(VIDEO) The SMA US Consular Agency is Here to Help [] Rotary Club Program

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YouTube Link:  https://youtu.be/0tcBm4uzMVo

By: Elizabeth Adlung

Who can you, as a US expat, call if you need help? If bad things happen while you are in Mexico. If, for example, you lose your passport, lose your money, are arrested, are a victim of crime, call the San Miguel US Consular Agency! Their primary purpose is to assist American citizens who travel to or live in Mexico.

The Midday Rotary Club welcomed Erika Montes Ruiz, an official representative of the San Miguel US Consular Agency, who discussed the following topics:

♦ Routine and emergency services at the Consular Agency

♦ Passport renewal by mail at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City

♦ COVID travel restrictions to the US

Regarding immigration processes, Erika says, “Immigration authorities have advised us that it is better for US citizens to go directly to their local office in person to obtain information and avoid the use of intermediaries.”

The services offered at the Consular Agency are the following:

♦ Passport processing (first time applicants and renewals)

♦ Notarial Services for documents that will be used in the US

♦ Special Citizen Services—assist US citizens who are destitute, or detained and arrested, victims of crime, and process Consular Reports of Death Abroad (CRODA)

Direct Contact: https://mx.usembassy.gov/contact/#agencies or send inquiries to ConAgencySanMiguel@state.gov.

As an official representative of the United States Government, Ms. Montes Ruiz serves the U.S. expat community by protecting the interests of citizens temporarily or permanently residing in Mexico. She began working at the Consular Agency in July 2019.  She previously worked in the U.S. Embassy Consular Section.  At the Embassy, she worked in the Passport and Special Citizens Services subunits.  Originally from Chiapas, Mexico, Ms. Montes naturalized as a U.S. Citizen in July 2012 and lived in the Pacific Northwest of the United States for ten years.

Rotary is where neighbors, friends and problem-solvers share ideas, and take action to create lasting change. For more information, contact President Skip Essick at skipessickmedia@gmail.com