The officer decides your exact number of days, up to a maximum of 180 — ask for the full 180 if you want it, because they won't assume. The fee is $983 MXN (about $54), and short stays of roughly a week or less by land are free. Here's the part that catches Baja drivers out: there is no "border zone" or 72-hour exemption in Mexican immigration law, whatever you've heard at a taco stand. You need one to be anywhere in Mexico, and even if you buy it online you still have to stop at the INM office at the crossing to get it stamped. An unstamped FMM is not a valid FMM, and the military checkpoint south of Ensenada is where people find that out. It can't be extended from inside Mexico (narrow exception if yours was issued for fewer than 180 days — ask at any INM office); if you need more time, leave and re-enter for a new one. No cooldown, no annual limit. It does not authorize paid work.

You prove either steady monthly income or a savings balance. Since mid-2025 consulates calculate the thresholds from the UMA, Mexico's official reference unit, which is why the number differs from consulate to consulate: figure roughly $4,300–$4,700 USD a month of documented income over the past six months, or about $73,000–$75,000 in savings, for 2026. Worth calling the specific consulate before you book the appointment, because San Francisco and Houston can be several hundred dollars a month apart. Temporary residency runs 1–4 years, and you renew the card inside Mexico through INM before it expires.

Once you have it, it never expires and never needs renewing, which is the whole appeal. Nationalization generally takes 5 years of legal residency (2 if you're married to a Mexican national or have children who are Mexican by birth) plus Spanish proficiency and Mexican history/culture exams, through the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE).

If you live in Mexico and you're eligible for the DS-82 renewal, you mail the application to the US Consulate General in Guadalajara — not to a US lockbox address, no matter what the form says. Budget about six weeks. Two details that get applications bounced: print the DS-82 single-sided, and use a 5×5 cm photo rather than the 2×2 inch one you'd use stateside. For urgent travel, the US Consulate General in Tijuana handles passport services by appointment. Start earlier than you think you need to.