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Step 1: Get Visa in US at local consulate
You will need your passport, two passport photos, $35, student letter of acceptance aka Letter of affiliation from (host institution). You go to the embassy, take finger prints, turn in the information, sign a few things, then you have to come back several hours later or possibly the next day. Total time: 1 day.
Now, it would make sense that since you have a multiple entry visa you would not need to perform any further steps. Wrong. You will also need to get a Green Card. It is not clear why both are required as the Mexican government has already permitted your entering the country to study.
Step 2: Get your Green Card at local office in Mexico. By the way, they are only open from 9 am to 1 pm, and if you are in DF the office is in Polanco, which is really far from everything. You will need the following items:
1) 3 photos (infantiles) 2 looking forward and one of your right profile.
2) Passport with Visa
3) Copy of passport
4) Copy of visa
5) Secondary ID to leave at reception when you enter building
6) FMM card that they give you at customs when you enter Mexico
7) Formato Basico - Basic form (make sure to write out your middle name and not just put your initial or your application will be invalidated and you will have to go back)
8) Formato para solicitar trámite de estancia - Form to solicit procedures of stay
Picture of INM:
I recommend going early and getting there at 8:45 am so that you are the first one to get a card to wait in line. The first day all you do is turn in all of your documents and pray that you have everything filled in correctly. Of course, they won´t tell you if anything is filled in incorrectly, and you will have to go back. For me, the office is about 1 hour from where I live, plus about 1 hour of waiting per trip, so 3 hours total. I made the mistake of forgetting my FMM card because the Fulbright orientation people forgot to tell us about that document. 3 hours of my life gone just to submit that one paper.
When you submit your paperwork, they will give you a procedure number and a password to check the status of your application on-line. While good in theory, they don´t update the status very often. For 3 weeks all I knew is that I had turned in my documents. This was nerve-wracking as at week 5 I had a flight to the US. The process takes 3-4 weeks so if something was wrong and I had to start over, I would have been screwed. So at the beginning of week 3 I emailed the office and go the following response:
Le informo que no puedo proporcionarle información de su trámite por este medio, pues va en contra de lo dispuesto por la Ley Federal de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública Gubernamental, puesto que no puedo verificar su identidad.
"I inform you that I cannot provide information about your procedure by this method, as it goes against the provisions of the Federal Law of Transparency and Access to Government Public Information, as I cannot identify your identity."
This really pissed me off as I had put my procedure number and password in my message. Plus, all I wanted to know was if everything was ok. So, I decided to call their office. Here is how the calls went.
Call 1: Immediately disconnected
Call 2: I selected English option and option to talk to a representative. Immediately disconnected.
Call 3: Immediately disconnected
Call 4: Ok, so they don´t want to talk to me in English, let´s see what the Spanish options are. I listen to Spanish options, but took more than 3 seconds to pick my choice, immediately disconnected.
Call 5: Immediately disconnected
Call 6: Ok, so Spanish, and have to pick fast. I pick talk to Immigration Office. Rings. No one picks up. Then I get a message saying that the voice mail is also not set up. It says "Adios." Disconnected.
Call 7: Immediately disconnected
Call 8: Hmmm ok. Let me try the only other option that could work. Document Status. Rings. No one picks up. Voice mail not set up. Adios. Disconnected.
Sooo, looks like I have to go in person to ask what´s up. This is my third trip. I go. 1 hour. I wait 45 minutes. They tell me in 5 seconds that my application is ok and will be ready in 3 days. 1 hour home. Why couldn't they have told me that on the phone or via email???
5 days go by. Online status still not updated.
I go in again to see what's the deal since I am less than 2 weeks away from needing to leave the country. If you leave without getting your green card, they make you go back to square one of getting a visa... in the US!
Another 1 hour commute. I wait 45 minutes, they take my finger prints. The waiting wouldn't be so bad, but the government building must have a cell phone jammer, because there is literally no service in the waiting room. It's like they want you to have to be acutely aware of the fact that you are waiting. I also notice as I am waiting that there is this lawyer guy who I have seen before from other trips, and his people are magically getting through the process more quickly than us regular non-lawyer schmucks. This really pisses me off. He's friends with the people and it seems like they are getting preferential treatment. This seems messed up as there is even a sign saying "Dar las gracias es suficiente" or "Saying thank you is sufficient". I'm not saying I know he did bribe them, but why the hell were they going through more quickly?
I wait 30 minutes, and I sign something. I wait 30 minutes and I sign something else. At this point I've been in the building for about an hour and a half and I've done is given my finger prints and signed two pieces of paper. I'm also starting to realize that I am going to be late for my 11 am meeting. I wait another 20 minutes and suddenly, as if by bureaucratic magic, they have my green card ready for me. I did it! It only took one day at the embassy in Seattle, and 4 separate visits to the Instituto Nacional de Migración in Mexico. I calculate the total time to be 8 + 3 + 3 +3 + 4 = 21 hours of my life to get this credential. What else could I have done with 21 hours of my life? Watched both season of House of Cards, learned how to do the worm, watched Lord of the Rings all three movies 2.3 times, become a certified scuba diver, read the bible, etc...
So, that's how you get a green card for your student visa in Mexico. Simple.
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