Monterrey, Mex.- Children born in the United States living in Mexico are of high priority for the US Consulate in Monterrey, and therefore the consulate made an exclusive session for today cater to families and children who wanted to arrange a US passport.
At the Consulate, was held the First Annual Passport where accurate information is offered consular services provided by the Consulate of the United States of America in Monterrey for US citizens, the requirements of the processing of US passports for minors, Proper preparation of passport forms and documentation.
The section of American citizens care (ACS) and the office of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received Consulate families and children of the state of Zacatecas, a state that is home to the highest number of migrant children with an amount of 13,000 minors.
Consular officers processed more than 40 applications for passports during the session. For many children of Zacatecas who attended this processing, this will be his first US passport.
«Our binational children are a clear example of the closeness of our two nations and deserve our full support to properly document their citizenship and access to health services and basic education. These migrant children are vehicles that unite our two peoples and an excellent opportunity to further strengthen our bilateral relationship, «said US Consul General in Monterrey, Timothy Zuniga-Brown, during the First Annual Passport at the Consulate.
For the Consulate, it is extremely important that these children have the right as passports and checking the identity and citizenship of the child documents. To reach these migrant communities, the diplomatic mission of the United States established the «documentate» (Get Documented) program that is strengthening the work with Mexican counterparts to federal, state, and local levels as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Also they are increasing outreach efforts to immigrant communities in the United States in order to encourage immigrant families to obtain documentation for their children born in the United States before leaving the country.
During the meeting at the consulate, also he spoke about immigration and US citizenship with family request information and / or employment petition for permanent residence in the United States.
According to the Ministry of Public Education (SEP), around 600,000 children born in the United States living in Mexico, many without proper documentation to live legally in the country. These children were born in the United States to Mexican parents who returned to Mexico without properly documenting the Mexican citizenship and / or American child before returning to Mexico. As a result, they face challenges to enroll in school and to receive basic public health benefits on their return to the country of their parents.
