So Close to Crossing the Border... And Denied

On Thursday morning, Randy and I had a short two-hour drive to El Centro, where we would return the U-Haul and transfer its contents into a trailer pulled by Gary and Karen, the directors of Sonshine Hacienda. We were so excited to see them! Even though we hadn’t yet crossed the border into Mexico, it felt like we’d arrived.

During the morning drive, a semi-truck kicked up a rock and cracked my windshield in two places. So, while Gary and Karen ran errands, Randy and I found a local glass repair shop. They were so nice, quick, and did great work. We took their business card and promised that if we couldn’t get all our needs met in San Felipe we would return to them.

We met up with Gary and Karen again and went out to lunch at Sizzler. I was craving something healthy, seeing as we’d been grabbing fast food for the last three days. The Sizzler salad bar was just the ticket. We had an opportunity to talk and reconnect and share all of our excitement over our arrival.

Karen had told the children at Sonshine Hacienda that we would be arriving soon. Gary and Karen had intermittently lived in the upstairs apartment where Randy and I are moving into. The kids knew Gary and Karen were moving their things out and had some fear about what that meant. Karen reassured them that she and Gary were not going anywhere, that Randy and I were joining the Sonshine family, not replacing anyone. It’s no surprise that these kids would have abandonment issues, but a good reminder that some of them may need a little time to adjust to and trust our presence.

It was three o’clock by the time we got back on the road. Randy and I were now in the same vehicle pulling our trailer full of belongings, with Gary and Karen in a separate vehicle pulling a trailer full of donations.

There are two border crossings in Calexico, but only one that allows you to bring trailers through. Randy and I have been to San Felipe twice before, but this was our first time through this border crossing. Gary and Karen drove through first, and pulled off into the area where their trailer would be inspected. Randy and I drove through next, and were stopped for a quick visual inspection.

I was worried about whether we would have any issues bringing Jovi, our dog, across the border. We’d taken her to the vet and gotten an official health certificate the week before, but all it said was that she was up to date on her rabies vaccines. Was that enough?

The inspection officer didn’t even ask to see the certificate. She said she could see through the window that Jovi had a rabies tag on. Wow! Was it all going to be that easy?

The next step was for our vehicle to be x-rayed. Randy maneuvered the trailer into the appropriate slot and we were asked to exit the vehicle. We were asked if there were any additional people left in the car, to which we said no. We stood behind a wall until the x-ray machine had passed over the car and trailer. Then we had to wait in the car until an x-ray tech had reviewed the scan and found it agreeable. I’m not sure exactly what they were looking for, but was glad that we passed the test. So far so good!

The final step was a visual inspection of our belongings, to determine whether or not we owed taxes on our items. You might recall that we had been to the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento the week before, presented an itemized list of our belongings, been sent home to reprint it in portrait layout, and returned to pay our $127 fee. This was supposed to make the whole process quick and easy. In theory, you can take your personal belongings across the border one time with your visa and not have to pay taxes, though the final decision is up to the Border Control officers.

We watched as trailer after trailer pulled in, received a quick visual inspection, and drove off. Seemed easy enough. And by this time, Gary and Karen had already paid taxes on the donation items and were given the approval to cross into Mexico. But they waited for us to help us through the process.

While everyone at the border is required to speak both English and Spanish, it didn't mean their English was any better than our Spanish, so we were especially grateful to have Gary with us to both translate and help us learn how the system works.

We saw the building labeled “aduana” and shared with Gary how we’d thought she was a woman. He laughed at our mistake. We entered the customs building and presented our itemized list with the official seal of approval of the Sacramento Consulate and receipt of our $127 payment. The woman handed it back to us and pointed at a long building that contained a row of offices. "Go to any one of those offices and they will help you," she said.

We went to the first door, but it was locked. So we went to the second door, where we showed the man our paperwork. He pointed back to the aduana building and told us to take our paperwork there. We told him she had just sent us to him. He took us to the next office down the row and left. Once again we presented our paperwork and were told to return to the aduana building. This happened at every office. At the last office, the man escorted us back to the aduana building and told the customs officer he didn't know what to do with us. The officer told us she would have to call her boss. Gary told us not to worry, that the longer we waited the more likely they were to just let us pass through. Patience is a virtue after all!

Randy and I decided to go to the immigration office while aduana was calling her boss (we still like to refer to her as a woman, even though we know she isn't!). We had heard all kinds of things about getting our official visas, from it taking us 3 months during which we wouldn't be able to return to the U.S., to it costing us $800, to us having to go to Ensenada, several hours away. 

We walked up to the immigration desk and rang the bell. A little old man came out and took our passports. He handed us forms and helped us fill them out, which took all of two minutes. Then he stamped our passports and handed us temporary visas. "These are good for 30 days," he said. "Before those 30 days are up, go to the office in San Felipe and get your official visas." Randy and I looked at each other in disbelief. That's it? We'd just finalized our visas? Without it costing us a penny? Without being quarantined to Mexico for 90 days? "Sí."

Wow! We were on cloud 9. Surely aduana would send us off to Mexico momentarily! Everything about the process had been smooth sailing, and now all we needed was the boss to give the thumbs up. 

But when we returned to aduana, a man from one of the offices we'd been turned away at came in to talk to the customs officer. He spoke Spanish, but I very clearly understood when he said we needed to go stay at a hotel in Calexico, California, for the night and return in the morning. What?!

He explained that our piece of paper from Sacramento required us to have another piece of paper from customs and the one person who could create that piece of paper had already left for the evening. We were completely deflated. But our hands were tied. We had no choice but to return to California. 

We assured Gary and Karen that we would be fine and sent them on their way to San Felipe, with promises of being in touch the next day. Randy, Jovi, and I piled into the car and did a u-turn at the border, sending us back to California, with hopes that once again, the second-time would be the charm...