We acquired our Permanent Residency status in October, 2016. It was easy, and we had a Mexican Consulate very close to us in Oxnard, Ca.
We did an online query, Oswaldo handled all of our questions, and when it came down to making the appointment, it turned out that he was our person to meet with!
DO YOUR PAPERWORK IN YOUR HOME COUNTRY!!!!!
So, this time, we tried to do it right. It's important. We contacted Oswaldo, only to find out that we only had our one time "special" importation window within 6 months our our acquiring that status. OOPS! We missed our opportunity to do a Menaje de Casa.
So, now what??? We solicited advice from the experts-navagator,Tequila, MEXWANDERER, and went for it. We arrived at the border at Nogales on Wednesday morning, tense. We were driving a Durango towing an 8 foot cargo trailer, both Guerrero plated, filled to the top with a roof soft carrier, not to mention two large weimaranera and a big white cat! Each box was labeled very basically: Sala, Bano, Cocina, and we had 3 copies. We also had photos of the layers of the loading of the trailer. (Thanks, David)
6am. There were 6 other vehicles in the "Items to Declare" lane. We had decided that I would probably have an easier time that he would if driving. Half of the vehicles, filled to the brim with STUFF, were unloading. We waited until the female came out and asked for our list. Then, she wanted to see what we had. When we opened the trailer, she wanted it emptied. Ray showed her the loading photos, and she said it would be OK if we just took out our surf/paddle boards so she could see inside. That was only 4 boxes!!!!! Her boss came out, glanced, and said, "3000 pesos." Seriously???? We went inside, paid the tax, got the receipt for our credit card payment, etc, and were on our way in less than 30 minutes. WOW!!!!!
Changing drivers every about 2 hours, we drove to Navajoa. Could have gone further, but after the adrenalin rush of the crossing, we were done. We stayed at a Beautiful by the hour hotel that didn't care about the dogs and cat and was totally secure. Fun, too. 400p with a generous tip for ice.
Next morning we drove to Tepic and found another similar hotel. Not quite as deluxe, but with a tip, 300p.
Then, up when we were ready, and hit the road, not expecting to make it home. We did! Zihuatanejo well before dark, tired, but safe.
What did we learn? No Tell Motels are the best, fun, silly, private, secure. Plus, how much could two dog and a cat do compared to a very "driven" person? We never drove over 100kph, usually less, road conditions allowing. We were driving a big, heavy SUV with a heavy trailer.
Roads are better every day. The difference between end of March, first of April was dramatic!
We are so glad that our trip back was exactly as it should be: Traveling in Mexico, in general, in our opinions, is easier than in the US and Canada. This is just our opinion!
