Returning from a trip NOB as a Residente Permanente

Friends of mine were away for a week. When they returned, they didn't have the top half of the immigration form that they flew out of Mexico with. They filled in the top half of a new one with the correct information, but the immigration agent in Mexico City gave them a very hard time about that. She said they MUST use the top half of the original form, and she was very nasty with them. They travel in and out of Mexico several times a year, and have never had this problem before. I think they just got an agent who was in a bad mood that day. Could someone tell me if you absolutely MUST HAVE the matching pieces of the immigration form? I've heard of people who have lost them, and filled in a whole new form. I think they make you pay a certain amount of money (kind of like a fine, I guess).

Our first time back to Guad as RPs we had the same issue. We didn't realize you needed the top half, so we filled out new ones and the immigration official gave us hell. I went through all my papers and eventually found the original top half, but then the official told us it wasn't stamped (and she couldn't find an exit stamp in our passports, either) so we got another lecture. She finally processed us back into Mexico, but she indicated she could have given us a tourist visa and rescinded our RPs. Since then, we keep track of the original top half, and make sure something (anything, really) is exit stamped, too.
And we have had no more troubles.

Yes, you absolutely need to keep the top half of the INM form you filled out to exit the country and use it to re-enter the country. failure to do so can jeopardize your RP status as NoVaDamer has pointed out. This is right from the mouths of immigration officers who gave a talk at the LCS a while back.

Thanks for the information. I'll pass it along to my friends.

Why is it so hard for people to just follow the rules....it's not that complicated.
If you drive, Transito stops you and wants to see your license, you better have it.

slainte39 wrote:Why is it so hard for people to just follow the rules....it's not that complicated.
If you drive, Transito stops you and wants to see your license, you better have it.

I was only asking for clarification because I've seen people that have accidentally lost their forms, and the agent will just ask them to fill out a new one. I wasn't asking for a snide remark about people following rules. People are human, and make mistakes sometimes.

So you ask the "agent" what to do, not arbitrarily fill out a new one.
Not being snide, just factual as I could couldn't less enough to be snide.
"Yes officer, I accidentally left my driver's license at home, now what's the next step?"