Job Discussion Forums

[MikeySaid]

[Samantha]

It was 7 years ago, but anyway, each State has different requirements as far as paperwork for getting hitched. We are in Sinaloa and someone to repeat the vows in English is still required. I checked with a friend today who does weddings for foreigners. (I guess they don't want anyone saying they didn't understand that long drawn out affair!) The Immigration permission is national, but we all know from reading the forums how Immigration in one delegation does things slightly (or much!) differently to another.

At that time we offered $500 pesos for our lady judge. It seemed alot at the time. I think now $1000.00 would be an appropriate amount to offer a judge for time and efforts. I think that's what the wedding planners here collect to pay the Judge's they enlist. It's not a mordida, rather a courtesy.

Don't forget to go back to Immigration to file your marriage paperwork. That's important, and I think there is a time limit on it. Congratulations!

[guty]

[Samantha]

I think most ministers or clergy who perform wedding ceremonies expect to receive something for providing the service, at least in Canada. I have been to quite a few weddings, and have noticed it presented with a Thank You card. Tasteful. The timing will depend on your event. I think it would be considered bad manners not to offer something. We are talking about weddings here, not traffic court judges. LOL

[bdbarnett1]

[aliaeli]

Thank you all for caring about my crazy wedding day.
About the mordida/courtesy fee-- this is not clergy I am talking about-- and she didn't even come to us, we went to her in the "courthouse".
I actually made a complaint to her superior today and at the end I said to her, I have a really embarrasing question to ask, but do you think all this happened because we didn't tip her. She told me that no, the judge shouldn't be accepting any money. And then I asked, "well, is it informally customary? Do the majority of people do it?" To that she didn't give me a straight answer and just said she didn't know to be able to say one way or the other." So I took that as a probably yes, but I am putting it in the "mordida" category and not the "tip" category. Call it what you will.
But she was very nice and understood the issues it seemed. Nonetheless, I am making a formal complaint tomorrow.
Guty is not too far off- we might be talking about a wedding here but I already paid my fee for her to take the 5-10 minutes it took to perform the legal paperwork and in a very impersonal way, have us sign our names, and file away the paperwork. If she came to my house or to some garden on the other side of town, maybe we can start talking tips. Obviously clergy is a different story, I don't know if they have a fee for marriage services or go by donation or tip alone. But that would make more sense.
About the mysterious paperwork: I just had to go down to the INM, not the big one on Ave. Ejercito, but the one on Homero.. I just had to give them a copy of the acta, and have them stamp another copy of the acta and then return to the delegacion to entregarla in order to get the certified copy. Everyone I asked about it told me it was complete BS. that the judge said she would cancel the marriage if we didn't do it by her due date.
Sam- I think what you are talking about at immigrations is if I have an FM2 or 3--- there is an empty 15 day time limit (which means nothing will happen if you dont do it in 15 days) a lawyer on the 2nd floor of INM (ejercito one) told me that since I have an FMT I don't need to/can't file. But if/when that changes to come back in and file.

[Samantha]

Your civil ceremony sounds very different than ours. It took much longer in the civic building than 10-15 minutes. There was all the paperwork before the ceremony to be signed by the multitudes of witnesses we were required to present (done by a clerk), and then the taking of thumbprints, then more signing following the vows, in front of the Judge inside. Since this is the mandatory legal ceremony, the vows took quite a while to get through. There was much about how to be a good wife, good husband and provider, and until what age all children must be provided for and educated. Our translator had warned me that the ceremony was way "archaic" and much of the content should be done away with. It was an experience. Many couples also go on to have a church or religious wedding.

[TheLongWayHome]

[Mrs L]

My ceremony in 2005 was quite similar to what Samantha described, but without the translator, and that was in Michoacan. I had an FMT when we got married and didn't need to take it back to immigration. When we