Border Crossing Cards

Quote: AZDuffman

Mexico always loved to blame their problem on the USA.

A certain amount of that is inevitable. You always look to outside sources of your problems. Look how easily Donald Trump blames problems of the world financial situation on Chinese currency manipulation.

I think a lot of poor Latinos view the situation in North America as one of class.



"La maldicion de la Malinche", is a famous protest song from the 1970's. This youtube video was made to protest the presidential election results of 2006, but the imagery shows the wealthy and powerful of Mexico and that of the USA contrasted against the humble and saintly images of indigenous people.


This mural showing Cortez and Malinche and underfoot their son, one of the first Mestizo's, is very famous.

LETRA 'LA MALDICION DEL MALINCHE'

Del mar los vieron llegar
mis hermanos emplumados
eran los hombres barbados
de la profecía esperada

se oyó la voz del monarca
de que el dios había llegado
y les abrimos las puertas
por temor a lo ignorado

iban montados en bestias
como demonios del mal
iban con fuego en las manos
y cubiertos de metal
solo el valor de unos cuantos
les opuso resistencia
y al mirar correr la sangre
se llenaron de vergüenza

porque los dioses ni comen
ni gozan con lo robado
y cuando nos dimos cuenta
ya todo estaba acabado

en ese error entregamos
la grandeza del pasado
y en ese error nos quedamos
300 años esclavos

.... MOVES FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT


se nos quedo el maleficio
de brindar al extranjero
nuestra fe nuestra cultura
nuestro pan nuestro dinero
hoy les seguimos cambiando
oro por cuentas de vidrios
y damos nuestra riquezas
por sus espejos con brillos


hoooooy en pleno siglo 20
nos siguen llegando rubios
y les abrimos la casa
y los llamamos amigos

pero si llega cansado
un indio de andar la sierra
lo humillamos y lo vemos
como extraño por su tierra

uuuuuuuhh
hipócrita que te muestras
humilde ante el extranjero
pero te vuelves soberbio
con tus hermanos del pueblo

ooooooooooh
maldición de malinche
enfermedad del presente
cuando dejaras mi tierra
cuando harás libre a mi genteeee

Quote: Pacomartin

A certain amount of that is inevitable. You always look to outside sources of your problems. Look how easily Donald Trump blames problems of the world financial situation on Chinese currency manipulation.

You do have to wonder why Mexico became a basket case while the USA and Canada became wealthy, functioning nations.

Quote: AZDuffman

You do have to wonder why Mexico became a basket case while the USA and Canada became wealthy, functioning nations.

"Guns, Germs, and Steel" deal with the larger question of why the European societies dominated the world, when they rival civilizations of Aztecs, Arabs, Africans and Asians were in many ways more sophisticated.

The initial 9 presidential elections won by the "founding fathers" provided huge stability to the USA. The next 36 years involved a real disintegration of politics leading to the civil war.


The War of Independence and the War of 1812 did not produce a lasting hatred of the British by the American people, and Britain and their Navy essentially built the modern world.

Mexico was very unstable, they were mired in recession after independence (as was the USA), but the collapse of Spain as a major world power did not afford them the same opportunity to work with their former colonist. The War of Independence was considerably bloodier, resulting in the death of a significant portion of the population. Unlike the USA the first few decades ended with wars against the USA and with European powers who wanted to recolonize Mexico. Then they went to dictatorship and another revolution.

Nareed has not weighed in on this thread. She may not be familiar with Border Crossing Cards as I doubt that people get them who live in Mexico City. I would think that a sizeable percentage of the middle class population in Monterrey has one.

As I said earlier on February 16, 2001 President GW Bush broke tradition and deferred his visit to Canada and made his first international visit to Mexico at Vicente Fox's ranch in San Cristóbal. In March 2004 Vicente Fox went to Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas

At the visit it was announced that Mexicans with border crossing cards would be exempted from the end-of-the-year requirement to be photographed and finger-scanned upon entry into the United States under the US-VISIT program established to monitor the entry and exit of foreign visitors. A few months later (August 2004) the time limit from 72 hours to 30 days before you are in overstay status.

Reasons cited were primarily increased economic activity because of NAFTA, the revolving door of Mexicans crossing back into Mexico every 3 days to avoid overstay, the increased paperwork by Mexicans who applied for a 6 month visa, but were in fact intending to stay in the Border Zone.

The Mexican Border States and all of Baja are populated with 22 million people. Another 9 million live in the next level of states (within a day's drive): Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí, Durango, and Zacatecas. Just under 10 million BCCs are issued by the State Department.

Quote: benefits according to US government

DHS estimates that between 200,000 and 400,000 BCC holders will utilize the expanded time period to remain in the United States for longer than the current 72 hours limit.

The new regulation will likely motivate more Mexican nationals without BCC’s to obtain BCCs in order to take advantage of the extended time-limit. These factors will facilitate commerce along the U.S. border and increase the demand by BCC holders for goods and services provided by border communities in the United States. As more Mexican nationals take advantage of the extended time-limit and remain in the United States for a longer period of time, the border communities in the United States will also benefit from a greater demand for goods and services provided by those communities.

