Different types of Mexican Birth Certificates? (for obtaining Passports) [merged threads]

[Jim&Aura 6]

So, my Mexican fiance & I are about half way between our NOA1 & NOA2, so I am in the process of preparing for the next steps. We were just about to start the process of applying for her and her kid's passports, but an troubling situation has come up with her birth certificate that seems like it may cause a problem.

Here's the issue... she has an official, certified birth certificate that she obtained within the last year from a Civil Registry (CR) office in or near the very small town where she was born. She had to obtain this after we decided to file the I129-f because she had lost her original one that was issued from there when she was born.

However, here is the key qualifier (as I understand it anyway... there is a language barrier that sometimes causes some confusion on technical issues like this)... when she went to the CR, they could not locate the record of her birth in their records. Apparently, there was a fire or something a few years back that had caused some records to be lost but also, this is a very small town... more like a village in the middle of nowhere... so it's also possible that they just lost it, but regardless of how... they didn't have it.

However, despite this, they were actually able to issue her a signed and official birth certificate anyway. She had used her original BC to obtain her CURP and subsequent ID (back before she lost her original BC), both of which she presented to them as proof of identity. In addition, there was something about some local residents vouching for her that remembered her and her family from when they lived there some years ago (or something like this).

So, we assumed everything would be fine since she has an official BC along with a matching CURP & ID card... meeting the requirements to get her a passport. Unfortunately though, I guess that someone at that Civil Registry has subsequently notified her that she can only use this "type" of BC to obtain a passport after 5 years has passed! This seems crazy to me... if they issued her an official BC, then they verified her identity already, so why would there be a 5 year waiting period before you could use that to apply for a passport? This doesn't make sense to me because what would waiting 5 years accomplish or prove?

So, I am really hoping this is a mistake. Maybe this person didn't know what they were talking about? I am tempted to have her make a passport appointment and try anyway, but I thought that i would check here and see if anyone had any knowledge about this kind of issue first.

Any feedback or personal experiences in this area would be greatly appreciated.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,370]

I have no idea about the specific question you are asking, but it makes ZERO sense not to apply for a passport. She should apply. THEN if there are problems, go from there, but you should apply first.

[matteo&John 25]

It could be a original OR certified birth certificate as you can see below:

Requirements for Getting Your Mexican Passport

There are five requirements you need to satisfy to get your Mexican passport, these are:

1. Proof of Mexican Nationality (birth certificate)

2. Proof of Identity

3. Passport-style photos

4. Form OP5, Application for Mexican Passport

5. Pay the appropriate fee

Below is a description of these requirements, including what types of documents are accepted by Mexican consulates as proof that you meet the requirements. Requirements are different for those applying for the first time and those who are renewing. If you are applying for a Mexican passport for the first time, all of the requirements are identified in this table. If you are renewing or are under age 18, look at page 3 for other requirements you must meet in addition to the ones listed in this table.

Requirement #1: Proof of Mexican Nationality

You must present the original and a photo copy of one of the following:

•  Birth certificate—you will need to take your original or a certified copy of your birth

  certificate and two letter-size copies (of your birth certificate) to your appointment. The birth

  certificate must indicate that you were registered within three years of your birth.

•  Mexican passport—expired or current, and two copies of pages 1-4 and 32 of your passport. If you do not have an old passport or an original or certified copy of your birth certificate, a new passport will not be issued to you. If you only have a photocopy of your birth certificate, you may take that to your appointment, but there is no guarantee that the passport will be issued to you. That decision is left to the discretion of the official reviewing your documents.

[Jim&Aura 6]

Thanks Jose... I think the issue might be as follows with that last sentence (in red text below). Because when I look at the electronic copy i have of her BC, the "Fecha de Registro" shows as the date within the last year that she obtained this BC on... so most certainly WELL outside of 3 years of her birth. Her "Fecha de Nacimiento" shows correctly as the date she was born, but this registration date is now what I am worried about.

Certainly, there must be some kind of an exception, but I can't find it anywhere. Maybe it indeed the 5 year waiting period but that still seems ridiculous to me! So what, anyone that lost or doesn't have their original BC and the appropriate Civil Registry can't find the record... that person can never get a passport? or has to wait 5 years? This cannot be an isolated case as I have heard of many problems with original birth records being lost.

 Birth certificate—you will need to take your original or a certified copy of your birth

certificate and two letter-size copies (of your birth certificate) to your appointment. The birth

certificate must indicate that you were registered within three years of your birth.

