More Liana

The IRS woman I talked to today told me that every part of that form HAS TO BE FILLED OUT. She told me to click either button re the refund part and put the income amount as zero. I did that, along with adding different banking information, and it was accepted without a hitch.

Don Anonimo, in fact there are 64 varieties of maíces criollos (aka maíces nativos), plus countless sub-varieties. Here are the 64 varieties.

I filed the non-filers form about three months ago, and 8 weeks ago found the notice on Get My Payment that my payment had been mailed on June 12. I have yet to receive either a check or a debit card. I'l call that 800 number to see if I can learn anything. EDITED TO ADD: Late this morning, I did call the IRS number that dichosalocura posted. The wait time to talk to an actual person at the IRS was said to be between 15-30 minutes; the actual wait time was about 45 minutes and it was worth every minute of it. The person I talked with identified herself with an official IRS ID number, asked me for some data about myself, and opened up my ACTUAL FILE showing what had already been done to get my stimulus payment to me. She read me chapter and verse that a) the direct deposit was attempted (but at a bank where I have never had an account, go figure) and b) the actual check was mailed to me (to the correct address in Morelia) on June 12, but has never arrived. She said they would put a tracer on the check immediately, that the tracer would take about 6 weeks, and at the end of that time the check would be deposited to my USA bank account--and ONLY to my USA bank account, she was unable to find a way to deposit it to my Mexican bank. She assured me that the IRS would notify me about the results of the tracer. Then she walked me through changing the deposit account to my USA bank, which she assured me would not affect my Social Security deposits to my Mexican bank. I was amazed at her knowledge, her patience, and her willingness to stay on the phone with me until we were both sure the changes were accepted and the process was a done deal. This is the IRS, folks, and I was impressed. I strongly recommend that if you have not yet received a check that was to have been direct deposited OR was mailed to you and has not yet arrived, call these people. The wait time to talk to a live person is worth it. Had I not called them, I would never have had a single hope of receiving the money. The IRS Stimulus Payment number, calling from Mexico, is: 001-800-829-1040. Thank you immensely, dichosalocura, for posting that information.

Amén. And you're probably seeing a lot of American-style sweet yellow corn, which has is being grown in several Mexican states and has become hugely popular in Mexico--as you said, for eatin'.

I suspect that the yellow corn being sold on the streets there is ELOTE--early, tender corn--rather than the DRIED corn used to make masa (corn dough). Yellow elotes are not usually field corn, and you really want dried native corns for making masa--most dried corn is hybridized and is grown for animal feed.

Ever since Mexico began producing blueberries, I have bought them fresh and grown locally, which for me is in Michoacán. There's no comparison with frozen blueberries, IMHO. I use them for pancakes, for muffins, for adding as fresh fruit to sugar-free natural yoghurt, for adding to salads, etc etc etc. I usually pay $120 pesos for a kilo at Costco or less if I can buy from a seller on the street. Walmart and other retail stores sell them for 60 pesos/170 grams, which IMHO is too expensive.

The estimate is that 60% or more of the working-age population works in Mexico's "informal economy".

Look for a box or bag that reads, "Arroz Inflado". It will probably be a Kellogg's product made in Mexico, and will cost you far, far less than the Kellogg brand with an English-language label.

I saw clear ziplock bags at Costco (Morelia) about 2 weeks ago. ETA: I was at Costco again yesterday and the ziplock bags were there, in boxes of assorted sizes per box.

How did you find out the address to which it was mailed? I'd like to know where they sent mine.

On May 24, the IRS mailed me a letter stating that my stimulus money would be direct deposited to my Mexican bank. I received that letter about 10 days ago. Yesterday I checked the "Where's my payment" section of the IRS website. The IRS posted there that my check was mailed out on June 12, to my address of record at my bank: i. e., my Mexican address. Hmmm...I wonder if I'll get a direct deposit AND a check, a debit card, or what. Nothing has arrived anywhere as of today.

I went to the Federal Office Building at Av. Alcalde 500 in Guadalajara for my INAPAM card and received it the same day I applied. No fuss, no muss, no line. I travel a LOT in Mexico, and 95% of the time by bus. All buses--whether local or long distance--offer 50% discounts on tickets for INAPAM card holders. Last year alone I probably saved 6,000 to 9,000 pesos, maybe more--which amounts to about 600 pesos per round trip from Morelia, Michoacán (where I live) to Mexico City.

And of course the word on the street is that it took two men (Hidalgo and Morelos) to replace one woman (Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz) on the 200 pesos note.

Residente Temporal and Residente Permanente are visas, each with an income requirement, and are administered by the INM (Instituto Nacional de Migración). Mexican citizenship has no income requirement and is administered by the SRE (Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores).