Author Archives: leopoldo prado

Obtaining a Mexican passport is the final step to becoming a dual national, as an American citizen with Mexican-born parents.

A dual national means you’re within the full legality of both nations. Along with that comes being able to participate in political matters such as voting.

As a Mexican national, you’re allowed to buy land, houses, and condominiums without restrictions. Furthermore, as a Mexcian national, you’re able to visit national parks such as Chichen Itza without the cost of admission.

Step on: become a naturalized Mexican. The following documents are required to complete the naturalization process:

1. Your perspective state (California) birth certificate (needs to be apostille). Apostille is a stamp of approval by the state of your birth, granting permission, for your birth certificate to be allowed to be used for formal practices in foreign countries. 

Continued: Apostille stamp is fairly simple when you go through a third party. The third party is in charge of ensuring all the documents are correct and ready to be stamped by the state. Simply search Apostille near me, and there should be a few third parties offering Apostille and translation services.

2. Formal paper with the translation of your birth certificate is required which can also be completed by the same third-party group which you can hire to complete the Apostille process.

2. Any parent (father/mother) birth certificate from Mexico. Formal copies of Mexican birth certificates can be found at https://www.gob.mx/epn/en/articulos/birth-certificate-by-internet

3. The marriage certificate from either Mexico or the United States from your parents is required. A formal copy of your patent’s American marriage certificate can be acquired at your local county building. Similar to the building, you would obtain your birth certificate from

With these documents, you can now apply for Mexican citizenship. This is phase one out of two that must be completed before applying for your Mexican passport

Now that you’re a Mexican national, you can print out a Mexican birth certificate reflecting your new citizenship status. Printed on your Mexican birth certificate is your CURP, which is equivalent to your social security number in the United States.  With your Mexican birth certificate, you can now apply for an INE (Mexican federal ID).

The INE is your federal Mexican ID. The following documents are required to obtain an INE

1. Mexican birth certificate. Two formal copies

2. Current utility bill of Mexican addresses (where you want mail to go). The address can be of a family member or friend. Two formal copies

3. You will need, Two Mexican nationals which will act as witnesses. These two individuals are to be with you on the day of the appointment for your INE. Both individuals must possess their valid INE

4. A Print out of your CURP (Mexican ID number), which can be retrieved from: https://www.gob.mx/epn/en/articulos/consult-and-print-your-curp-at-gob-mx.  

Don’t worry about presenting any formal photos, at the time of your appointment for your INE your photo will be taken at the passport office

Phases one and two are complete. Now you can begin to apply for your Mexican passport

1. Copy of your American passport or State of ID. State ID must be from the state you were born in. If you cannot provide a current state ID, the American passport will work

2. A printout of your CURP

3. The Mexican birth certificate of your Mexican-born parent Mom/father

4. Formal Copy of your INE

5. Formal copy of Mexican utility bill

There might be a request for complementary documents to prove your identity in the United States. I used my military service record and college certificates

My entire process was completed in Jalisco, Mex and my passport was issued in Cancun. With the recent updates to the Mexican government website.

I highly recommend you complete your process for dual citizenship at your local Mexican embassy in the United States. Most formal Mexican documents can be obtained online