This is slightly off, slightly on topic. Just curious really, why do people need apostilles? I've been here six years and have never been asked for one, is it just a random thing, have I gotten lucky or does it have to do with each individual situation?
Immigration asked for an apostilled birth certificate from me, and also an apostilled marriage certificate (even though we also registered our marriage in Mexico and gave them those papers). We also needed the apostille of our marriage certificate when we registered our marriage here. And I needed an apostille of my birth certificate when I got on my husband's health insurance. There was something else too..I forget now...maybe when I got my CURP I needed to show them an apostille, I forget now.
As for me, it was listed on my paper the employer gave me. I only have a HS diploma, so I wasn't sure if I should do that as well. I think it was only $15 for my Birth Certificate. But looking for the Diploma is gonna be a task I am not looking forward too. How about the translated copies of anything? Why do I feel like I read somewhere that somethings need to be translated into Spanish, but by someone appointed by the government? I feel like I have read so much that I maybe smooching things together. I am assuming that if I do the FM3 here, I will need a job proposal letter, a letter from a landlord and a bill in either my name or in the landlords name. Am I on track? And I would do this all at the Mexican Consulate here in Philly? Yay or Nay? I truly do appreciate the help you are giving me. Like I said. I have been reading and planning for about 9 months now, so I could be confusing alot of things.
docs ToriB, I didn't need an apostle seal on my actual diploma. Instead, I needed to have that done to my college transcripts. Not sure why. I guess because a diploma could be easily forged/manufactured?? Who knows. I didn't have to have anything translated into Spanish. My lawyer (Mauricio Mendoza and the lawyer I used before I found Mauricio the Saint) took care of any translations that were required. As for getting your FM3 in the US before you move, here's what I did... I went to the Mexican Consulate in Denver (where I was living at the time) and simply gave him my passport, a letter showing I had a job lined up (or you could just show proof of income...money saved in bank, if you do "rentista" to start with), 2 passport pics, and the fee for the visa. At the time it was only about $100US, but it's gone up a bit over the years. I got my FM3 the next day. It was a VERY easy process. When I got to Cancun, I had to register my address, which was a huge pain in the a$$. The major hassle was mostly with getting a notarized lease from my landlord, but also that immigration kept asking for new documents each time I went back. After that hassle, I've always paid a lawyer to handle it for me. Worth every peso!! Like I said before, the good part about getting your visa in the US beforehand is that you KNOW they can't deny you here. You'll already have a visa in hand. They might give you the run-around when registering it, but that'll be the worst of the problems. No biggie, really. I think (and this is merely speculation on my part. i have no proof to back this up....but Rivergirl might know this too!) that you might have better luck getting a job, since you'd have an FM3 already. You'd just have to change from Rentista (FM3 for retirees...or people that don't technically work here in Mexico) to the version for people that work here in Cancun. (If there is a special name for that version of the FM3, I'm not aware of it.) Call the Consulate nearest you and ask what they require of you to get your FM3 there in the US. Friends, including CancunGringa, have had to get medical tests and all sorts of documentation in order to get there FM3 issued in the US....but it still seems like a lot less trouble than getting it done here and possibly being denied. Good luck!!!! Susan
docs torib, I forgot this important tidbit.... If you get your FM3 in the US, you MUST register it within 30 days of it being issued. (Unless that rule has changed. Ask at Consulate to make sure.) So, if you aren't planning to move until October, don't go get your visa issued until mid-September, or later. Of course, if the Consulate is taking a few weeks to issue visas, then you'd need to start earlier, but you get the idea.
