Three months ago on April 20, 2011, Consuls (representatives) from the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco gave a presentation at Puente about their services. One of the topics covered was the double citizenship. The families who attend this presentation understood the benefits of having their children become double citizens. That same day, Lorena Vargas, Puente’s Safety Net Services Coordinator, suggested to the present families to work together to make a trip to the Mexican Consulate, given that it would be much easier to use each other as witnesses. It did not take long for one of the parents, Maricela Lopez, to take leadership and closely worked with Lorena to arrange this trip. On July 15, the first trip was made with 10 families to deliver the required documentation and submit the application. This past Wednesday July 27, 2011 a total of 9 families made the final trip the San Francisco Mexican Consulate to finalize the process. As a result 17 U.S born children/youth obtained their dual citizenships and are now granted the rights of both countries. The parents of these children went beyond transferring their cultures and values, but also gave their children their Mexican citizenship. Lorena will make one last trip to pick up the naturalized birth certificates on behalf of the families. Congratulations to the 17 children/youth who now proudly possess their dual citizenship!
Special thanks to the San Francisco Mexican Consulate team: Alejandro Mendoza, Jorge Magos & Josefina Vazquez. Also thanks to Maricela Lopez for her effort and dedication, and SamCoast for making this trip possible.