jul 15, 2013)

Lancet< Are you around? I have the same problem, and I am praying you can give me some guidance.


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