There is Only So Much Time Left 11/04/2010
So, how am I going to use the rest of the time I have left in this body? Dunno. What do I want?
Today I feel fed up with the challenges of my job and with the long and dusty to-do list in the back of my mind. I have a low tolerance for rudeness or disrespect and being paid to be servile. lol. I have already given my resignation but not walked out. And that dusty list? Well I am okay with starting from scratch, focusing on tasks that support OPH and surplus PCF. I like the Ferris Principles and the questions that I can use to determine if I should be engaged or not engaged in a specific activity. Here is a list of helpful questions published on Tim Ferriss' blog.in a post entitled The Art of Letting Bad Things Happen (and Weapons of Mass Distraction) http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/10/25/weapons-of-mass-distractions-and-the-art-of-letting-bad-things-happen/
As I focus on making the big good things happen, small bad things may happen. Okay. No problem. Which FM-3 is Right for Me? 10/19/2010
Twenty Different Types of FM-3 Work Visas? Wow, thanks Carrie for the overview. I found this article online.It was the first thing that popped up in organic search when I used Google. This article is based on information from the web page of the Secretaria de Gobernación, Instituto Nacional de Migración (www.inm.gob.mx). David Puente Tostado, immigration lawyer at the Monterrey office of Sánchez DeVanny Eseverri, S.C., contributor and editor. The Visa Process: Why It Is So Difficult to Stay “Legal” in Mexico By: Carrie Osman 2007, All Rights Reserved While Mexico’s immigration law may be relatively straightforward, its foreign visitors are often astounded at the effort necessary to keep up a valid FM-3 visa. Within Monterrey’s international community, it is common to hear about an FM-3 renewal process that drags on for months, or a new family’s furniture being stuck at the border crossing for many weeks until their original FM-3’s are issued. Most of the delays seem to stem from an inconsistent application of the requirements by the immigration office (INM), or maybe our inability to understand what they want in the first place. Also, expatriates often find themselves represented in immigration matters by lawyers hired by their local employers and similarly must go through company channels to navigate their own visa process. This particularly can be very frustrating for the spouse at home. I’ve lived in Mexico for 8 years, and each year my family and I get stuck in the FM-3 renewal process, occasionally slowed to a halt because we’ve changed addresses or jobs and no one tells us exactly what to produce until the expiration date goes by and we become temporary “illegals.” This article stems from my decision to investigate Mexico’s visa requirements and their application in San Pedro Garza Garcia, and hopefully will finally bring understanding about Mexico’s visa process to those of us in Monterrey’s international community. I. Immigration Law. The immigration law in Mexico, la Ley General de Población, recognizes three types of immigration status: no inmigrante, inmigrante and inmigrado. The first is basically a non-immigrant resident, who stays in Mexico temporarily and includes tourists entering with a tourist visa (FMT), business travelers entering with a business visa (FMN), as well as FM-3 visa holders who stay for a few years. The inmigrante status refers to immigrants who live in Mexico with an intention to permanently reside here, and thus obtain FM-2 visas. An inmigrante earns permanent residency status and becomes an inmigrado after 5 years, and is no longer required to go through annual visa renewals. II. Types of Visas. Here is an overview of the Mexican visas. 1. FMT. The tourist visa is issued to visitors entering Mexico on vacation, or to participate in one of several non-profitable activities. The duration of the FMT visa is set by the immigration officer who welcomes you to the country, up to 6 months. 2. FMN. The business visa is issued to visitors entering Mexico for business activities (mostly promotional) on behalf of their U.S. employer. The duration of the FMN visa is 30 days maximum. a. Requirements of a Tourist/Business Visa. Tourist and business visas are distributed by airlines, in the immigration offices at the land ports of entry, and by Mexican Consulates within the U.S. They require a valid passport and cost about U.S. $20. If you fly into the country as a tourist, the price is charged as part of your airline ticket. For travelers with FM-3 or FM-2 immigration status, you should be able to get the final price of your airline ticket into Mexico adjusted accordingly. However, this is impossible to do with internet purchases, as travel websites like continental.com and expedia.com do not ask about immigration status, only whether the traveler is a Mexican citizen or not. Usually these type websites offers the best ticket prices and many people just