Have the FM3 already but got to register it here in Cancun. 5 trips and still working on it. All I can say is: The system SUCKS INM SUCKS The fact that rules change daily SUCK The building SUCKS The road the building is on SUCKS Waiting out in the hot sun SUCKS Today they couldn't find the keys to the building to open on time SUCKS The people that work in the building SUCK IT JUST SUCKS !!!!!! :double finger: to INM
This is a horrible time to be dealing with INM. Huge changes have been happening, and LOTS more are in the pipeline. Lots of new agents are being hired. Lots of agents are being forced to move to other states or lose their jobs. Lots of heads are rolling. And it's a pretty hard job even without all that crap going on. But yes, most of them are incompetent crooked idiots, you are right.
Wait until you have to deal with United States Immigration and you'll have a new perspective. Now that I'm going through the visa process in the States, I long for the days of hanging out at the INM office.
I would bet their rules are consistent....I bet the office is larger and better maintained....I bet what they tell you today is good tomorrow...I bet you can voice you opinion without fear.....
I just finished registering my FM3 that was approved at a consulate in the U.S. It took 6 weeks and 9 trips to immigration - so hang in there - I know your frustration first-hand. It's easy to see that there is some chaos going on there right now and the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. I think most of the agents I talked to were either overworked or undertrained, but a couple of them.... creo que fue simplamente chingarme! But last Thursday I talked to a super nice, professional, knowledgeable immigration agent there and he was surprised it was taking so long to just register my address here and he promised me he'd have my FM3 ready for me this past Monday, and it was ready when I got there Monday morning.
Gene is right... I've helped people with immigration in the U.S. as part of a job I had in Minnesota... and although it can be tedious, at least the rules seem to be consistent from day to day.
I'm with you all! The office is a physical disaster, I always feel like I am going to pass out with all those people and very few seats. They have changed the layout a few times since I started my process so noone knows where to stand or what window to go to. One day you have to line up at the window on the right, the next day no, you take a number from the FM3 girls. One day I go to the window on the left to bring in the new papers (and copies of the ones they lost), the next day it's back to the window on the right. With fifty people in a very small, under air conditioned space, with a TV that doesn't quite work but chatters incessantly, cel phones jangling, babies crying, toddlers screaming, people arguing and noone quite knowing what is going on, it is a very stressful experience. Do this several times for 2 hours or more, dealing with your own stress of wondering what will happen next, it's enough to bring you to tears (and it has). This has been the worst year ever for the process. It's my fifth time going through it and I cannot believe how horrible this round has been. Hopefully they can get it together soon, there are a lot of stressed out people there.
Yes, the rules are consistent, however, it all comes down to the consular officer who may be calm and fair, or may be a Stalin in training and deny you for some stupidity. A visa petition goes through no less than three separate agencies...the USCIS, Dept of State, and the Embassy. So you never see a person to complain to. Oh yeah, despite being a United States citizen, I'm not even allowed to step foot into the embassy. Story from a friend whose husband's visa was denied although he has two American children. A medical exam is required at a clinic with American doctors before the visa interview. They wouldn't let the guardians of an eight year old girl into her medical...my friend (who lives in Cancun) said that the doctor was screaming at this little girl, "Que clase de idiota eres? Te digo que hacer, y ni siquiera me haces caso. Imbecil." Turns out the little girl was deaf and since she didn't have a parent with her, she didn't know what to do. This was an American doctor by the way! And I've heard countless stories about the rudeness of US consular and immigration agents. Yeah, you can complain and get your congressperson involved, but the remedy may be years down the line and you already have your visa denied.
US Immigration is not consistent, that's total B.S.! They absolutely treat Mexicans different from Europeans, they practice outright open bigotry. I know a guy who is a drug dealer and was shot by a S.W.A.T. team in the shoulder and has been arrested multiple times and then was given U.S. Citizenship. The guy is a cretin, but they welcome him with open arms. I know countless people who had fake marriages and got citizenship in the U.S. And I know people who were denied a green card simply because they overstayed a tourist visa. Give me a break. In Mexico you might have to go 10 times to immigration, but if you are going that much it's because the process IS MOVING FORWARD. In the US they tell you to be there at 7 am and if you are lucky you get in to see someone by 4 pm. You spend the entire day in the office with screaming babies and bad tv shows and no a/c and they search you before you go in and they won't let you have food or drink in the waiting area. It's hellish. INM is full of crooks and idiots and their rules are very restrictive. But U.S. Immigration is completely inconsistent.
