How to get your home country nationality or passport for your US born child

Giving your child both nationalities is a gift. It ties them to your family's home and keeps doors open there. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Is my U.S. born child a U.S. citizen?

Yes. On June 30, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the January 2025 executive order trying to limit birthright citizenship (Executive Order 14160) violates the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause (Congressional Research Service, Trump v. Barbara, August 13, 2026). Children born in the U.S. are citizens, whatever their parents' status.

Can my child have two nationalities?

Yes. U.S. law does not require a person to choose one nationality (State Department, Dual Nationality). Registering your child with your country does not take away U.S. citizenship.

Know these rules:

• A U.S. citizen, including a dual national, must use a U.S. passport to leave and enter the U.S. Your country may require its own passport to enter and leave there.
• Dual nationals owe allegiance to both countries and must follow both countries' laws.
• U.S. consular help can be limited while your child is in the other country.
• Boys who are dual nationals must register with Selective Service within 30 days of turning 18, wherever they live (Selective Service, Who Needs to Register).

What do I need before I start?

1. Certified copies of the U.S. birth certificate. Order them from the county recorder or state vital records office where your child was born. A hospital souvenir certificate does not count. Get at least two.
2. Proof of your own nationality: your birth certificate, passport, national ID or, for Mexicans, a matrícula consular.
3. Your photo ID, with a name that matches your birth certificate.
4. Your marriage certificate, if you are married and your country asks for it.
5. An appointment at your consulate. See Which consulate serves me?

Apostille. An apostille is a certificate that makes a U.S. public document official for use in another country. In California, the Secretary of State issues it for $20 per document, by mail or in person in Sacramento or Los Angeles. In person adds a $6 special handling fee per official's signature. It must be on an original certified copy, not a photocopy (California Secretary of State, Apostilles). Ask your consulate whether you need one before you pay.

How do I register my child as Mexican?

Mexico calls this registro de nacimiento, and it gives your child Mexican nationality on paper. At the San Francisco consulate (Servicios para Mexicanos):

• Who: at least one parent must be Mexican.
• Cost: free. One certified copy of the Mexican birth record (acta) is included. More copies cost $20 each.
• Book through MiConsulado: citas.sre.gob.mx, or call or WhatsApp 1 (424) 309-0009.
• Bring:
  • your child's U.S. birth certificate;
  • proof of the Mexican parent's nationality (Mexican birth certificate, nationality certificate, passport or matrícula);
  • a valid photo ID for each parent, with names matching the documents;
  • the completed registration form;
  • two copies of everything.
• Both parents should come if possible. The consulate says that makes the child's Mexican passport faster.
• Apostille: the San Francisco consulate does not require an apostille on a U.S. birth certificate for this registration. If you plan to register the birth in Mexico itself instead, the consulate notes that U.S. documents need an apostille to be valid there.

Then the Mexican passport. With the Mexican acta, book a passport appointment. Both parents come with the child and sign Form OP7. A child under 3 gets a 1 year passport for $44; older children can get 3 years for $101 or 6 years for $137 (Servicios para Mexicanos). Details are in How to renew your passport or get a consular ID.

Living in Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito or Monterey County? Use the Mexican consulate in San José instead.

How do I register my child as Salvadoran?

El Salvador calls this asentamiento de partida de nacimiento. Its foreign ministry says (Registro del Estado Familiar):

• Where: the Salvadoran consulate for the place of birth, or the one closest to where you live.
• Bring: the original U.S. birth certificate, both parents' original IDs, and both parents' original birth certificates.
• Cost: free if done on time. After six months from the birth, there is a $5 fine. A consular certificate of the registration costs $10.
• The ministry's page does not mention an apostille. Ask the consulate when you book.

Then the Salvadoran passport. For a child's first passport, bring an original birth certificate issued within the past year. Both parents come with a DUI or Salvadoran passport, or the missing parent signs a notarized authorization. The fee outside Central America is $60 (Pasaportes).

How do I register my child as Filipino?