buy without regarding the $20 bucks for the tourist visa. b. Turning it back into Mexican Immigration Authorities. Mexican law requires visitors to return their FMT/FMN visa upon leaving the country, and occasionally I read claims that Mexico visitors they have been “caught” and fined for not returning their card. However, as a practical matter, it can be fairly difficult to return a tourist/business card at the Monterrey airport, as there is no longer an immigration checkpoint to pass by when you leave Mexico, even though an immigration office is open around the clock. Airline employees are supposed to collect them, but there is currently not a built-in procedure for this. In other cities within Mexico, however, an immigration officer is posted outside the gate area and will not let travelers exit to their boarding gates unless they relinquish their FMT/FMN or submit another type visa (FM-3 or FM-2) to be stamped. If travelers are not able to present their appropriate visa, they are not allowed to board their plane until they go through a tedious procedure whereby they are issued a replacement. Similarly, the congestion and confusion at the bridges between Mexico and Texas all but prohibits a tourist from returning their FMT/FMN card there. The best place to deal with immigration matters is at the 26 kilometer mark and not at the border itself. If you leave the country with the FMT/FMN still in your possession, you can mail it to a Mexican consulate in the U.S. (See www.sre.gob.mx for links to individual consular web pages). c. Living as a “Tourist.” Theoretically, a foreigner could enter Mexico with a tourist visa and live for an extended period of time, renewing every 6 months. However, doing so does not conform to the intent of the immigration law’s visa categories, and there are daunting disadvantages. First, Mexican law requires tourists to return their FMT tourist card upon leaving the country, which means that every time you cross the border (shopping in McAllen, air travel to visit your relatives, for example) you would have to turn in your FMT card and reapply upon returning to Mexico. Also, the duration of the tourist card is discretionary, and there is no guarantee that the immigration officer will grant entry for the full 6 months. FMT cards only allow you to bring a very limited amount of goods into Mexico (one computer, clothes, and similar items). Finally, if you bring down a U.S. car with an importation permit tied to an FMT, you will have to take your car to the border and obtain a new sticker each time that you are issued a new FMT. 3. FM-3 Visas. These green passport-like books allow foreigners to travel freely in and out of the country, import household goods, and reside in Mexico for annual renewable terms. A. Working vs. Non-working. There are two types: an FM-3 “working visa” and an FM-3 “non-working visa.” An FM-3 “working visa” allows the holder to work in Mexico, and his or her dependants to reside here. An FM-3 “non-working visa” is issued to resident pensioners and requires, among other things, that the applicant prove a monthly income from his own country of about U.S. $1,200 a month, plus a lesser amount for each dependent. The “nonworking” type visa is generally used by retirees or the leisure crowd who move to Mexico for an extended stay and do not want to renew their FMT’s twice a year. There are larger numbers of non-working type visas issued within international communities in recreational and colonial regions of Mexico. Because Monterrey is an industrial city, the remainder of this article focuses on the FM-3 “working visa.” B. Categories of FM-3 Visas. There are about twenty different categories on which an FM-3 may be based, many of them developed under the NAFTA regime, including but not limited to students, investors, professionals, and business people who come to assume management position in a local company. Each of these categories requires different type documents to support the visa application, plus the additional documentation for dependents. 4. FM-2 Visas. These type visas are issued to “inmigrantes,” those foreigners who intend to permanently reside in Mexico. The application process is identical to the process for FM-3 visas, although you cannot apply for an FM-2 until you have lived in Mexico for five years with an FM-3. The advantage of an FM-2 visa is that after 5 years, the FM-2 visa holder can apply for “inmigrado” status and thereafter work in any legitimate endeavor in Mexico without filing for annual visa renewals. The disadvantages of the FM-2 visa are that you cannot drive an imported car, and there are limitations on the amount of furniture and household goods that you may import into Mexico. III. Visa Process 1. Original Application. The following discussion focuses on the requirements of the most common visa category within the Monterrey ex-pat community, those issued to foreigners who enter Mexico to hold a management position with a company. First, assuming