I received this email in my box today:

> If you think that the USA is getting tough on Legal
> Aliens (let alone
> illegal aliens) read the following from a friend and
> USA citizen who was
> working and living in Mexico for Telmex.
>
>
>
> Hello Bill: you remember 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 US Attorneys
> were working to secure a
> permanent work visa called a FM3. It was in addition
> to my US 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) of my:
>
>
>
> 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
> indication I had no arrest
> record in the US 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 and 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 we 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 Governments 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 US
> customs in Loredo Texas.
> This meant we 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 drivers license.
> This was an amazing
> process. The company arranged for the Licensing
> agency to come to our
> Headquarters location with their photography and
> finger print equipment and
> the laminating machine. We showed our US 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 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 companies Mexican
> accountants did this for us
> and we just signed what they prepared. I was about
> twenty legal size pages
> annually.
>
>
>
> The FM 3 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 Congressman 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 White house
> or government offices but do protest daily in front
> of the United States
> Embassy. The US embassy looks like a strongly
> reinforced fortress and during
> most protests the Mexican Military surround the
> block with their men
> standing shoulder to shoulder in full riot gear to
> protect the Embassy.
> These protests are never shown on US or Mexican TV.
> There is a large public
> park across the street where they do their
> protesting. Anything can cause a
> protest such as proposed law changes in California
> or Texas.
>
>
>
> Please feel free to share this with everyone who
> thinks we are being hard on
> illegal immigrants
>