Job Discussion Forums

[chicagogirl]

Hello!
I've been reading and learning alot from everyones experiences. I am coming to Mexico in June and will be attending ITTO with plans on staying on in Mexico.
I am a little confused on what I need to get aposittled. I went to the Mexican consulate in Chicago (I'm from the states) and the girl who helped me was new in that department and didn't really help. What exactly do I need to get from my University, my actual diploma or my transcripts and what does the Mexican Embassy have to do to them? I've learned that I have to take them to the Secretary of State...but I don't know what to take. Help!!

My birth certificate is from Indiana...Does that need to be notarized in Indiana? Any information anyone has would be very helpful. I want to have everything in order before I leave.

I'm also curious about how to convert my U.S. resume to an appropriate Mexican C.V. ...I have a bachelors degree, but not much teaching experience. I've been volunteering as an ESL teacher for the past 9 mos. Should I have this ready befor I come?


Muchos Gracias for any help anyone can give!
Christina

[chula]

Hey
go to the secretary of state for ohio and check out the apostille info. it�s online. that�s assuming that your degree is from ohio, if it�s not, then you need to go to the web page for the state that it came from and see what their requirements are. it�s easy, but you should get on it as it takes a few weeks. also, don�t worry about your birth certificate. just do your degree from your school (this will be much cheaper to have translated when you get to mexico, as opposed to your transcript which has a lot more text). of course, if you�re planning on getting married in mexico, you�ll need to get your birth certificate done too, but it doesn�t sound like that�s your goal right now.

as for your resume, �f you�re teaching english here you can likely leave it in english right now and then have help translating it when you get to mexico.

hope that helps,
chula

[chicagogirl]

Hi Chula,
Thanks for the advice! So I will go to the websites. I'm still a little confused on what I need, my actual diploma? Does the Mexican Embassy/Conuslate need to do anything?
Thanks again! I'm really excited to get there!
Christina

[Ben Round de Bloc]

As far as I know, it's your university diploma that needs the apostile. As Chula said, it's done by the secy. of state for the state where the issuing institution is located. The Mexican embassy/consulate has nothing to do with the process. The apostiled diploma needs to be translated into Spanish, but wait to do that once you're in Mexico, because it has to be done by an officially-licensed-in-Mexico translator.

It's not a bad idea to bring along copies of your transcripts, too, although you shouldn't need to have them apostiled. Also, bring along an original birth certificate. (Note: Original doesn't mean one-and-only. If you want an extra one, you can get a duplicate original from wherever it's on file, probably the county courthouse of the county where you were born.)

Also, make some photocopies of your passport and birth certificate and keep them in a secure place. In case they're lost of stolen, this will make the process of getting duplicates go more smoothly. Do the same with your work visa once you have one.

As for your CV, if you're applying at language schools, an English version should be sufficient, because everyone looking at it and interviewing you will speak English (not the case at many universities, however.) You might want to have a Spanish version made once you're in Mexico. Keep in mind that Mexican style CVs or resumes include a lot more personal information than is commonly found in the USA, things such as age, gender, marital status, religion, etc. along with a photo. It's probably easier to just buy some of the standard application forms sold everywhere in Mexico and use those along with your English CV. The standard form has spaces for all the information that an employer wants along with a place to attach your photo. By the way, wait to get your job application photos taken in Mexico. It's a whole lot cheaper, and you'll need to have official ones taken for your work visa anyway. Local photographers know the required size, view, and all of that.

I've probably told you much more than you wanted to know. Sorry.

[chicagogirl]

Ben round the bloc!
Thanks! definatly not too much info! More then I could have asked for, It makes more sense to me now. I'm enrolling at ITTO tomorrow! I will finish my certificate at the end of July, do you think all of the good teaching jobs will be full by then?

Thanks so much for your advice/help! I feel like I already have friends in Mexico with these great discussion forums!
Christina

[moonraven]

You can also have the university certify the diploma or transcript, then have it notarized and then sealed by the Mexican Consulate. My mother had that done for all 3 of my degrees (they were also in 3 states), mostly by phone. I have been working for 10 years in Mexico with no problems at any of the offices of immigration in regard to getting and renewing the FM-3 work visa. I had an immigration office approved translator translate my transcripts in Mexico City--he was fast and cheap and relatively accurate.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

Moonraven,

The procedure you described is the way I had it done back when I moved to Mexico 10+ years ago as well. That was before the days of apostiling, however. Are you sure the method you described is still acceptable for people getting work visas for the first time?

[moonraven]

The method I described is still just fine. The thing about the immigration offices is that they check off to see if you have turned in all required items. They don't pay much attention to any of them, however. I have dealt with the offices in Mexico City, Cuernavaca, Saltillo, Toluca (where they offered me a job!), Huatulco and Puerto Escondido.

[seaskyclay]

I just finished my undergraduate degree here in California this month and am not expecting to receive my degree from the university for at least four months. However, I am leaving the country in about six weeks. I'm wondering how I'm going to get the apostile of my degree done with me in Mexico and it in California.

Stephanie

[ls650]

[seaskyclay]

I thought I had to get it done at the office of the Secretary of State though, which will be difficult to do since I'll be in Mexico or Guatemala at the time.

Stephanie

[lozwich]

Hiyas,

Just for the lurkers here, the apostille process seems to be different in each country. For example, in Australia, all I had to do was get certified copies apostilled at the local office of Foreign Affairs. If I had wanted to get my original degree apostilled, I would have had to jump through a whole bunch of different hoops to get the signature on my degree verified by someone, can't remember who, but I think it was God.

Then when I took all the stuff in its pretty folder to immigration in Oaxaca, they gave it all a cursory glance and ticked off some box. I don't know if I'll get those documents back when I leave, but then I don't really care, because they're only photocopies.

Have a good day.
Lozwich.

[Guy Courchesne]

You'll find it varies from state to state, even though it's a federal ministry, how much is required at the immigration office. I thought Oaxaca was strict, but I guess not. Guerrero is super lax on documents. Might all come down to the mood of one person behind a desk.

[lozwich]

[C76]

@ chicagogirl,

Thanks for starting this thread

I once read that Canada doesn't have an apostille policy. I was wondering what the heck I'm supposed to do. And I didn't have time to figure out what the word "apostille" meant.