the foreigner enters Mexico as a tourist or business traveler, he or she will have to fill out an application called a “Solicitud de Tramite Migratorio” (FM-1) to change residency status from tourist/business to a non-immigrant resident. Along with this application, the foreigner must submit the following documents to the INM: 1. Valid passport (the original) that has at least six months before expiration; 2. Original FMT/FMN visa; 3. Letter by applicant to the INM, in Spanish, stating the reasons for wanting to establish residency in Mexico; 4. Power of attorney signed by the applicant that grants authority to his lawyer or other individual who will be handling the FM-3 procedure; 5. Letter from the employer on official letterhead (or an original employment contract), in Spanish, specifying the position, place of employment, and that the terms of employment will be subject to immigration authorization. Further, if the employer is a company, it must submit articles of incorporation, last tax return, and proof of registry with the National Registry of Foreign Investment if it is foreign company. There are separate requirements if the employer is an individual. 6. Photos; and, 7. Payment of fees. 2. Application for Dependents. To obtain an FM-3 visa for a non-working spouse or children, the INM requires: (1) an original application, signed by each, (2) original passports and FMT tourist cards, (3) and original marriage license and birth certificates. These type documents must be apostilled, see information on the apostil process below. 3. Other FM-3 Visa Categories. There are additional requirements for other visa categories. For example, to obtain an FM-3 visa to reside in Mexico and practice a profession, the applicant must prove his professional status by submitting his diplomas and professional licenses. These diplomas and licenses must be apostilled before they are submitted to the INM. A profession would include a nurse or lawyer, for example. Further, there may be regulatory conditions required under the Mexican Constitution relating to professions. 4. Annual Renewals. An FM-3 visa holder must renew his or her visa each 12 month period. Last year, ex-pats in the Monterrey community experienced 2 to 3 month delays in the renewal process, allegedly due to the reorganization in the INM offices caused by the turn-over after the 2006 Mexican elections. Supposedly, the FM-3 renewal is currently returning to a more efficient process. Regardless, it is recommended that the visa holder begin gathering the documentation required for the renewal two months before the expiration date (eh hem … do not wait until the last minute). A renewal requires the same type documents as the original application, although you must also submit copies of recent tax return and IMMS (social security) registration, among other things. III. Conclusion. This article has provided an overview of the Mexican visa process applicable to the international community of Monterrey, Mexico. While it is possible for a foreign citizen to walk into the local INM office and handle the visa application and renewal on his or her own, the majority of ex-pats use experienced legal representatives to handle the process for them. In any event, the information herein will hopefully smooth the process so that it is easier for us all to stay “legal” in Mexico. ** Carrie Osman is a Texas lawyer residing in Monterrey, Mexico. If your family or business has any questions on the immigration process, please do not hesitate to contact her at carrie@legalservicesinmexico.com. Visit Carrie’s website at www.legalservicesinmexico.com for more articles and relevant information for the ex-pat community in Mexico, including articles entitled “The Validity of a U.S. Car Permit during the FM-3 Renewal Process”, and “Wills: Is a U.S. Will Valid in Mexico?” Sources: This article is based on information from the web page of the Secretaria de Gobernación, Instituto Nacional de Migración (www.inm.gob.mx). David Puente Tostado, immigration lawyer at the Monterrey office of Sánchez DeVanny Eseverri, S.C., contributor and editor. Kiyosaki Speaks His Mind 10/19/2010
Kiyosaki Speaks His Mind...I didnt realize the guy was so hip! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wvcbk8Hcuc&feature=sub, Robert! Facebook and Privacy...Duh 10/18/2010
