# overstaying tourist visa?



## achilipepper2010

ive overstayed my tourist visa (ive been here 11 months) time has gone by so fast and i forgot!
Im planning on going on vacation to france in july or aug. 
im honestly getting a little nervous. 
what could possibly happen at the airport? just pay a fine? 
once i leave the country and come back its good for 6 months more, so should i go and apply for a long stay visa after my trip?
also what are the fees if I go to Guadalajara and apply ?


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## raquellee

achilipepper2010 said:


> ive overstayed my tourist visa (ive been here 11 months) time has gone by so fast and i forgot!
> Im planning on going on vacation to france in july or aug.
> im honestly getting a little nervous.
> what could possibly happen at the airport? just pay a fine?
> once i leave the country and come back its good for 6 months more, so should i go and apply for a long stay visa after my trip?
> also what are the fees if I go to Guadalajara and apply ?


Hi. I will just tell you an experience I have had - ok? But I dont have answers. I was due to fly out of Mexico City on the last day of my 6 month visa- about 1 1/2yrs ago. (My son was born in San Diego right before I entered for this 6 months, so I brought him through Tijuana with a birth certificate as a newborn (at that point in time, it was 2 months before the new passport for newborn law changed)). So in the airport 6 months later due to go back to the US with a tourist visa to expire the same day as my flight. The airline would not let me take the baby on board without a passport. So the delay of racing to the American Embassy via taxi and getting an "emergency" passport made, caused us to miss our flight. But my arguement with the airline was that we did call previous and ask if the baby would have a problem boarding w/o a passport and they said no, which there indeed was a problem. So I demanded that they put us on another airline to avoid overstaying our visa. They sent my Mexican husband "downstairs" to talk with the immigration office about my situation. He was told that "it was up to the guy there working how much he felt like charging for a fine for me it could be a hundred or a thousand dollars whichever he felt like". Needless to say that made my husband angry. The supervisor at the ticket counter at the airline became involved and agreed to reschedule the flight for me for the next day, free of charges, and he would stamp that day's date on my visa for me so that I would avoid fines. The point is, I would not trust any set rate for a fine for overstaying the 6 month visa. This was my experience and I hope that it helps you decide what to do in one way or another. Someone told me if you travel by car back to the US you are not held accountable. And that I will say, they only checked my passport, and did not even look at my visa when I went through Tijuana on a busy day. Good luck. (I think that if you overstay a visa it may hurt future visas, but I am not sure)


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## RVGRINGO

achilipepper2010,
You must admit that you have flagrantly violated immigration law and overstayed your visa in Mexico by a very long time. As you have seen, in the previous post, it is serious and even one day will cause problems and possible fines. Your only hope is to walk out, as they sure aren't going to let you on an airplane to go anywhere. With the changes and tighter computerized control after May 1st, it may be even more serious. You are now, and have been and illegal alien for a long time. It may be time for a bus ride to a border town and a short 'vacation' in the USA. I suspect that you will want to avoid being prevented from ever returning to Mexico in the future; a possibility if you are found without proper immigration status. Such matters are not as they were even a year ago and are set to become more strict on May 1st. That will involve some confusion, for sure, at the border and the authorities may well be on 'short fuses' for a while. Good luck.


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## raquellee

RVGRINGO said:


> achilipepper2010,
> You must admit that you have flagrantly violated immigration law and overstayed your visa in Mexico by a very long time. As you have seen, in the previous post, it is serious and even one day will cause problems and possible fines. Your only hope is to walk out, as they sure aren't going to let you on an airplane to go anywhere. With the changes and tighter computerized control after May 1st, it may be even more serious. You are now, and have been and illegal alien for a long time. It may be time for a bus ride to a border town and a short 'vacation' in the USA. I suspect that you will want to avoid being prevented from ever returning to Mexico in the future; a possibility if you are found without proper immigration status. Such matters are not as they were even a year ago and are set to become more strict on May 1st. That will involve some confusion, for sure, at the border and the authorities may well be on 'short fuses' for a while. Good luck.


.

