Frequently asked questions

This section addresses the concerns and questions that people and their families often face when they have been repatriated or are in the process. Identify your case and know the options you have to solve it.

Know the frequently asked questions related to your subject of interest

If your children finished their elementary and secondary education in the United States and for some reason returned to Mexico to live, it is important to process the Transfer Document for Binational Migrant Student, which facilitates their access to Mexican schools.

This document is issued by the Mexican Consulate and it ratifies in one step the school cycles completed from 1 to 9 in the United States, so you can immediately transfer your children to Mexican elementary schools. It is only issued for the elementary and secondary levels; however, it is not an essential requirement.

This will allow children and young people to receive education in elementary and secondary levels even if they do not have a stamp in school documents. Please bear in mind the documents no longer need to have an official translation.

Documento de 27 de febrero de 2017/Oficialía Mayor/Dirección General de Delegaciones

The limit established at the re-entry point is 10 thousand US dollars.

Documento de 27 de febrero de 2017/Oficialía Mayor/Dirección General de Delegaciones

When arrested by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), the person is assigned a file number. The person’s family can visit the ICE detention center and locate his/her name to identify the file number and thus know the location of the detainee.

You can look for information about a detainee here.

U.S.A.(s.f.). Immigration and Customs Enforcement. En https://locator.ice.gov/odls/homePage.do. Consultado el 23 de febrero de 2018.

The interested party must visit the Protection Department at the Foreign Affairs Local Office to start the application process for child support abroad.The officer in charge of the Protection Department will give you a list of requirements that should be attached to the application form, which are the following:

  • Certified copy of the marriage certificate (in case you are married) and English translation (simple translation).
  • Certified copy of the child's birth certificate and English translation (simple translation).
  • Photographs of the minor and of the alimony debtor.
  • The information required to locate the alimony debtor such as: place of residence, social security number, place of work, address, telephone number, last place of work, etc.
  • Expenses receipts, which may include electricity bills, water bills, telephone bills, tuition receipts, etc.
  • In the event that due to a sentence the debtor is obliged to pay a percentage or a certain amount of money for child support, such sentence must be delivered with certified copies and translated into English by a licensed translator. A letter addressed to the Director of the Dirección de Derecho de Familia (Family Rights Office) requesting support to start a child support process abroad, including a brief explanation of events.

Once all the requirements have been submitted, you must complete the application forms, which must be certified by a notary public. Finally, after filling all the requirements and formats, they must be delivered to the Departamento de Protección de la Delegación, which will be responsible for sending them to the Dirección de Derecho de Familia at the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE). Once received by the SRE, they will be sent to the Mexican Consulate that corresponds to the district where the alimony debtor is located.

The Consulate will send this request to the central offices at the Child Support Department and Child Support and will send them to the local offices where the alimony debtor is located. 

There are some states in the US with which Mexico does not have an agreement, and if the father lives there, the cases cannot be processed by the SRE. Such states are: Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia and Wisconsin. If you have any doubt about the status of the city where the parent lives, please ask a SRE official directly.

Standardization of a Sentence Issued by a Family Court in Mexico

In this case, standardization refers to validate in the United States a sentence issued by a Family Court in Mexico, in which the obligation to pay an amount of money in favor of the children as alimony has been established.

In order to standardize the sentence, you need to send a Letter Rogatory to the Mexican Consulate from the Family Court where it was issued in order to request the Consular Representation for support to make it valid and hence, to start collecting the amount established from the alimony debtor.

Note: If the sentence established as an alimony obligation is a percentage instead of a specific amount, you must request the Mexican Consulate for support through a Rogatory Letter to verify the income earned by the alimony debtor. Once the income is verified, the sentence can be modified to establish a specific amount based on the information provided.

Documento de 27 de febrero de 2017/Oficialía Mayor/Dirección General de Delegaciones

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