Privacy, as Hank recently said is soooo twentieth century! lol. Yeah so now QUOTE NEW YORK TIMES...Facebook said on Monday that it was talking to application developers about how they handle some personal data, after a report said some applications had been improperly sharing the data with advertisers and Web tracking companies.In a blog post, Mike Vernal, a Facebook engineer, said the company had recently learned that several applications were passing a piece of data known as a user ID to outside companies in a way that violated its privacy policy. User IDs are unique numbers assigned to Facebook members that are used by Facebook and its applications to identify them.Facebook's statement came after The Wall Street Journal reported late on Sunday that it had found that several Facebook applications were "providing access to people's names and, in some cases, their friends' names" to advertisers and Internet tracking companies. The report said that all 10 of the most popular applications on Facebook, including games like FarmVille and Mafia Wars, were transmitting user IDs to third parties. Three of those applications were also transmitting information about a user's friends, The Journal said.Facebook also sought to downplay the significance of the problem. "Press reports have exaggerated the implications of sharing" a user ID, Mr. Vernal wrote on a company blog for application developers. "Knowledge of a UID does not enable anyone to access private user information without explicit user consent."Yet Mr. Vernal acknowledged that the sharing of user IDs was in violation of its privacy policies, and said that it had disabled some programs that did so.Mr. Vernal said there were technical challenges involved in preventing this problem. "We are talking with our key partners and the broader Web community about possible solutions," he wrote. "We will have more details over the course of the next few days."Facebook has been hit with a string of controversies over privacy. In May, after a series of complaints from some users and privacy advocates, the company made wholesale changes to its privacy settings. Mark Zuckerberg, the company's chief executive, apologized to users, saying that some of the site's privacy settings had become too complicated for the average user to understand. Despite the changes, the privacy issue has continued to dog Facebook....END QUOTE DUH PEOPLE! THIS IS ALL ABOUT BUSINESS, SOMEBODY ELSES BOTTOM LINE...duh. We self sort according to our preferences and we are marketed to based on what we reveal through our behavior on Facebook. Entities make more money off of us through targeted marketing, duh. I dont think this so-called revelation by Zucker is newsworthy. .Relax, enjoy the ride. Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow...you know. Have a nice day. Relax. Yeah I need to find my apostrophe key. Copyright Infringement 07/24/2010
Now to narrow my search to find some more relevant articles... I really do not know how common this is in Mexico. I have only seen this on a massive scale at this ONE school. But surely there must be others. Anyway, one or more, no matter. It is ille Dear Sir or Madam: Please let me know what the correct procedure to follow to let a publisher, such as yourself, know that Instituto de Comunicación Internacional de México A.C., a language school in Guadalajara Mexico has been photocopying, binding and selling your books continously to its students for over the past ten years. The school has over 100 teachers over 75% of whom are foreigners teaching their native language. The school owns a kinder and also provides teachers at about 60 businesses in metropolitan Guadalajara. Thank you for your assistance. New Interchange Intro Student Book Cambridge University Press New Interchange 1 Student Book Cambridge University Press New Interchange 2 Student Book Cambridge University Press New Interchange 3 Student Book Cambridge University Press New Interchange Intro Workbook Cambridge University Press New Interchange 1 Workbook Cambridge University Press New Interchange 2 Workbook Cambridge University Press New Interchange 3 Workbook Cambridge University Press In Company Pre-Intermediate Macmillan Publishers In Company Intermediate Macmillan Publishers In Company Upper Intermediate Macmillan Publishers Themen Aktuell 1 Kursbuch Max Hueber Vorlag Themen Aktuell 1 Arbeitbuch Max Hueber Vorlag Themen Aktuell 2 Kursbuch Max Hueber Vorlag Them Aktuell 2 Arbeitbuch Max Hueber Vorlag Themen Aktuell 3 Kursbuch Max Hueber Vorlag Themen Aktuell 3 Arbeitbuch Max Hueber Vorlag Instituto de Comunicación Internacional de México A.C. aka Instituto de Comunicación Internacional de México S.A. aka Instituto de Idiomas Internacional de Mexico Incorporado Calle Hidalgo No. 1420 La Zona Rosa Guadalajara Jalisco MEXICO Dipl.-Jur. Oliver Schmidt Director General I am a foreigner legally living and working in Guadalajara as a language teacher. Sincerely, Nia. I have also sent this inquiry to Macmillan Publishers through there online contact form. The textbooks listed above are just a handful of the books that are being regularly photocopied, bound and sold by the school to it's language student-cliReplyReply All Twitter 10/12/2009