Please tell me RVGRINGO, what is going on on May 1st? I am not aware of this.


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## RVGRINGO

The immigration documents will change from paper & booklets to computer readable electronic cards. The FMT will be discontinued, in favor of a 180 day FMM with three categories, one for tourists and two for business travelers. There appear to be new requirements on when you must apply for an FM3 when you wish to stay in Mexico longer than 180 days. The FM3 will no longer be available from consulates, as in the past, and must be obtained in Mexico at the nearest INM office to your residence.


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## raquellee

RVGRINGO said:


> The immigration documents will change from paper & booklets to computer readable electronic cards. The FMT will be discontinued, in favor of a 180 day FMM with three categories, one for tourists and two for business travelers. There appear to be new requirements on when you must apply for an FM3 when you wish to stay in Mexico longer than 180 days. The FM3 will no longer be available from consulates, as in the past, and must be obtained in Mexico at the nearest INM office to your residence.


So these electronic cards will be issued to each person upon arrival? And then do you keep the same card forever using it every time you come into the country? And if you are already there, say for example I will be going to Mexico from the US next week and staying for 6 months. If I am unable to obtain an FM3 in the meantime while I am there, will they exxpect me to change my paper FMT to an electronic card in May? And what new requirements are there for an FM3? Is it going to be more difficult to come into Mexico multiple times on a tourist visa now? Is it going to be less or more difficult to get an FM3? I will describe breifly...
I am married to a Mexican, we have 4 kids, all American born. 2 are his and mine and 2 are mine (sole custody) What chances do we have in your opinion of obtaining the correct documents rather than travelling back and forth on a tourist visa which is what we have been doing for the past 3 years. The only advice that the Cuernavaca immigration gave us was to have my husband go to the US cause it would be easier for us, but apparently according to lawyers here, that is not an option either. So... back to the Cuernavaca immigration, they told us that I have to prove $1000 per month income and $500 each dependent so "x 4" with a grand income of $3,000 per month. Of course this is impossible. My husband does not make much money. We are in the process of selling our home in Morelos and moving in with his parents in Jalisco to "live" without too much money... I am coming to the conclusion that it may be impossible to have our family because of either countries. Not only this and that but my father who has been helping financially is telling me to throw in the towel because he is tired of helping a never ending solution-less situation. We are down to our last 6 months as a family unless I come up with some solution plan. I am desparate right now.


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## RVGRINGO

You are in a Catch-22 situation without sufficient income to qualify for FM3 Visas for you and the children. FM2 Visas, which could lead to 'inmigrado' or naturalization status, cost even more to obtain and maintain. Since your husband has limited resources, they probably wouldn't let you have an FM2 Familial Dependent status anyway. Then, there is the problem of the children who are not his; could they even immigrate. I assume their natural father has issued permission for them to cross the border; as that can be a sticky problem.
So, since you have limited and unreliable sources of income from outside Mexico, it seems your only option is to continue to travel as a tourist. The new FMM may permit multiple entries within the 180 day period, but it may possibly restrict you to 180 days per year. I'm not sure of that yet. I have heard that it will restrict you to having a US vehicle only 180 days per year. An FM3 is required to have freedom to travel in and out, with or without your vehicle. The FM2 has limits on how long you can be out of Mexico each year, and in a five year period.
If your husband can go to the USA legally, that may be your only practical solution.
Basically, the FM3 is for retirees, technicians, business people or investors, artists with portfolios, students, etc. The FM2 is for those who wish to immigrate as retirees or professionals, as well as for family members. That said, Mexico does not have any financial safety nets for you and does not want immigrants without resources. Times are tough everywhere, I'm afraid. Good luck to you all.


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## tanderson0o

RVGringo.

Is the FMT changing to electronic cards as well, as I currently only travel to DF once or twice a month for a week or so at a time and always use the FMT?


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## RVGRINGO

The FM3 and FM2 will become electronic photo ID cards, but I'm not certain about the new FMM (Forma Migratoria Multiple), which will replace the FMT. We'll know more after May 1st.


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