The Mexican consulate in Los Angeles began to issue the first electronic Mexican passports, which have electronic innovations that make them more secure and reliable.
“They contain the shape of the face, fingerprints and biographical information encrypted on a chip that can only be read by immigration authorities, and makes it impossible for it to be falsified, “said Jaime Vázquez Bracho, general director of consular services of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Mexican government.
“It is at the forefront of technological innovations, and is part of the efforts to better serve the population that lives outside of Mexico.”
He clarified that the current costs of the Mexican passport, which is the document most demanded by Mexicans abroad, will remain the same: $ 165 by 10 years; $ 113 for 5 years; $ 83 for 3 years.
The change from the mechanical passport (the current one) to the electronic passport will be a gradual process that will be carried out in 8 stages to be finally concluded in January of 2022 when it is processed in the 147 consular offices of Mexico in the world.
But as of the first days of November, Los Angeles will begin to issue electronic passports exclusively.
“Current passports remain valid until the expiration date,” Vázquez Bracho clarified.
At the moment anyone who is going to request their passport, may have an electronic or mechanical passport, because it is a random process, but as of January, all new issued passports will be electronic.
In this first stage, the Mexican consulates that will begin the delivery of electronic passports are those located in Los Angeles, Calgary, Ottawa, Sacramento, Tucson, Laredo and Las Vegas.
During his visit to Los Angeles, the official delivered the first five electronic passports that the government of Mexico delivers in the world, to 5 young people dreamers . “We chose them because of the symbolic representation of the dreamers , and for this idea that Mexico is much more that their territory is their population. ”
He also recalled that they need this document to complete their renewal procedures for DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).
“I am very excited to be one of the first to receive the digital passport. As I am a DACA beneficiary for me it is very important to have it in force to renew this program, “said Dalia Contreras, one of the first five dreamers you received your electronic passport.
Passports, the most requested documents
He said that on average they take 15 minutes to deliver a passport in the consulates of Mexico and Canada, and the waiting time before going in person to process it, is one week, after obtaining the appointment.
“El 25% of the documents most widely issued by Mexican consulates are the passport, then the consular registration number. ”
The Mexican consul in Los Angeles, Marcela Celorio, said that Los Angeles is the representation that issues the most daily passports. “An approximate average of 500 per day”.
And he recognized that the pandemic was a challenge to provide this documentation to the community.
“The passport is more than a travel document is an identity document.”
He made it clear that they have a window and two emails LApublico@sre.gob. mx and emergencydoclan@sre.gob.mx to assist people who, due to an emergency, cannot wait to get an appointment for their passport.
Vázquez Bracho said in relation to the high demand for passports, which are currently received 38, 000 daily calls to the Mexitel system call center. “Have 240, 000 appointments scheduled per month through our portal ”.
And he shared that they are issuing record amounts of documents.
“The service has been normalized and we have exceeded the care even before the pandemic.”
He pointed out that they are issuing more documents than ever through the consular network, due to the lag of 2020.
“It is estimated that around 2 million could not be issued; but thanks to programs such as Saturday days, mobile consulates and extended days, they produce half a million documents a month. ”
These numbers, he assured, give them great satisfaction because for the fourth consecutive month, they issued a record number of passports.
Zero tolerance
He reiterated that they have zero tolerance for selling quotes.
“Our operators do not have access to the system. And we have not discovered a single case of corruption within the call center or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ”
He recalled that the only case that was detected was in the Fresno Consulate where an employee together with a security guard sold the space, not the appointment itself, in exchange for a fee.
“In that case, the employee had his visa withdrawn, he is already in Mexico, and he will not work at the Secretary of Relations Exteriors; and the security guard was separated from his job. ”
He specified that appointments are free and we will investigate any complaint. The email for complaints is: mexitel@sre.gob.mx.