Beware to not enter Mexico as a Tourist if you are Temporary or Permanent Resident

Many people inadvertently or due to errors of immigration agents enter Mexico and are entered as tourists on the FMM form that all foreigners need to use to register their entry. This will come back to haunt you as immigration has summoned people to appear and then canceled their temporary or permanent residency document or denied renewal. They have ways to check in their computer system if you entered as a tourist. Kind of makes you wonder why they couldn’t check at the point of entry if you had temporary or permanent residence to properly document your entry and not erroneously mark you as a tourist on the form.

I filed an amparo to invalidate the law for a client where she was entered as a tourist and not a temporary resident.

Court ruled:

Ahora bien, dado que la parte quejosa manifiesta que con la

resolución reclamada se le niega el tramite de reposición de documento

y, que por ello tiene que abandonar el país; por lo tanto, con

fundamento en lo que dispone el artículo 126 de la Ley de Amparo, se

CONCEDE a la parte quejosa, la SUSPENSIÓN DE PLANO para el

efecto de que las cosas se mantengan en el estado que se

encuentran, esto es, para que no se ejecute la resolución de diez

de julio de dos mil quince, hasta en tanto se resuelva en definitiva

el juicio de amparo que nos ocupa y no se le deporte a su país de

origen.

I hope to prevail on the amparo, the federal court has already issued an injunction in favor of my client and if in the small chance we do not prevail we will in the federal administrative courts so dont despair if immigration makes a mistake, there are ways to fight it and not lose your status.

If you are notified that they are canceling your status for entering as a tourist then we have only 15 days to file the amparo and 45 to file the federal administrative suit to annul the resolution.

I have been telling my clients for years to write at top of both forms residente permanente or residente temporal so there will be no mistakes and show their immigration card to the immigration agent first and make them ask for your passport so they know you are not a tourist. .

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About the Author:

Litigating Attorney and Official Court Translator in the State of Jalisco, Mexico