Going to IFE–New Procedures

My son turned 18 in May and I had all sorts of plans of getting his IDs (both US and Mexican) but we were in the middle of a pandemic and well, that didn’t happen. In August, the IFE (Instituto Federal Electoral) opened back up by appointment only. I managed to get a slot for my son for October 1 using the online booking site.

In order for him to receive his first ever voter’s registration card through IFE, he needed to present his Mexican birth certificate, a proof of residence like a water or electric bill, and two people who could vouch for his identity. 

Although my son was born in the US, we were able to register him in Mexico as the child of a Mexican citizen. His Mexican birth certificate is mostly blank because it only listed what was on his US birth certificate (parents’ names) rather than including grandparents and witnesses. On the back, there’s a whole bunch of writing about the apostille and translation of his US birth certificate. Even though it looks a little odd, it’s a perfectly legal document. 

We always have an issue with proof of residence because we have no public utilities. There is no electricity, no sewer, no water lines and no road names in La Yacata. So he asked to borrow the most recent bill from his aunt, who was also one of the witnesses he brought (the other being my husband). 

Along with these items, he needed to mask up. Since no one would be allowed in without a mask, in the bag of documents, I included two more for his dad and aunt just in case they didn’t have one.

My son balked a bit at having to go with dear ol’ dad, but I don’t have an IFE and wouldn’t have been allowed to vouch for his identity even though I’d given birth to him. My federal identification is in the form of a permanent residence card which doesn’t allow me to vote. 

The gang all rolled out to the appointment in plenty of time. I elected to stay home since I wouldn’t be of any use. From the way my son told it, everything was fine. He explained how we didn’t have an address and were using his aunt’s. He verified his birthday and that he was born outside of the country. His two vouchsafe companions had to wait outside and just send in their IFE cards. He had his fingerprints taken. 

He did have to remove his mask and glasses for the picture and said that not one person in the building was wearing their masks correctly. Some had noses but not mouths covered, some had mouths but not noses covered, and some had chin warmers on. That seems about right. 

After the picture, he was given a phone number to call on the 12th to see if his card was ready for pickup. It wasn’t. But finally by the 15th, it was. He felt confident enough to schedule his own appointment online to pick it up. He even picked a Wednesday so that I could take him if need be since I don’t have classes on Wednesdays. Unfortunately, the earliest slot was November 11. 

I felt so pleased that we were able to successfully complete this transaction, that I made the attempt to schedule an appointment to pick up the new license plates Guanajuato was issuing. It didn’t go as smoothly. But that’s another story. 

So on the fateful day, my husband and son headed to IFE only to find that even after having called and confirmed that my son’s ID was ready before making the appointment, it wasn’t. So he’ll have to call again next week and make another appointment some weeks down the road. But seeing how we are fast approaching the Guadalupe-Reyes holiday season, it might be 2021 before this process is finished.