MyRightWingDad.net

Following was written by Tom O'Malley, a

US citizen who was a Director with S.W. BELL in Mexico

City:

"I spent five years working in Mexico.  I worked

under a tourist Visa for three months and could legally

renew it for three more months. After that you were working

illegally. I was technically illegal for three weeks waiting

on the FM3 approval.

"During that six months our Mexican and

U.S. attorneys were working to secure a permanent work visa

called a 'FM3'. It was in addition to my U.S.

passport that I had to show each time I entered and left the

country. Barbara's was the same, except

hers did not permit her to work.

"To apply for the FM3, I needed to submit the following

notarized originals (not copies):

1. Birth certificate for Barbara and me.

2. Marriage certificate.

3. High school transcripts and proof of graduation.

4. College transcripts for every college I attended and

proof of graduation.

5. Two letters of recommendation from

supervisors I had worked for at least one

year.

6. A letter from the St. Louis Chief of Police indicating

that I had no arrest record in the U.S. and no outstanding

warrants and, was "a citizen in good standing".

7.Finally, I had to write a letter about myself that clearly

stated why there was no Mexican citizen with my skills and

why my skills were important to

Mexico .

We called it our 'I am the greatest person on Earth'

letter. It was fun to write.

"All of the above were in English that had to be

translated into Spanish and be certified as legal

translations, and our signatures notarized. It produced a

folder about 1.5 inches thick with English on the left side

& Spanish on the right."

"Once they were completed, Barbara and I spent about

five hours, accompanied by a Mexican attorney, touring

Mexican government office locations and being photographed

and fingerprinted at least three times at each location, and

we remember at least four locations

where we were instructed on Mexican tax, labor, housing,

and criminal law and that we were required to obey their

laws or face the consequences.

We could not protest any of the government's actions or

we would be committing a felony. We paid out four thousand

dollars in fees and bribes to complete the process. When

this was

done we could legally bring in our household

goods that were held by U.S. Customs in Laredo, Texas.

This meant we had rented furniture in Mexico while

awaiting our goods. There were extensive fees involved here

that the company paid."

"We could not buy a home and were required to rent at

very high rates and under contract and compliance with

Mexican law."

"We were required to get a Mexican driver's

license. This was an amazing process. The company arranged

for the licensing agency to come to our headquarters

location with their photography and fingerprint equipment

and the laminating machine. We showed our U.S.

license, were photographed and fingerprinted again and

issued the license instantly after paying out a

six dollar fee. We did not take a written or

driving test and never received instructions on the rules of

the road. Our only instruction was to never give a policeman

your license, if stopped and asked. We were instructed to

hold it against the

inside window away from his grasp. If he got his hands on

it you, would have to pay ransom to get it back."

"We then had to pay and file Mexican income tax

annually using the number of our FM3 as our ID number.

The company's Mexican accountants did this for us

and we just signed what they prepared. It was about twenty

legal size pages annually."

"The FM3 was good for three years and renewable for two

more after paying more fees."

"Leaving the country meant turning in the FM3 and

certifying we were leaving no debts behind and

no outstanding legal affairs (warrants, tickets or

liens) before our household goods were released to

customs."

"It was a real adventure and if any of our Senators or

Congressmen went through it once, they would have a

different attitude toward Mexico."

"The Mexican government uses its vast military and

police forces to keep its citizens intimidated

and compliant. They never protest at their capitol or

government offices, but do protest daily in front of the

United States Embassy. The U.S. Embassy looks like

a strongly reinforced fortress and during most protests the

Mexican military surrounds the block with their men standing

shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to protect the

Embassy. These protests are never shown on U.S. or Mexican

TV. There is a large public

park across the street where they do their protesting. Any

issue might precipitate a protest, such as proposed law

changes in California or Texas which affect Mexican

nationals living there."

Please feel free to share this with everyone who thinks we

are being hard on the illegals.