[afortunada 182]

Well your process can't continue at all without a passport, so you definitely need to make that appointment no matter what!

My husband's birth certificate was not registered within three years of his birth, and he was still able to get a passport. They did make him provide additional information though (they gave him a long list of items he needed) beyond what they "normally" ask for when giving out passports. Still, no issues! So I say go for it and just be prepared that she may need to bring more information with her.

[afortunada 182]

To elaborate, he needed to provide the acta de nacimiento for his mother and some of his siblings, school records from when he was a child... some things like that. When we first showed up to get the passport, they did raise their eyebrows a little, but gave him the checklist of items and once we had all those in hand, we had absolutely no issues getting his passport. After turning in everything, the passport was created in Guadalajara and sent to out local office to be picked up in about a week.

[acajim 16]

There is something else she can try, even if the original records in this small town are lost, the capital city of her state may have a copy of the original record. I found out when I tried to get my BC and my mother's BC too. Find the number of the "Registro Civil" (capital city, of course). The closest consulate of Mexico can give you more information, they're now issuing BC's, so they can tell you where she can go in Mexico to get an original copy, because it seems that she got an "Acta de nacimiento extemporanea" (delayed birth certificate).

[Jim&Aura 6]

Thank you both for your suggestions... I really appreciate it! I figured that there had to be alternatives for cases like this and you both pointed out 2 good ones. I think we will first try to get that checklist of additional requirements and hopefully she can meet enough of those to suffice.

On a somewhat related note, I just got my NOA2 today... a full 3-4 weeks earlier than expected! So, while this is great news, now we REALLY have to move on the passport issue...

[afortunada 182]

Thank you both for your suggestions... I really appreciate it! I figured that there had to be alternatives for cases like this and you both pointed out 2 good ones. I think we will first try to get that checklist of additional requirements and hopefully she can meet enough of those to suffice.

On a somewhat related note, I just got my NOA2 today... a full 3-4 weeks earlier than expected! So, while this is great news, now we REALLY have to move on the passport issue...

Congrats on your NOA2!! Hopefully the rest of your process is smooth sailing!

[Jim&Aura 6]

Ok, so long story kinda short, my Mexican fiance only has an "after-the-fact" Birth Certificate (Acta de nacimiento extemporanea) that she obtained last year. Her original BC was destroyed in a fire when she was a girl living with her parents, so she got this after we decided to file the I-129f package. At the time, I did not think there was any effective difference between this and a regular "original" BC, but come to find out, if the BC is issued with a registered date more than 3 years after birth, there are additional requirements in order to obtain a passport. My fiance called SRE and spoke with an agent about the list of additional documents needed to get a passport with this type of BC and while we will try to obtain some of them, it may prove to be problematic since most of the documents required (like birth certificates of family members, her school records, etc) were lost in the same fire that destroyed her original BC. Another forum member suggested that we might be able to obtain a copy of her original BC by travelling to the nearest larger city Civil Registry, so we will try that as well, but since she is from a very small village, I'm not sure that will work either.

Bottom line though, we are hoping that at least something will come through that will enable her to get her passport.

However, my question then would be about the Visa interview itself. Is this "Acta de nacimiento extemporanea" likely to cause problems when we get to the interview stage? I seem to remember reading somewhere that this type of BC could cause issues, but at the time, I didn't realize this is what she had, so I didn't bookmark the page and now I can't find it. So, I am wondering if anyone has either been through the interview process with a "Acta de nacimiento extemporanea" and if so, do they just require the same additional documents that the SRE requires for passports? Or, is there something else that they might ask for?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Lotofdoubts 18]

Her original birth certificate was on time or "extemporanea"? If it was on time going to the Registro Civil it's helpful because they can issue a copy... if since the beginning she had an extemporaneous birth certificate can she ask for a passport for only one year??? O read that is posible to get a one year one in those cases, she would have to call sre and speak with maybe the supervisor in the call center to get a better answer. Good luck and I hope she can figure it out soon

[Maritah 77]

Hello!

As mexican citizen I can tell you for sure that in México is possible get certified copies of a birth certificate in the Registro Civil where she was registered not matter how small is the town and her school records too in the Secretaria de Educacion Pública (SEP) in the state were she went to school, and thats because is a federal document issued by the state (believe it or not) where she was born and studied. Can I ask in what state she was born? so I can give you more advice about it.

Best regards!

M.

[TBoneTX 43,433]

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[acajim 16]

Same question as M@rita, what state is she from?