This article in a San Diego paper in May 2005 after the time restriction was changed from 72 hours to 30 days. Jorge Hank Rhon, a notorious gangster, was elected as mayor of Tijuana in 2004 and the murder rate skyrocketed (in what he says is unrelated coincidence)


Tijuana's middle-and upper-class families to move across the border to San Diego County neighborhoods where they feel safer.



Anyway, the Border Zone is a solid program that has been in place since 1953. Some Mexican national rent or own in the US, probably for employment and safety. Some Americans live in the border zone of Mexico, primarily because of the culture and the cost of living. Right now Mexico does not charge at all for entering the Border Zone, only requiring an FMM if you travel beyond the zone.

I don't see the justification in destroying the program in an effort to milk huge fees from these 10 million Mexicans who have a BCC to pay for the wall. Remember that the US is the primary beneficiary of the program as many Mexicans shop in the USA in search of lower prices on manufactured goods. Right now Mexican nationals pay roughly $160 million per year for this program, which is a long way for paying for a $12 billion wall.

BTW, there already is a wall through most of the urban areas.

Quote: Pacomartin

Nareed has not weighed in on this thread. She may not be familiar with Border Crossing Cards

I had one from age three until 2000, when the permanent ones were cancelled. It served as a visa. I just don't live anywhere close to the border, nor have I crossed it by land since 1997.

Quote: Nareed

I had one from age three until 2000, when the permanent ones were cancelled. It served as a visa. I just don't live anywhere close to the border, nor have I crossed it by land since 1997.

Starting about 11 months Americans can now obtain the FMM, or forma migratoria multiple, by entering the required information online, paying the fee, 332 pesos, with a credit or debit card and printing the document and proof of payment. The traveler has 30 days to use the document to cross the border, where it will be stamped upon entry. The FMM is good for 180 days and must be kept until leaving Mexico. The FMM is not required in the border zone, defined as roughly 35 km, but they had an inspection station outside of Ensenada, but I understand it was never open effectively meaning you could travel all through Baja. You still need one if you fly to Cabo San Lucas, Loreto, or La Paz (even if you fly from Tijuana).


Is the quote below essentially accurate? Just practical questions. Do you get a Visa before or after you buy the plane tickets to Las Vegas? Do you routinely renew your Visa? Is it usually not a big deal once you have purchased your first Visa to get another one?
$131US~1,867 Mexican pesos

Quote: Mexican travel to USA instructions and cost

Submit a new DS-160 Non-Immigrant Visa Electronic Application. To complete the form visit the U.S. Embassy website. After submitting the form, you will need to print out the confirmation page with a bar code to bring to your appointment. Next you will need to schedule your appointment to visit the visa center at the U.S. Consulate nearest to you.

Pay the Fee
You are required to pay an application fee paid in PESOS of $131US. Pay the fee at a BANAMEX branch before your appointment. Bring the receipt with you, as you will be required to present it during processing at your appointment.

Getting an Appointment
Make an appointment early to visit the Visa Section of your local Consulate to avoid delaying your trip. The Visa Section is not open on holidays and is much busier closer to holidays, so plan ahead. You can schedule your appointment on the Internet by visiting the US Embassy website. You may also see wait times for interviews on the site as well. Do not arrive at your appointment more than 30 minutes ahead of time, because you will not be able to enter the Visa Section.

Documentation
You must have your entire documentation ready before your visa interview. You will need to take the following to your appointment:

A passport valid for at least 6 months after your interview. Your passport should have a blank page available to attach a visa. If no pages are available, you must obtain a new passport before your interview.
Your voting card (IFE Card)
Visa application forms or the print out of the bar code from your electronic application. You can fill out an application the day of your appointment, but it will cause delay in your appointment time.
Additional documentation detailing your employment, reason for travel, and current financial status. These documents are to show you have the means and the intention to return to Mexico at the end of your visit to the U.S.

Quote: Pacomartin

Is the quote below essentially accurate? Just practical questions.

Seems about right. I think I posted about it in the WoV board some years ago.

Quote:

Do you get a Visa before or after you buy the plane tickets to Las Vegas?

before. The airline won't let you board without a valid visa. And even if they did, the US immigration service won't let you into the country. So buying tickets before you have a visa means risking their cost.

Quote:

Do you routinely renew your Visa?

Yes, but I may delay it a few months. My last one expired late one year, and I saw no need to renew it until February or March the next year, closer to the date of travel.

Quote:

Is it usually not a big deal once you have purchased your first Visa to get another one?

beats me.

The last time I renewed it, BTW it was also the first time, I got asked tons of questions in the online form, including things like where I attended high school and the names and info of previous employers. A coworker getting one for the first time, got a less intensive questionnaire. I don't know if they changed it between the time I got mine and she got hers, or what.