My Dual Citizenship

An article came out in our local paper which mentioned resident parents wanting to get dual citizenship for their kids so that they could reap of one of the benefits of easy travel to and from Mexico.  I must say that being able to go around the long line of tourists flying into Puerto Vallarta would be a definite plus for me.

When I was 17 years old, my father told me he wanted me to get dual citizenship so that later on when he was gone I could inherit his properties (without having to jump through hoops) in Zacatecas.  Even though now I think this most likely will not happen (a whole other story), I am glad we took the time to get my dual citizenship.

Getting the dual citizenship proved to be somewhat cumbersome in that it took many phone calls to the Mexican consulate in San Francisco to get an appointment.  If I remember correctly, we made one visit to the Consulate but trying to get that appointment took almost a year. 

When my application was submitted I was 17 and by the time I got an appointment to process all the documentation, I was 18.  The woman we spoke to on the phone said that I was passed the age to claim my right to dual citizenship. 

Apparently the children of a Mexican citizen have to be under 18 years of age for their parents to claim the dual citizenship for their kids.  We explained to the woman that the paperwork was submitted before I turned 18 and it was their fault we didn't get an appointment for so long.

Finally we were given an appointment where we had to bring copies of my parents and two witnesses' birth certificates and identification cards.  Also I had to be accompanied to my appointment by my parents and the two witnesses.  Trying to arrange for this was a little difficult in that everybody we knew worked and the appointment was during the day plus we had to travel to the city. 

After the appointment the Mexican Consulate provided me with a temporary "Mexican birth certificate" until the originals arrived in the mail.  I paid for two originals and sure enough within a matter of two weeks I had them in my hands.

I am happy we made the effort to get it done because now I am finally reaping the benefits.  Mind you I never thought it would be because I would be living in Mexico.

After 10 long years of being tucked away in a filing cabinet, I will finally be putting those Mexican birth certificates to use.