Staying in touch

They say you carry your home in your heart. But, when I moved here eight months ago, I hired movers to collect 157 boxes from my overstuffed New York City apartment and transport them across the Mexican border.

I was seven months pregnant and leaving family, friends, job and birthplace behind. A sanctuary of familiar things, I believed, would ease my transition to Mexico. So I packed what I’d collected over the course of a lifetime, including a trove of flea market items awaiting re-upholstery and at least one half-used roll of aluminum foil.

When I called the movers to set a date for pickup I hadn’t yet researched the requirements for trucking my stuff to Mexico. Without transport approval from the Mexican government, the moving company wouldn’t move. Instead of heading to Mexico, 4000-pounds of my old life were deposited at a storage facility in Upper Manhattan.

I’d assumed that, married to a Mexican national, moving my stuff wouldn’t require working out my immigration status. I was wrong. I needed to file a menaje de casa, the paperwork that allows holders of the FM2 or FM3 visas (and Mexican nationals meeting certain conditions) a one-time exemption for a duty-free transport of used (at least 6 months old) household belongings.

I went ahead, the boxes stayed behind, and the storage charges mounted.

From Mexico, I applied for my FM2. I was 9 months pregnant by the time it was issued so the mandatory appearance to deliver my inventory list at the consulate in New York was out of the question. Luckily I could file power of attorney; my Mom went in my stead.

Menaje down… customs letters still at-large? This last detail had simply fallen through the cracks – it’s strangely absent from the consular website. My movers required a quartet of letters, addressed to customs officials, signed by me. The letters put a value on my shipment, declared that my belongings included no illegal merchandise, and agreed that my menaje would be exported from Mexico if ever I moved out of the country.

Finally, my boxes were loaded into a truck and began their journey south.

I gave birth just four days before the movers arrived. A bit dazed, I held my daughter as they filed through the front door with 157 boxes of clothes hangers, books and aluminum foil. Six months later, the furniture remains un-upholstered, and I’m still not entirely unpacked.

Ni modo, as they say. Plenty of time for that. I won’t be reversing a menaje anytime soon.

Tips

1. Plan ahead! Check with consulate on time required to process your request.

2. Have passport and Mexican visa (FM 2 or FM 3) ready before beginning petition. Visa must be within 6 months of issue.

3. Confirm preferred menaje format.

4. Don’t close boxes before everything is listed. Note all electronics’ specifications (make, model, serial number, year of manufacture) and describe large furniture.

5. Remember: “Used” = six-months-old, or more.

6. Prepare all copies and signed pages before you go to the consulate. You’ll need $127 US D (cash or bank check).

7. Take the approved inventory list to movers, or whoever will arrive at aduanas- customs with the shipment.

8. Provide movers with letters required by customs: A) declaration giving effective power of attorney to the moving company; B) declaration of value; C) declaration that all merchandise is used, for personal use, that the shipment contains no illegal merchandise; and D) that you will repatriate the menaje when/if your visa is to expire.

9. Expect that every box will be opened by customs officials.