Archive for Immigration
Email from a Reader
Posted by: | CommentsIn the inbox the other day:
Mark,
I’ve been reading your blog for awhile and although we’ve never met I’m pretty sure you’re a total prick. What kind of jerk comes to Guatemala and then bitches about it constantly? If it’s so miserable why don’t you just move back to your cushy desk job in the states? I’m sure you’ll be a lot happier exploiting undocumented migrant workers there than the locals here.
Cheers!
[obscured]
P.S. Someone told me you had a connection for taking care of passports. My friend overstayed his VISA by about six months, do you think you can help? His email is [obscured] but he doesn’t have any money, so please do him a favor.
That AZ Immigration Law and Racism
Posted by: | CommentsSeveral of you have written me asking about-or baiting me, as it were-the AZ immigration law and the Federal Court injunction. One person implied I was a racist for supporting the rule of law. (Note: I dislike the same % of brown people as I do black, white or yellow).
Another said, “How can you come here illegally and yet support a law which condemns illegals in the US?” Maybe he knows something about my residency application that I don’t.
Yet another wrote me saying, “How can you claim that people won’t be stopped because of the color of their skin?” Uh, because cops don’t have enough time, resources, or special vision courtesy of their badge to see the color of every driver’s skin, and besides, there are tons of darker-skinned people in AZ, including in law enforcement, who are legal. It’s called ‘probable cause’, and yes, it even applies to Latinos. Come to think of it, there is no probable cause in Guatemala, is there? Oops.
The whole anti-rule of law argument is specious. They want the law they subvert to protect them from everything except personal responsibility. The only people raising the race issue are, as usual, those who want special advantages based on race, viz., “I’m Latino so I should be able to break laws, but blacks from Nigeria or asians from Vietnam should follow the rules”. Here’s a legal analysis of the ruling. My own bet is SCOTUS hears it and upholds the AZ law. But for political purposes, the federal injunction does wonders for the right, with just 100 days to go until the election. I still think the Senate is out of reach for the GOP but the House is definitely in play. Very little will change post-November, but at least they’ll put the brakes on…maybe.
Strange Things Seen in Guate #30
Posted by: | CommentsI was on a forum for expats recently and was browsing through new posts when I noticed something odd:
Seems more people are interested in being gay expats than in immigrating.
Email Correspondence: How Can I Get Citizenship?
Posted by: | CommentsHello:
If I move to Antigua and decide to stay for three or four years to study Spanish I would also like to leave the country with a dual citizenship and have a Guatemalan passport.
Can anyone tell me who to hook up with during my first several months in Guatemala so I can start this process of acquiring citizenship leading to a second passport?
Thanks, James
James, the ‘legal’ process to dual citizenship is long, nearly impossible and expensive. This would include application for temporary residence, application for permanent residence two years later, and then application for citizenship a few years later. Each of those steps is fraught with their own serious challenges; I know people waiting for five years for one or the other, at the cost of $500 to $1,000 each.
I’m told citizenship can be acquired for $50,000 if you know the right people.
Passport Renewal, updated May 2010
Posted by: | CommentsBrad shares his experience…
1. Go to: Direccion General De Migracion, 6a. Av. 3-11 Zona 4. Pay for parking at Hotel Conquistador, one block up the street from the migracion office as parking in front of the office is scarce and the hood is questionable.
2. Go to the photocopy shop two tiendas down from the migracion office and make two copies of the passport page that contains your photo, and two copies of the page that contains your last immigration stamp. You will also need a photocopy of your credit card and have your photo taken. Don’t worry, the photocopy dude knows this process well and will hook it all up within 10 minutes. Total cost: Q45. FYI unlike most of you broke-ass gringos, I’m debt-free and don’t carry plastic. My VISA branded ATM card worked just fine though.
3. Go into the office and immediately turn left after you go through the metal detector. No need to talk to security or check-in weapons (they wouldn’t take mine) just sit down. On the Monday afternoon I went, the lobby was empty and my wait was only five minutes.
4. Tell the lady at the window that you want to extend your passport. It’s not an unusual request and she will ask you to fill out a short form. Be prepared for the usual Guatemalan 3rd degree regarding all your photocopies, photos and other aforementioned required documents. It’s standard here for the window people to try to make you feel retarded and question the validity of your documents. Don’t feed their immature power trip- just calmly give them all their little papers with a smile.
5. The lady will give you a receipt. Take it to the bank- the next window over. Pay Q120. Cash, duh.
6. Go back to the lady and give her your stamped receipt. Remember nothing here is official unless it’s got that magical stamp! She’ll take your passport and explain that you need to come back tomorrow to pick up your newly extended passport.
7. Say “gracias” and “feliz tarde” and come back the next day. That’s it- easy peasy japaneezy.
Or just know someone in migracion. Email me for details.
More On Immigration
Posted by: | CommentsI always knew there was something not right about her…
Somehow Dora the Explorer is now relevant to AZ immigration...
