Tom... its not the whitness of your guero skin but the greeness of your dollar bills, corruption is everywhere, including the US. Any Government office you go to in Mexico has a sign on the wall that says...¨say NO to Mordidas... Report Corruption.. and an 800 number to call... If I was in the same case I would call that number. Either you believe in that principle or you dont. If you think a mordida will work ask yourself ..Is it Cost effective to pay a bribe or do it legally?? If after paying a mordida and the papers aren´t quite right, and believe me, every i must be dotted, if one name has one letter misspelled it is subject to be rejected at a later date. I cant emphasize the fact that you need to look legal papers over with a fine tooth comb before leaving a government office. The web page at Secretaria de Relaciones Exterior pretty much spells out what to do. If these petty officials cant go according to the rules...report them.