Exiting Mexico and entering USA - paperwork?
 

We crossed from Mexico yesterday into the USA but there wasn't anywhere to get checked out of Mexico for us but more importantly the bikes. Does this not really matter if the temp import document isn't cleared out of Mexico?

Also at the US border, they didn't have a clue about temporary imports for our bikes and just let us and the bikes in after stamping our passports. Again will this be a problem if we don't have a temp import document for our bikes?

Mike, There are several posts about not getting stamped out of Mexico. It could be a problem and if you used a credit card you could get charged for it. If you want to come back into Mexico in the future you will have problems as the bike never left. If you can go back to a border and get the paperwork done. The place to do the paperwork is not always easy to find and you may have to ask around.
Cynthia Milton recently wrote something about getting her bike stamped into the States. I didn't pay much attention to it but it seems it is a bit of a problem when you want to leave by sea or air. Getting into Canada shouldn't be a problem and then maybe you can do it when you come back into the States. If you are not planning on going back into the States after Canada I don't think it will be a problem.
Good Luck
PS I sold the BMW today and will pay for the V-strom tomorrow

Garry made a good post.
Search this site for more info...and there's a lot regarding this issue.

paperwork from Mexico to US
 

Dear MikeS,
I was equally incredulous when I crossed from Mexico into Texas and although I and my Enfield Bullet were officially stamped out of Mexico, on the US side they were only interested in me and my passport (which bothered them greatly as it has such places as Syria and Pakistan in it!)
Even though I tried to insist that they gave me some piece of paper to say I had a temporary import for my bike they just waved me through!

Exactly the same thing happened when entering Canada from the US! Very strange, isn't it? I took my bike through about 20 countries during my trip from India and that was the first time I didn't have to have either a carnet de passage or a temporary import.
Happy travels,
Jacqui Furneaux

If you were a citizen or permanent resident and brought a vehicle in, then they would take notice and ask for some docs. Since you're on a temporary (visitor) visa, then they assume you'll take it with.

If you were to try to sell the bike in the US, you don't have a proper title to transfer to the new owner, so he can't get it titled and registered.

States issue titles and registration, not the Feds, so it'd have to be registered and titled first in a state somewhere, which means they'll check the VIN, its emissions certification and who knows what else. I don't think you could get a title on the bike, so anyone with a brain in their head would walk away from the transaction if you couldn't sign over the title to them.

So, any of you non-citizens of the US sold your bike in the US?

I'm not too worried about my bike as I never got it checked into Mexico as I came in via Bethel in Guatemala, a small border with only a passport guy there, no aduana. The problem is my girlfriend came in via Belize and had to pay a deposit with a credit card coming into Mexico with the promise if the bike isn't checked out of Mexico after 30days, she'll be charged something like $300.

Does anyone know if this is true as she thinks she'll need to go back to the border to try and get her bike checked out of Mexico?

Mike,
In your first post you mention "bikes". Now it's "bike". :)
What are you asking now, different than your initial post?

exiting Mexico
 

Mike , it is true , and in fact she has already paid the $300 with her credit card if it was scanned at the entry at Subte. Lopez. Unless she checks the bike out of Mexico at the exit aduana and Banjercito she will not get her money refunded and may face other legal consequences on a later visit to Mexico for having illegally imported a bike into the country. With no proof of it being checked out they assume it was sold and left in Mexico.
I am not too sure why they would stipulate a 30day time limit, unless she made the error of telling them that she was only crossing Mexico to get to the USA. In that case she would have been classed as in 'transito' and a different set of rules apply. Never tell them you are just in transit even if you are on a mad rush between Tegucigalpa and Toronto. Always say the purpose of your visit is "turismo" and give the destination as any of the border towns . This will get you the temporary import permit which usually will be valid for the same duration as your tourist card.
This is not a money ripoff by the Mexicans, they are very clear on their policies and they WILL promptly refund your money when you process the bike out of Mexico. Two years ago I had to pay a cash deposit to get my bike into Mexico because their credit card reader balked but at the end of the trip the cash was back in my hands the moment they stamped the exit document for the bike.
Mike if you made it to the US border without any problems let us know how that happened. Usually there will be a number of roadside checkpoints where they ask to see documentos. If you do not have your temporary import certificate you may find that you will have some'splainin to do. If you came in from Bethel GT, you could have visited the small migracion office in Frontera Corozal or Benemerito de las Americas,( I know , a hassel with their limited service hours) or their office in Palenque or Villahermosa, just to avoid possible problems.
As to the other posts who seem to have difficulty finding the places where the exit paperwork needs to be done, pay attention as you approach the border zone. Someplaces this can be done at the checkpoint at the end of the Zona Fronteriza which may be 30 to 50km before you get to the border e.g .south of piedras Negras at Allende COAH on Mex 57 ,km53;,south of Cd.Juarez at the big terminal on Mex45 or right at the border crossings atop the Falcon Dam , Amistad Dam, in downtown Tecate,Tijuana,Ojinaga,Nogales etc. In Nuevo Laredo the facility is on the Rio Grande bank between the two bridges to Texas and you have to ride around a bit to get there but as in all cases follow the signs. It is the resposibility of the tourist to see that this gets done, nobody is going to haul you over and the USA people have no dealing with it. The US and Canadian setups expect you to be honest and ,anyway , they will get your taxes if ever you try to register or sell the bike.

The two queries are in fact related but not that complicated. I crossed into Mexico from GT via Bethel where there is no aduana, only immigration and he was less than useless. I then asked at the immigration office in Palanque but they told me a temp import was not really necessary hence I wasn't given one despite my request. I was told by them that it would not be a problem and I was never asked for any documents during our time in Mexico.

My girlfriend came in via Belieze did get a temp import and had to give credit card details to get it however when we both came to the US border, no one could tell us where to get her bike checked out of Mexico (hence the worry about the $300 fine at the expiry of 30 days and why she now has to ride back to the border from San Diego today).

Also no one at the US immigration had a clue about temp imports for the bikes so its not as if we haven't tried!

It's good you're close. Done, over with.

This might be another good example of needing to know the rules, even if they haven't been explained or posted by a certain country and their customs.

I was caught in a similar situation in '99. If it was very easy....

Paperwork sorted
 

Just to finish this thread. I went back into Mexico and what do you know, there are signs to the aduana office from the border which is where you also need to cancel your temporary import certificate. A few signs before you get in the long queue to get out of Mexico wouldn't have gone amiss.
So I guess the easiest way to to find the aduana office in Tijuana (if you don't actually know where it is) is to go through to the USA turn around and come back into Mexico and follow the signs to the office. It really was very simple coming in from the other side. And if you lane split all the way to the front of the queue, dodging all of the street vendors, it only takes a little extra time.
They also told me (it turned out that I was a day over my 30 day visa) that they won't charge you unless you are more than a month or so over. They were very friendly.

Also, we did do some research before posting the original query about the US import docs and didn't find anything conclusive.