Part 1 of 4 on Customs & Immigration…..Welcome to Mexico!

Customs & Immigration. Know the difference.
Carry a black ink pen. If you want to meet new people, carry several pens. Fill out your forms on the airplane if you can. In Chicago, they had the forms at the gate, so I grabbed several of each. One for mistakes. While filling out the forms, have your passport handy, or memorize your passport number, you will need to know that number, date of issue, date it expires, color and number of pages, lol and country from where it was issued. This is not a test, don’t worry about failing. Also, you will need to know your Flight # and airline. (i.e. AA2265) Know an address, street, town, and state of where you are staying, or if you have no idea, use the name of any hotel. Also know how many days you are staying. Remove your socks to count if you have too.
(My info for 2011: 210 Laurel, Terralta II, Bucerias, Jalisco, Nayarit, Mexico)
Contact: Gabriela Hernandez. Phone: 322-127-8273) Copy or print this. You will need it. Email: Gabriela Hernandez"
The forms have changed this year, simplified, so there is only one signature on the front for immigration. Each person has to fill out this two part form. Customs is a front & back form which asks if you have been farming…..say no. Humor is not appreciated in Customs. I declared that I was bringing in food……sandwiches, cookies, cashews, and chips…...they pulled me aside and I had to show them my lunch. However, I had already eaten most of it. Try to explain that with poor Spanish.
You will first enter the Immigration hall. Have you passport ready and a completed Immigration form. Use the middle or far right lanes, the left lanes are for Mexican residents. The lines move pretty fast, for Mexico. After the official looks you over, and does some loud stamping, he/she will remove the right portion of the form and return it with your passport. DO NOT LOSE this form. They won’t let you leave the country if you do. Start looking for a job if you do lose it.

After you get through that mess, you will follow the signs to the baggage claim area. There are 3 or 4 baggage turnstiles. Your luggage could arrive on any of them, regardless of how they are marked. Be patient. By the time I got to baggage claim, they had pulled off my suitcase, so check around. Don’t hurry, I’m probably waiting on the other side of the wall, drinking a cold cerveza. I can wait.
Buenos Dias