Isaac is now eleven days old and we're getting into a little bit of a routine now, so we feel comfortable leaving the house to run a few errands, either together or separately. Separately while the other one stays home with him is easier, obviously.
One of the first things we need to do is get his Mexican birth certificate. Unlike the US, in Mexico they do not hand out birth certificates at the hospital. We got a "certificado de nacido vivo," which is literally a "certificate of live birth," but is not a legally binding document. So today I got up early and went down to the Registro Civil (Civil Registry) and got an appointment for the judge to come to our house next Friday to sign and deliver the official, legal birth certificate. In order to request this appointment, I had to pay about $32 USD ($432 pesos) and present all of the following:
- Original and copy of the "certificado de nacido vivo"
- Copy of my passport and visa
- Copy of Adam's passport and visa
- Copy of our marriage certificate
- Copy of our two witnesses ID's
Yes, we need two actual witnesses in order to get our son's birth certificate. Adam and I and the witnesses will sign the document next Friday, which will be Isaac's legal birth certificate. Once he gets that, he's legally a Mexican citizen!
Next step will be getting the US citizenship, which not surprisingly requires a ton of paperwork to register the birth of a US citizen abroad. First we need his Mexican birth certificate, then we can get started on the US citizenship through the US Consulate here in Cancun. Once that's done, he'll legally be a dual citizen of both the US and Mexico.