Born in the USA to a Mexican parent? There’s help for clarifying your dual nationality

“Soy México 2026,” a campaign to help children and adolescents born in the United States to Mexican parents obtain recognition of Mexican nationality, has kicked off in Tijuana and San Felipe, Baja California, and will run throughout September. 

Tecate, Ensenada and Playas de Rosarito will then run the program starting in October.  

The move is aimed at children and adolescents aged under 17 who have a Mexican parent and reside or attend school in Baja California. Its purpose is to eliminate the documentation barriers often faced by binational families along the border region between Baja California and California.

ATENCIÓN FAMILIAS EN LA FRONTERA: Niñas, niños y adolescentes nacidos en EE. UU. que viven en Baja California podrán obtener su acta mexicana y CURP sin costo de apostilla ni traducción mediante ‘Soy México 2026’. pic.twitter.com/hV2ADwnapy

— Alfredo Alvarez (@alfredoalvarez1) August 15, 2026

The process allows for the birth registration in Mexico of minors originally registered in the U.S. through the electronic validation of their U.S. birth certificate. With this process, families are not required to submit an apostille, an official translation, or a letter certifying the absence of a Mexican birth record — requirements that typically increase the cost and duration of the process.

Upon completion, beneficiaries will obtain a Mexican birth certificate and a Unique Population Registry Code (CURP).

In Tijuana, the process will be free of charge, while in San Felipe, a 50% discount on the associated fees will apply. Civil Registry offices in both municipalities will provide guidance as part of a coordinated effort involving the state government, local governments, and the National Population and Identity Registry (Renapo).

To initiate the registration process, parents must submit an application, a legible copy of the minor’s U.S. birth certificate, the parents’ Mexican birth certificates (with QR code), official identification documents, and the certified CURP of one or both Mexican parents. 

The campaign takes on particular significance in Baja California due to the region’s intense cross-border mobility and the presence of a large foreign-born population. 

Data cited by the newspaper Excelsior based on figures from the National Population Council (Conapo) and the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), indicate that in 2020, 142,707 people born outside Mexico resided in Baja California — the highest figure among the entities featured in that count, including Mexico City, Chihuahua and Jalisco. 

The demand for the dual nationality process was particularly high in Tijuana last year, which broke all-time records after processing 14,345 applications through this campaign — a 600% increase over the figures from the previous edition.

In contrast, data from the Civil Registry Coordination office of Chihuahua, revealed that the 2025 edition of “Soy México” concluded with 3,816 Mexican nationality applications processed in Ciudad Juárez; double the figure from the previous year.