The Philippines uses a Report of Birth. Children born on or after January 17, 1973 qualify if either parent was a Filipino citizen at the birth (Philippine Consulate General, Civil Registry).

• Bring or mail: a cover letter; four signed and notarized Report of Birth forms, typed (not handwritten); the original U.S. birth certificate and four copies; four copies of both parents' passport data pages; proof of the Filipino parent's citizenship if needed; and the marriage certificate if married at the birth.
• More than one year after birth? Add a notarized Affidavit of Delayed Registration.
• Parents not married and the child uses the father's surname? Extra affidavits apply, $25 each.
• Fee: $25, by money order or cashier's check to "Philippine Consulate General." Do not mail cash.
• How: email scans first for a pre check, then mail to 447 Sutter Street, 6th floor, San Francisco, CA 94108, Attn: Civil Registry Section, with a prepaid tracked return envelope. Or book in person at pcgsanfrancisco.as.me/civil.
• Wait: the Philippine Statistics Authority usually issues the birth certificate 6 to 12 months after filing.

Then the Philippine passport. A parent comes with the child. Bring the child's PSA birth certificate, the parents' marriage certificate if married, and both parents' passports. The fee is $60 and minors' passports last 5 years (Passport).

What about Guatemala, Honduras and Tonga?

We do not list steps for these countries because their official pages did not give current steps when we checked on October 21, 2026. Call the consulate before you go:

• Guatemala: San Francisco consulate, 659 A Merchant Street, (415) 563-8319. It is listed by Guatemala's civil registry (RENAP) as a mission that provides RENAP services (RENAP list). Ask whether your U.S. birth certificate needs an apostille and a translation.
• Honduras and Tonga: see the contact notes in our consulate guide.

Questions to ask any consulate: Is it free? Do both parents need to come? Do you need an apostille or a translation? How long until the birth record and the passport?

How do I get my child's U.S. passport?

Children under 16 apply in person on Form DS-11 (State Department, Children Under 16):

• Bring: the original U.S. birth certificate and a photocopy; one passport photo; a photo ID for each parent with copies of front and back.
• Both parents come, or the missing parent signs Form DS-3053 in front of a notary. Submit it within 90 days of signing.
• Cost: $100 for the passport book plus a $35 acceptance fee. Expedited service adds $60.
• Time: 4 to 6 weeks routine, 2 to 3 weeks expedited, plus mailing.
• Valid for 5 years. You reapply in person each time.

Parents without papers. The State Department accepts a valid foreign passport or the Mexican matrícula consular as a parent's photo ID. Its ID page says the matrícula is commonly used by parents of U.S. citizen children (State Department, Identification). The passport pages we read on October 21, 2026 do not ask about a parent's immigration status.

Which should I do first?

Most families do it in this order:

1. Certified U.S. birth certificates.
2. U.S. passport. It is the child's main travel document and proof of U.S. citizenship.
3. Registration with your country.
4. Your country's passport, if the child will travel there.

If you are making a family preparedness plan, having both passports ready lets your child travel with you or join you if your family is ever separated. Talk to a lawyer about travel if any parent lacks papers. See Checklist before leaving the United States.

Mistakes to avoid

• Using the hospital certificate. Only a certified copy works.
• Paying for an apostille you do not need. Ask first.
• Names that do not match. Small differences between your ID and your birth certificate can stop a registration. Fix errors first.
• Waiting. El Salvador fines late registration, and the Philippines asks for an extra affidavit after one year.
• Traveling on the foreign passport alone. A U.S. citizen child must leave and enter the U.S. on a U.S. passport.

Is there a checklist I can print?

Who can help?

Consulates answer questions about their own registration and passports. For U.S. immigration questions about your own case, contact a free legal service. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service.

• Anywhere in California: California Department of Social Services map of state funded immigration legal services, (916) 651-8017.
• Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (low income residents of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties): (650) 326-6440.
• San Mateo County Immigrant Services (county residents): (650) 363-4194.
• More: Free legal help in the Bay Area.

Your child can carry both of your homes. A few documents make it official.