INM agents in Cancun have all been issued staplers so they can staple FM-Ts (tourist forms) into people's passports. They are doing this because so many people were losing their FM-Ts. Instead of redesigning the FM-T so that it clearly and boldly says you need to keep it...and instead of posting signs that tell people to keep their FM-Ts...and instead of telling agents to TELL passengers to keep their FM-Ts...instead of using common sense they are now mutilating people's passports. If you mutilate your own passport or if your dog chews on your passport then it becomes invalid. One single ripped page can make your passport invalid. Mexican immigration agents routinely turn away people will mutilated passports, they are not allowed to enter the country. The staplers are, of course, cheap pieces of junk, so they jam a lot. The immigration process used to take around 30 seconds per passenger and now it takes another 5 to 10 seconds per passenger...the process will now take up to 33% longer...this means longer waits for passengers in the immigration area! And now when people leave the country the airline will be ripping the FM-T from the passport, which will take time, and will result in tears in the paper. This whole thing is stupid. Sure am glad I have an FM-2 and don't have to let Mexico tears holes in my passport. I think that tourists should complain to Mexican immigration about this, if they do INM will stop this stupid practice.
When we enter the states our tourist visa is always stapled into our passports by immigration. Tracey x
The US often staples passports as well. But it's truly obnoxious. A passport can easily be rendered invalid by this practice. Anyone heard of PAPER CLIPS!
Well, I;m not surprised... as government organizations of all types tend to do stupid things like this all the time.... I just wonder what they will do when you make a return trip to Mexico with that ripped page in your passport caused by THEIR stapling of a previous FMT.... Seems to me that there are far less problematic solutions to the lost FMT problem, and for that matter why even bother with them for people from countries like the US who don't need visas? Just go by the entry/exit stamps like a lot of countries do.