Su Casa es Mi Casa
Posted by: | CommentsIn a twist on the traditional Mexican host’s exhortation, “Mi casa es su casa”, the Mexican President recently visited the US and from the front lawn of the White House and in a Joint Session of Congress proceeded to whine about US policies that criminalize, well, criminal activities.
It’s so disingenuous as to be pathetic. If illegal immigrants want to take the risk of breaking US laws in order to earn more money, then fine. If I exceed the speed limit, I’m risking getting a speeding ticket. Everyone knows the score. But for a head of state to use an official state visit to whine that we are merely trying to convince our government to enforce the laws designed to protect the citizens from rape, assault and murder, when his own country’s laws are far more strict, well, it’s hypocritical in the extreme.
I have a few Guatemalteco friends here who were illegals in the US at one time or another. None of them whine to me about someone getting caught and deported. They understand the game. So what is it about so many white liberals that causes them to think that some people-based on their race-should be above the law?
Tapachula to Antigua
Posted by: | CommentsAfter smoking all my cigars, finishing ‘Guns, Germs and Steel‘ and getting deep into ‘The Epic of Latin America” (book review to come), I decided it was time to make the return trip home. Casa Mexicana will definitely be the site of future vacations, with great food (regrettably only for breakfast), a tranquil environment and five star staff for only 600 pesos a night. Each of the guest rooms is named after a famous Mexican woman (I got Frida Kahlo), and is well appointed.
I did have some recommendations for the owners, including:
- Free tequila between lunch and dinner for those smoking cigars poolside
- Free massages for guests who stay more than one night
- Name a room for Salma Hayek or Ana de la Reguera instead of one of Mexico’s most prominent communist activists
But otherwise no complaints.
A taxi driver who couldn’t understand a word of “Autobus por favor” or “La camioneta por favor” or “Tengo que regresar a Guatemala en uno de los grandes autobuses” eventually got me back to the bus station where the same senoritas as before giggled at me and confirmed my seat on the upper deck of the Transgalgos bus, “donde no se sentará cerca de enojados, los niños cansados, con hambre o de otra manera desagradable” . It was right on time (30 minutes late) and we sped to the border in air conditioned comfort.
Going south is a lot easier than going north. Apparently no one cares about who or what you smuggle south across the border. The Mexicans stamped my passport-again without looking-and I walked across to the other side where 20 minutes in line and 10Q got me stamped back into the country. The computer network was down, which means my passport was stamped ’sin energia’, so that when I leave the country again and there is no record of my entry into the computer I don’t get (too much of) a hassle about my most recent travel. They never took the bags off the bus or asked me what I was carrying, although everyone in town offered to change currency at absurdly low rates.
On the Guate side I noticed that I could have walked across the bridge south and continued walking and never been stopped by anyone. If I didn’t have a bag, I’m pretty sure you could walk north without being molested or ever setting foot into migracion. In fact, as I glanced down into the river, I noticed lots of people walking back and forth across the barely moving stream. I wondered why we don’t police this border instead of the far longer one a few thousand miles north, but such rational thoughts don’t belong in the field of government service and so I pushed it aside and got back to wondering whether the bus driver would let me off at Escuintla.
You see, this bus goes from Tapachula to Guate, but my house is only about 45 mintues from Tapachula, which could save me an hour or more, so I had asked the clerks, the piloto and the stewardess if they would let me get off at Sarita in Escuintla. They all assured me yes, and sure enough about 5 hours later they pulled to the side of the road and the stewardess climbed into the belly of the bus to pull out my luggage (in the future I’ll see that my bag is the last one into the luggage compartment). She declined my offer of a tip and the bus sped away.
Sarita is popular chain of restaurants that target strategic intersections around the country. It’s the same company of ice cream fame here. It’s similar to a family restaurant in the states, which means the food and service are average and children are plentiful. A short time later Santiago picked me up and my journey was complete.
Some trip costs for you obsessive types:
Two Cuban cigars in Antigua: 160Q
Shuttle to city: 80Q
Internet use at bus station: 5Q for 15 minutes
Bus to Tapachula: 160Q
Late fee at Guate migracion: 10Q per day
Fee to boy to drag bag 200 meters: 5 pesos
Cost to enter Mexico for solo tres dias: 0 pesos
Tip for old man unloading bag in Tapachula: 5 pesos
Taxi to hotel: 250 pesos
One night at Loma Real: 1000 pesos
Fajitas and beer at Loma Real: 225 pesos
Taxi to Casa Mexicana: 250 pesos
Bottle of El Jimeador Tequila: 130 pesos
One night at Casa Mexicana: 600 pesos
Taxi back to bus station: 250 pesos
Bus ticket back to Guate: 245 pesos
Money that disappeared on food, alcohol and misc: 800 pesos
Learning how things really work at the border and making friends with El Jefe de Migracion: priceless
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