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burial10
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 3
Location: TX
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 Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 2:37 am Post subject: Certification, Employment and Visa Advice Needed |
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I'm moving to Mexico City in June. I have a B.A. in political science, and I'm currently a certified middle school English teacher in the U.S. My classroom is an inclusion setting for people who have limited English proficiency, so I'm pretty familiar with some of the practices that go with TESOL.
The problem is that I don't have a TESOL certificate. Do you think I'd be able to get away with doing an online TESOL course and still get a good job? I've only been teaching for one year, so my teaching experience isn't really enough to make up for the credential if online is viewed as bad. I'm considering the one from the University of Toronto (https://teflonline.teachaway.com/). I'm also considering the CELTA program at Ih Mexico City. I read that most Mexican schools don't prefer the CELTA over TESOL, so this is probably not going to happen since it's costlier. If an online course would be bad, does anyone have any on-site course suggestions in Mexico City? I like the teacher diploma program at the Universidad Panamericana. I'm going to be taking Spanish classes at UNAM for about six months, so that would really fit with my schedule, assuming they have classes during the fall. My goal is that after six months and once I'm certified, I'll switch my focus to working. Do people with diplomas only teach children? Would I be able to find work teaching adults with this credential?
As far as the work visa, I'm from Texas, so it'd be easy enough for me to go home and apply at my state's embassy once I have a job offer. I don't think I'll be able to secure anything online before I move, so I will probably be entering the country on a tourist visa. Once I leave the country, I'm I'd have to get a new visa, correct? I'm assuming that if this is true, it won't be a matter of switching from a tourist visa to a work visa (which I read is difficult), but applying for a new (work) visa once I have a school willing to sponsor me. |
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notamiss
Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 908
Location: El 5o pino del la CDMX
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| Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 4:11 pm Post subject: |
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To answer your last question, everyone entering Mexico�whether as a tourist or with intention to become a resident�fills out an FMM, but you fill it out differently depending on your intention. When you enter the second time, with a job offer and applying for a resident visa with permission to work, you will fill it out accordingly and will have to present yourself to INM within, I think, 30 days of entering Mexico in order to complete the visa process.
The first time, the FMM will be filled out as a tourist visa, and you don�t have to do anything with it except keep it so you can turn it in when you leave Mexico.
Corrections welcome if I haven�t got it right. |
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Tretyakovskii
Joined: 14 Aug 2009
Posts: 462
Location: Cancun, Mexico
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| Posted: Thu Apr 25, 2013 8:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| it won't be a matter of switching from a tourist visa to a work visa (which I read is difficult), but applying for a new (work) visa once I have a school willing to sponsor me. |
It appears you've got the sequence understood pretty well: you'd enter visa free, on an FMM, with permission to remain in country for up to 180 days; get a solid job offer from a company with permission to hire foreigners, then return to Texas to present all your documentation at a Mexican Consulate. A visa would be issued, giving you permission to accept the job offer. You would enter Mexico on the visa, then apply at INM in the city where you'll be working for your temporary residency document.
Once you've jumped through these hoops, you can continue to work, change jobs, apply for permission to work independently, etc., all while remaining in Mexico. |
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chica88
Joined: 28 Dec 2012
Posts: 107
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| Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 12:59 am Post subject: |
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Hi there...
There may be a few different ways to work things out with the work visa.
As far as the work permit I would not stress.
You come under the 90 day grace period.
Now rather that stays live or not once you leave Mexico I do not know.
But, I do believe it stays good and you can re-enter with it.
Then the Mexican government will let you extend it for something like another 60 days.
I don't remember the exact formula they go by.
But, when you get offered a position the school writes you a letter.
Then you go to immigration and turn in the letter and they ask you what kind of visa you want.
I told them I wanted the visa that allowed me to work at more then one school.
Immigration does not really care what your answer is - they just want the money for the visa.
The visa thing in Mexico is nothing to stress over.
It only takes a little bit of time to get.
And like I said they mostly just want the money.
Just remember to have your apostile from the dept of state.
Immigration didn't want to look at it.
But, the school wanted several copies of the thing. |
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Tretyakovskii
Joined: 14 Aug 2009
Posts: 462
Location: Cancun, Mexico
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| Posted: Sat May 04, 2013 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
But, when you get offered a position the school writes you a letter.
Then you go to immigration and turn in the letter and they ask you what kind of visa you want.
I told them I wanted the visa that allowed me to work at more then one school.
Immigration does not really care what your answer is - they just want the money for the visa.
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An honest effort to be helpful, I'm sure, but it's not clear to me the poster is aware the law has changed, as this is no longer how it works. I'm also a little concerned that calling the document issued by INM a "visa" can lead to confusion.
Visas are issued by embassies and consulates abroad: INM issues immigration documents. The FMM given a tourist upon arrival, for example, is an immigration document. When a tourist is given one upon arrival it is not a visa, and does not substitute for a visa in a case in which one would otherwise have been necessary; instead, they are being admitted "visa free," with the FMM giving evidence of the conditions under which they were admitted. |
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MotherF
Joined: 07 Jun 2010
Posts: 1450
Location: 17�48'N 97�46'W
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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Also--they don't care they just want the money? I've been in Mexico for 15 years and I've never heard anything like that. You don't give INM the money, you have to pay at the bank, so the people working in the office have no interest in getting your money. There have been times when I thought that was a shame, they'd probably be a lot more helpful if there was money changing hands.  |
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chica88
Joined: 28 Dec 2012
Posts: 107
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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| MotherF wrote: |
| Also--they don't care they just want the money? I've been in Mexico for 15 years and I've never heard anything like that. You don't give INM the money, you have to pay at the bank, so the people working in the office have no interest in getting your money. There have been times when I thought that was a shame, they'd probably be a lot more helpful if there was money changing hands. |
I don't wish to have any more back and forth issues with you.
