The First Step

(image taken from the internet)

One of the things which I want to accomplish on this trip is to get my residency visa, or specifically, to change by status to a "temporary resident by family relationship".  Because I am married to a Mexican citizen, I am able to acquire my visa here in Mexico City, and I am not required to show proof of income.  Otherwise, I would have to travel to a city with a Mexican consulate (Cleveland doesn't have one) and provide proof that my income and/or savings and investments meet the requirements set by the Mexican government.  There are a number of documents which I have to present. These include an original and a copy of our marriage certificate, a copy of my passport picture page, and online forms which we printed out.  We had already gathered together all the necessary documents.  Our first step was to get an appointment for an interview.

Yesterday, around 7:00 A.M., Alejandro and I drove to the "Instituto Nacional de Migración" which is located in the ritzy neighborhood of Polanco.  Traffic was, in typical fashion, terrible, and it was after 8:00 when we finally arrived.  There were already crowds of people there forming various lines. We asked where to go, and we were told to stand in a line that stretched along the sidewalk outside the Institute's fence.  An employee checked my documents and initialed one of them, indicating we were clear to continue.  For a while the line was not moving at all, but then they started taking groups of about twenty people at a time.  We were eventually allowed to pass through a gate and take our place in another snaking line in the atrium in front of the Institute.  The destination was a tent set up at the opposite end of the courtyard where visa appointments were being given.  There were just two employees at the tent, and the line moved ever so slowly.  We spent over three hours waiting in the bright sun.  We should have brought an umbrella to shield ourselves from the sun.  Instead, we covered our heads with the file folders containing our documents.

At long last I reached the tent, and I was given an appointment for 10:00 A.M. on August 16th.  I will have to return to the "Instituto" for an interview.  Hopefully, I will be issued my visa in an expeditious manner, because my flight to return to Ohio is eight days after that.  If it takes longer, I will simply have to change my reservation to a later date. I do not intend to leave the country until I am a legal resident of Mexico.