Want dual citizenship? You can have it! - información sobre la doble ciudadanía para los mexicanos residentes en los Estados Unidos - TA: information about dual nationality for Mexicans residents in the US

Under a historic measure, which has just been officially enacted, all Mexicans can possess dual nationalities. United States residents have five years to reacquire status.

"We share a deep emotional attachment to Mexico, even though we have been in this country for a long time," said Consuelo LaMonica. "Now, with my new dual nationality, I can go back and forth across the border to visit family without a problem." Under previous practice, Mexican immigrants who naturalized as U.S. citizens automatically forfeited their rights as Mexican nationals.

It is estimated that more than 2 million Mexican-born immigrants are now U.S. citizens and have thus been stripped of Mexican nationality. Under the new law, nationality applicants are required to pay a $12 fee upon receipt of the official Declaration of Mexican Nationality, which takes about six weeks to process, according to immigration authorities.

With the new dual recognition of status, natives of Mexico who are now U.S. citizens, will no longer need to secure a tourist card to go to their native land. The huge numbers of Mexican immigrants -- now numbering more than 7 million living in the United States -- are expected to become dual-nationality holders in record numbers. Once certified as nationals, they will be eligible for official Mexican identity cards and passports.

For many, acquiring status as Mexican nationals will become a way to reconnect with deep-rooted cultural attachments, many of which have been all but lost during the ensuing years. "I love the U.S., and it has given opportunities to my people which they would never have had in Mexico," said Carlos Martinez, "but the land of my ancestry, and where I grew up, has made an indelible imprint on my life. I will by happy to feel that I can be having a belonging to both lands."

The dual-nationality possibilities are also enticing their U.S.-born children. In fact, the nationality-seekers seem to represent a cross-section of established Mexican immigrants. Some had entered generations ago as contract braceros, or farm workers. Others arrived as illegal immigrants, received amnesty in the 1980's. Virtually all had been in the United States for at least five years, the time it takes to acquire U.S. citizenship after becoming a legal permanent resident.

Another potential advantage for some will be the possibility of sending their sons and daughters to Mexico for a college education, where the costs are far less than in the continental United States. And, while reacquiring Mexican status has strong symbolic and cultural importance for many, it also implies many practical benefits: Mexican nationals may buy and sell land free of restrictions that limit foreign nationals. Another advantage could be in investment in Mexico, inheritance rights, attendance at public schools and access to other services and jobs.

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