People who live in mexico and have used immigration services where I live are of the opinion that things go smoother when you keep you mouth shut and pay the fees they ask right away.
People I know and have worked with both the US and locals feel this to be the case with immigration in the area I live in.
If others feel different that is their right.
People I have known to hold back on paying the fees for whatever reason they may have have gone through real hell with immigration.
People who pay fees up front and quickly, things tend to fall into place.
And I realize I did say immigration when in fact I took my fees to the bank. |
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BadBeagleBad
Joined: 23 Aug 2010
Posts: 1186
Location: 24.18105,-103.25185
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| Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:45 pm Post subject: |
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| chica88 wrote: |
[
I don't wish to have any more back and forth issues with you.
People who live in mexico and have used immigration services where I live are of the opinion that things go smoother when you keep you mouth shut and pay the fees they ask right away.
People I know and have worked with both the US and locals feel this to be the case with immigration in the area I live in.
If others feel different that is their right.
People I have known to hold back on paying the fees for whatever reason they may have have gone through real hell with immigration.
People who pay fees up front and quickly, things tend to fall into place.
And I realize I did say immigration when in fact I took my fees to the bank. |
This post actually makes no sense. If you don�t pay your fees, your documents won�t be accepted, so yeah, I guess people who don�t pay their fees will have a kind of hell because they don�t get anywhere at all. As far as I know, paying up front is the only way to DO anything. I used to work for a school that employed a number of foreign teachers and I took many of them to immigration to help with translating and their documents, and there is no way to do anything without pay fees up front and in full. Or are you implying that people were paying bribes to immigration? I find that highly unlikely. |
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chica88
Joined: 28 Dec 2012
Posts: 107
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| Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 12:19 am Post subject: |
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| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| chica88 wrote: |
[
I don't wish to have any more back and forth issues with you.
People who live in mexico and have used immigration services where I live are of the opinion that things go smoother when you keep you mouth shut and pay the fees they ask right away.
People I know and have worked with both the US and locals feel this to be the case with immigration in the area I live in.
If others feel different that is their right.
People I have known to hold back on paying the fees for whatever reason they may have have gone through real hell with immigration.
People who pay fees up front and quickly, things tend to fall into place.
And I realize I did say immigration when in fact I took my fees to the bank. |
This post actually makes no sense. If you don�t pay your fees, your documents won�t be accepted, so yeah, I guess people who don�t pay their fees will have a kind of hell because they don�t get anywhere at all. As far as I know, paying up front is the only way to DO anything. I used to work for a school that employed a number of foreign teachers and I took many of them to immigration to help with translating and their documents, and there is no way to do anything without pay fees up front and in full. Or are you implying that people were paying bribes to immigration? I find that highly unlikely. |
You are making this far to personal.
How about taking a stab at answering the op's question and not jabbing at individuals and the way they may or may not word things.
I'm done.
Anyone else wants to know anything correct I suggest they direct all their questions and concerns to you.
And when I say done to be clear I mean done with daves.
I'm out, this is the exact kind of stuff I get tired to dealing with in forums.
I will not be responding back. |
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Xie Lin
Joined: 21 Oct 2011
Posts: 731
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| Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 12:00 pm Post subject: |
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| chica88 wrote: |
| BadBeagleBad wrote: |
| chica88 wrote: |
[
I don't wish to have any more back and forth issues with you.
People who live in mexico and have used immigration services where I live are of the opinion that things go smoother when you keep you mouth shut and pay the fees they ask right away.
People I know and have worked with both the US and locals feel this to be the case with immigration in the area I live in.
If others feel different that is their right.
People I have known to hold back on paying the fees for whatever reason they may have have gone through real hell with immigration.
People who pay fees up front and quickly, things tend to fall into place.
And I realize I did say immigration when in fact I took my fees to the bank. |
This post actually makes no sense. If you don�t pay your fees, your documents won�t be accepted, so yeah, I guess people who don�t pay their fees will have a kind of hell because they don�t get anywhere at all. As far as I know, paying up front is the only way to DO anything. I used to work for a school that employed a number of foreign teachers and I took many of them to immigration to help with translating and their documents, and there is no way to do anything without pay fees up front and in full. Or are you implying that people were paying bribes to immigration? I find that highly unlikely. |
You are making this far to personal.
How about taking a stab at answering the op's question and not jabbing at individuals and the way they may or may not word things.
I'm done.
Anyone else wants to know anything correct I suggest they direct all their questions and concerns to you.
And when I say done to be clear I mean done with daves.
I'm out, this is the exact kind of stuff I get tired to dealing with in forums.
I will not be responding back. |
In practical terms, I'm not sure how useful a forum would be if nobody took it upon themselves to correct inaccurate information when posted. Personally, I really appreciate it when knowledgeable long-term residents of a country contribute their knowledge and first-hand experience to the mix.
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burial10
Joined: 20 Apr 2013
Posts: 3
Location: TX
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| Posted: Fri May 31, 2013 2:30 am Post subject: |
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| Thank you to those who responded! |
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