Twitlonger This is to send a LOOONG tweet. It works well and I use it as often as I need to. TweetLater (now called something else) This allows me to create a zillion tweets and have them tweeted a future time. THis is a great way for me to create a Twitter account that has regular tweets (output, activity). Tweets will make your twitter account look active and attractive to apps that suggest to users who to follow on twitter. It all let's you to these things: Automatically following people who follow you. Automatically sending DM of your creation to people who follow you Automatically unfollowing people who unfollow you Tweetlater, as I still fondly call it, is a real work horse. My NiaNia account is at 2,198 followers. Let's see if I can double that by October 31...that is about 17 days.... Well guess what, I was shut down. No internet servie for 5 days and no proactical way to get back online yet! What a party we are having, eh? Beyond the Basics 10/11/2009
So what else is basic besides basic hygiene? Well, these are just beyond the basic basics. Netbook ASUS eeePC w/ webcam I have had a couple of Toshiba Satellite laptops. A used one gifted to me by Gokhan and a new one I bought for myself. Most recently I have had an ASUS eeePC. Now I am using a borrowed desktop from my temporary host. I need a netbook that is very sturdy, that has built in camera and microphone, preferrably in English with Skype and Linnux pre-installed. Several USB ports would also be good. I really do not care about optical drive. So what does The PC Radio Show have to say about netbooks Video Camera I want to have a camera that takes movies and still shots, that is compact and sturdy, that cn be plugged in directly to my netbook via USB or memory card. It'd be terrific to have a black and white or sepia option but it is not a have-to-have. This description at Best Buy seems to cover the have-to-haves: Flip Video - UltraHD Camcorder - Black/ChromeModel: U2120B | SKU: 9281984 Ultracompact design; flip-out USB interface; built-in editing and sharing software; 120-minute recording time Telephone Oh, I do so miss hearing voices and friends and family! Skype and any associated periperals are a must for the netbook Income This is TOO funny. But anyway income is what I need in order to pay off existing financial debt and it is also necessary in order to travel and keep myself stocked with the aforementioned paraphrenalia. Not to mention investment in savings and a self sufficient home-base. (Thank goodness for wwoof.org and an era where an exchange of goods and services is more reliable that using funny money interediaries before a transaction is truly settled.) Basics 10/11/2009
Some things that I want to have are easy to have and maintain.
I want having these things to be always. I want to make sure that I have personal habits of hygiene that make these things always so. Mostly they are always so now. Today I discovered that what I use on my hair is great for hydrating, softening and protecting my hands and feet! Very cool. Now to listen repair my leather garden gloves and I'll be in business for this week's work in the garden. Weebly 10/11/2009
Quote from http://www.weebly.com/aboutus.html: Weebly is a San Francisco, California based company that was founded in 2006 with the mission to help people put their information online quickly and easily. We now enable 2 million people to easily create personal sites and blogs or establish web presences for businesses, weddings, classrooms, churches, artistic portfolios, and more. In early 2007, the Weebly founding team joined a seed funding program called Y Combinator and began working full-time to make the Weebly service spectacular. We were proud to be named one of TIME’s 50 Best Websites of 2007, and have continued to improve Weebly’s feature set and ease of use. Weebly is backed by some of the most knowledgeable angel investors in Silicon Valley, including Ron Conway of Baseline Ventures (original investor in Google), Mike Maples, Aydin Senkut, Rajeev Motwani and Paul Buchheit (creator of Gmail). To read some articles written about Weebly, check out the following links: This is pretty darn cool. I wonder what the bloggers are saying about weebly? NO mention of Mullenweg or the Wordpress community not even a hat tip so far. Well I for one will tip my hat because seeing this weebly platform clearly suggests that the Wordpress community continues to guide the future even without, per se, being in the driver's seat. Bravo. What can be done with that kind of power, that kind of influence? First Post! 10/10/2009
Tomorrow is my day off. Hallelujah!! Thank you Tim Ferriss for introducing weebly to me by using it yourself! Of course I love this platform because it feels akin to WordPress.com my first love. Hey, this IS the Cutline theme, isn't it? Or at least the Cutline "skin." I always was attracted to its crispness and clean bold lines. Hey, now that I am browsing through the design choices most if not all of them are very wordpressy! Humm...what could it mean? Perhaps Tim, on his own weebly, was celebrating the connection by using one of Matt's photographs. Question: What is the connection between Matt Mullenweg and weebly? |  AuthorAn eco-friendly gardener and a persistant life-hacker currently on the road far away from her native San Francisco USA ArchivesNovember 2010 CategoriesAll |
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