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Immigration closing in Chapala?


Intercasa

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I hope it doesn´t but it may very likely not be around that much longer so if you are contemplating that jump to permanente do it now or else you will have to do it all in Guadalajara.

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The writing has been on the wall, I felt, for some time since the initiation of the new Law & Rules, then the reassignment of the jefe.

Once a lot of folks become Residente Permanente, there will be little need and I suppose they would be unable to justify the cost.

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Well, two things, I don't see "huge" numbers jumping to permanente compared to those us up temporal and I was in there Friday and it was standing room only, so if they want to stick it to us, I'm sure they will, but not with justification.

Do you have any solid figures or sources re how many are going to permanente and how many temporal, or is this just speculation? :017:

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My sense of the situations is that the vast majority of those elligible for Residente Permanente are taking advantage of the opportunity to gain that status. It would seem foolish not to do so, even when inconvenienced by a J-car. Once done, there is no further need to visit INM unless you move. The design of the 4-year Residente Temporal limit is to encourage the transition to Permanente, without the need for proofs of income, at the end of that time.

I think there may be a few posters who are further inconvenienced by the timing, if they were planning to leave Mexico permanently, but just beyond the limit of renewing a temporary visa. That is unfortunate, but the government was not able to cover every eventuality. That is understandable.

Having an INM office in Chapala, and the previous weekly visits, has been a great boon to many of us. However, I have come to realize that we are not all that special and that the angry responses to INM in Chapala may not have made them feel welcome. Most expats in other areas have to go to the capital of their state, with a few exceptions at major seaports. Most of us really oldtimers have, or will soon be Permanente, so going to Guadalajara is not something we worry about. The newer and younger Residente Temporales, have that youth on their side and going to Guadalajara should not be a bother; rather, an adventure for the first renewal and then for the transition to Residente Permanente. That is a lot more convenient than the old process of annual renewals; sometimes here and sometimes in Guadalajara, as the winds of change dictated.

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They may be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

Amen. :unsure:

However, from their points of view: there's nothing that feels good about being stuck in a place where you don't want to be, longing for another place. Good luck on selling those houses.

Me, I finally got my green card. I'm snug.

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I was there Friday, too, and it was quite packed (Too bad I don't know what you look like, Gilt). In fact, been several times in the past couple of months as my card was super-delayed. It may not always be packed but it is always busy. And most of the people I know there are not looking for permanente. And the bunches of new people arriving every year will not even be considering permanente for some time, it's safe to say.

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I hope it doesn´t but it may very likely not be around that much longer so if you are contemplating that jump to permanente do it now or else you will have to do it all in Guadalajara.

I'm trying to figure out from this OP where we have some official notification that this office is going to close. Everyone seems to be treating it as likely. Why?

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Staff reduction, very few things being approved locally with everything being sent to Guadalajara making the local office not justifiable to them. I would be surprised if they renew their lease when it is up.

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Well, that should make the facilitator business much more lucrative. When we first came here, we had to go to GDL and we most certainly needed a facilitator for the process.

For those of you unfamiliar with the INM office in Guadalajara, there is really no need for using a facilitator there any more than in Chapala. We have held "Inmigrado" (permanent resident) status since November, 2010 and achieved that status in Guadalajara as the Chapala office was closed at that time. The Guadalajara office of INM is crowded, unpleasant and stuffy, or was back in 2010, but the staff there are not difficult to deal with. In 13 years in Mexico going from FM-3 to FM-2 to "Inmigrado", we have never used a facilitator even once for anything.

Now, we are in the process of becoming naturalized Mexican citizens through SRE in Guadalajara (Secretary of External Relations in English) and they are a pleasure to deal with in Guadalajara. No need for a facilitator there either but whether you are dealing with INM or SRE, there is nothing wrong with using facilitators if that is what you wish to do.

It has pleased us to no end to have not returned to any INM office for any reason since 2010 and that alone is worth going for permanent residency at your first opportunity.

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The jefe, who was the only one with signature/approval authority for anything, has already been re-assigned. So, it seems that is the reason why everything must go to Guadalajara. People needing INM services also seem to behave much better in the Guadalajara offices than some folks did locally. Feeling entitled to special services is not always beneficial. Not everyone is happy to have expats here. Surprised?

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The government publishes official costs for things and cannot vary the cost although I have seen this rule bent on the state level so it seems.

As far as facilitators, it is a crap shoot. For some clients immigration has messed up which has meant 4 to 5 trips to Guadalajara and for a few we have had to request multiple hearings. If we turn in a few files at a time no big deal but does saving 2,000 pesos justify 4 or 5 round trips to Guadalajara? I love the Chapala office as it is close and if they need another copy of something we can have it to them in 10 minutes, not so in Guadalajara and with traffic, protests and other events it makes it complicated.

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I personally use a facilitator because I am not retired and I work full-time and taking time off of work to take trips to immigration costs me more money than I would pay a facilitator. Also, if something goes wrong with the paperwork, I know my facilitator will have my back and fight to figure out what went wrong and fix it.

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Went to the INM office in Chapala today to pickup my temporary visa. Absolutely

no one was there but the security guard. I was told my visa was in (the girl showed me the envelope) but that they couldn't give it to me because all the visas are now handed out on Fridays. So if you are expecting to pick up your visa wait until Friday.

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We have been waiting for our CURP card now for several many weeks. We applied through a facilitator, received the card but with what the facilitator informed us was an incorrect number. Apparently the number on the CURP card is supposed to incorporate your birth date and ours (both) were incorrect. The facilitator sent it back in October and we have been waiting ever since. We have now been told not to expect it at all until after the first of the year, that the INM office in Chapala is closing, that there are internal problems with INM and many things are messed up, that there are several many clients that need to be able to get a driver's license and can not without a CURP card (which is my problem too) and that there is nothing the facilitator can do about it except continue checking.

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