Today is the one year anniversary of our border crossing into Mexico and the start of our new life. We celebrated it by going to migracion to finish the renewal of our FM-3s. Yes, we just took our final proof that we had registered with Hacienda to pay taxes 9 days ago. It took us so long to get our working permission, that we only had 9 days of sweet, blessed legalness before we had to reapply.

We actually started the renewal process yesterday. We took our applications to the nice ladies at the copy tienda down the street from migracion and let them work their magic. They know exactly how to fill out all the forms and what copies you need. They even paper clipped everything together in the right order. We just sat down, sipped a drink, and let them do their thing. It cost us $70MXN for everything for both of us. Truly, a bargain.

We strolled back down to migracion with our paper clipped packets thinking this time we had it nailed. Hah.

We walked in, signed the book, and took our seats to wait our turn. Just a few minutes later, Cristian called us up to the counter and began to go through our applications and accompanying paper work. Then he went to his computer and started typing. We were expecting this. He has to give us our "bill" – the official piece of paper with our account number and the amount we need to pay for our application. We knew we would have to take that piece of paper to the bank and pay, and then bring the receipt back to attach to our application. So far so good.

Then Cristian reached into his desk and brought out a slip of paper and began enumerating the items we were still missing. We needed our last statement to Hacienda to prove we are paying our taxes. I protested, "But Cristian, we just got legal 9 days ago. We haven't paid any taxes yet!" He says he knows, but we need a statement showing we paid zero pesos in taxes. Okay, fine. We have to go visit our accountant.

Next, he tells us we need an official letter, in Spanish, stating the work we do. Again, I protested. "Cristian, we just gave you one of those. They're still so new that they don't even have eye tracks on them yet!" He patiently explained that was for the last application. We need to do it again for this one.

We also needed an official letter from the accountant and copies of his credentials promising we will pay our taxes. Well, we had to go to the accountant anyway. We also needed copies of our official tax registration with Hacienda. That we had.

We walked out a little dejected and kicked ourselves for thinking it was going to go smoothly. We made our way to our accountant's office. He was very nice and said he would prepare the documents for us and asked if we could come back that afternoon at 4:00 to pick them up. Migracion closes at 2:00, and I really wanted to get the application done, but I also didn't want to push this very nice man who had already helped us so much. I figured we could go back to migracion in the morning and thanked him.

We woke up this morning, got dressed, and headed to migracion bright and early. After waiting for our turn, I proudly handed all of our documents to Cristian, beaming the whole time. He went through our papers and saw that everything was in order. Then he opened my FM3, sucked in his breath, and exclaimed, "¡Ay!" What now?

He shook his head sadly and explained that our FM-3s expired yesterday.

What???

He showed me the page, and, sure enough, yesterday. Crap. How could I have made such an error? I asked him what we had to do now. The answer, of course, was pay. There is a $53MXN per day penalty for not renewing in time. Not as bad as I had feared. I have heard stories of people being assessed fees as high as $7,000MXN.

Cristian went to his computer and created new forms for us to take to the bank so we could pay our penalty. Off we went again.

When we returned half an hour later, Cristian called us up to his desk as soon as we walked in the door, no waiting. Evidently, we have finally made our way into the express lane.

I held my breath and crossed my fingers as he went through our sheaf of documentation one final time. Finally, he picked up his sacred stamp and marked both of our applications accepted. Thank God. We go back on the 26th to pick up our renewed FM-3s.

Just as were were about to leave, Cristian asked me for a phone number. I gave it to him and asked why he needed it. He winked at me and said just in case they needed any further documentation. What a comedian.

What we needed to renew our working FM-3s:

• The official application, kindly filled out by the ladies at the copy tienda, plus one copy.
• Copies of our entire US passports, including blank pages.
• Our current FM-3s with copies of pages 3-12.
• Receipt from the bank, showing we paid $1904MXN each.
• Our official letter, in Spanish, stating the work we do.
• A copy of our accountant's credentials.
• A letter from our accountant.
• A copy of our Alta de Hacienda (official tax registration).
• A copy of our last tax payment.