I've got "the new card," the one that replaces the green FM-3 passport-like permit for foreigners temporarily living in Mexico. Recently I crossed the border from Tijuana into Mexico, and in accordance with advice from a pleasant official in a Migracion office a bit to the south, exited through the pedestrian line at the border, re-entered on the other side of the street, went to the Migracion office, and told them I was EXITING, not entering, Mexico. When the requested forms were done, I then got in line again and crossed the border and went to my house in San Diego. (Seems the only way you can get to the Migracion office at the Tijuana border crossing is to to follow this routine.)
At the Migracion office, the official, apparently a long-term employee who wanted to cover his tush and also to do the right thing, spent quite a bit of time looking up regulations re. the holder of what I'll call "the card," consulting with his co-workers, and came up with the following edict:
1. I must fill out as certain form, which I did with his help. This form was designed for people ENTERING, not leaving, Mexico, but he said it was the right one to use.
2. I must specify the maximum number of days I would be gone from Mexico! After he and his colleagues had looked up the regulations on the web, he was quite sure that I could be out of the country no longer than 90 days before I had to re-enter Mexico. He wrote "90 days" on a line -- beneath a sentence that said the proviso did not apply to holders of an FM-2 or FM-3.
This was obviously a well intentioned senior official, but my impression was that he had never seen one of these cards before, and wasn't in the least accustomed to Americans with Mexican documents checking out of Mexico. It's been many months since Mexico started issuing these, and Tijuana is the world's busiest border crossing. Sooooooo.... a few questions. All of them pretty important, I think.
First: Do card holders typically "check out" of the country, showing their cards at the border crossing where they exit Mexico? (I know, it seems like they must. But I have heard that some gabachos do not.) If so, is the procedure anything like what this official had me do?
Second: Are "the cards" used in ANY way to keep a computerized record of comings and goings? I had had the impression they were, but now am not sure. Didn't see them run the card through any sort of card reader, though they may have. Whereas the FM-3 offered an easy way- official stamps-- to keep track of comings and goings, the new card doesn't seem to. So how do they keep track of them?
And finally: Has anybody ever encountered this "no more than 90 days out of the country" thing? I have heard that FM-3 holders could not be out of Mexico for more than six months, from various reliable sources, including border officials, but had also heard that that was not true, that you could be out of the country until your FM-3 was near expiry, and you had to go back to renew it. Is there ANY requirement re. how long you may be out of Mexico without losing your "FM-3 card"?
Any assistance appreciated. Thanks.
Some puzzlement over the card that replaces the FM-3 permit
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