MEX-PATRIOT - 02 - Ties that Bind

Drop that machete! You don't want a clean break. Life in Mexico is easier with links to the U.S.

• Birth Certificate needed for U.S passport, Mexican Visa, and to process your remains. If you don't have one, get one.
• Social Security card to start benefits and open bank account.
• Money! Don't leave home without it! I recommend $ 10,000 for one person for each year till Social Security kicks in (more if you have existing bills to pay). If you're going broke, bring cash to last until you can get your first SS check. Then go back across the border to set up a direct deposit account (safe from the creditors if you avoid commingling other funds). You may find a bank down here that van handle your direct deposits. You may even find a bank that does not report to the IRS. Remember casas de cambio no longer cash Social Security checks, due to excessive cases of fraud.
• Passport! Don't put this off! If things don't get better in Asia and the Middle East, you might find your application denied because you once dated a Communist.
• Friends will be needed for the driver's license and passport. Don't forget, if you use an address in Boston, or even Dallas, the authorities might try to get you to serve on a jury there.
• Mexican auto insurance is no good without U.S. insurance--but some states will give you a deep discount, if you promise not to drive in the U.S.