Just an idea to give you guys what paperwork in the DR looks like….
I’m working on some paperwork for both Monch and I….both to travel to the States and also for me to gain legal citizenship here. One of the requirements is a birth certificate for both of us, translated and legalized. That might sound easy to you guys but here my nightmare begins.
Let’s start with mine. I have to order a copy of my birth certificate in PA to be sent to my parents. That should take maybe 2-3 weeks and costs 30 bucks. When it arrives, they will either take it to Harrisburg or mail it to Harrisburg to be apostilled. That’s another 15 dollars. Then they will wait to see which team they can send it with to arrive in San Juan directly handed to me (this is because we have had my paperwork LOST IN THE MAIL IN THE UNITED STATES, including my passport and birth certificate). That may take who knows how long? Next step, I have to have it translated into Spanish. By a legal translator. Fine. I know a guy in the capital. Gas to get to the capital and back is about 80 bucks. I also probably need to eat at least one meal somewhere there. I have to plan on maybe 7-8 hours roundtrip just for this step because I will wait for the document to be translated. It will cost between 30-80 bucks to have it translated by a LEGAL translator. Next up, I need to have the SIGNATURE of the translator legalized at the Procuraria to be sure he or she is legit. Close to 20 dollars. I also waited 5 hours in line the last time that I had to do this. FIVE HOURS. Next up, I have to have the TRANSLATION itself legalized or apostilled. This is done in the Canceleria in the capital also. Also another 20 dollars. I have to pay for both the signature AND the document legalization in Banca Reservas, the national bank here. It’s usually a good one hour wait although Laura and I have waited up to 90 minutes in the line too. I pay the fees and then hand in my receipt at the Procuraria and also at the Canceleria. Once my translation is legalized/apostilled I’m hopefully good to go. Oh and the Procuraria and the Cancelia aren’t anywhere CLOSE to the same place so there is lots of driving and trying to park in the capital. Oh and did I mention the Dominicans like everything to be recent, like in the last 6 months? So they usually don’t accept copies that are older than 6 months. We have to be MOVING with this paperwork.
This is just for MY birth certificate. Monch’s is along the same lines and process but starting from Spanish to English. I goto the JCE/courthouse and ask for his birth certificate. I need the extended version with the maximum amount of info. It costs about 10 dollars, including the certification stamp. Last week I had to pay TWICE because the receptionist printed THE WRONG ONE and I had to pay for both pages. Ridiculous- the poor people in the JCE/courthouse are used to my tears now and it doesn’t sway them even a little. I have to send it away to be legalized (15 dollars) OR drive myself to Azua (one hour) to wait in line to have it arrive hopefully the same day. I then have to have it translated in English (anywhere from 30-80 dollars depending on who does it) and then undergo exactly the same procedure at the Procuraria (20 dollars- legalize the signature of the translator) and Cancelleria (20 dollars- legalize the translation itself). There is no way to avoid a trip to the capital and if I’m trying to do more than one step it’s probably best to plan on spending the night.
The latest nightmare in our paperwork is that there is ONE word spelled incorrectly on our Marriage Certificate. An extra “e” in someone’s name (not mine or Monchy’s name). I never ever in a million years dreamed that this would turn into the disaster that it is. The National Police refuse to accept my paperwork for legal citizenship with this word spelled incorrectly. I have been to the courthouse here in San Juan 3 times and although there MAY be some attempt to help me, they have assured me that this is an 8 month process to correct it without trips to the capital. Therefore, Monch and I went to the capital to attempt to speed up the process, since our other paperwork is dated and we want to try to turn everything in within the 6 month process. We drove from courthouse to courthouse, 5 different times. We were told 6 months, 3 months, 10 days, one month. Finally one woman told me that I MYSELF needed to go to the Feria (where all the paperwork/courthouse books are stored), get a scanned copy of the written mistake from our courthouse wedding book, and bring it to them. ONLY then will they begin to make the changes and that will take over 10 days. Me. Driving to the Feria and bringing the scan myself, even though they all have computers and it COULD BE done online. Do you see the futility of paperwork here? Can we BEGIN to discuss the amount of money that we spend ATTEMPTING to be legal and trying to get a Visa? The amount of tears that I shed in the JCE/courthouses is obscene. The lines that we wait in are an abuse to humankind. The cost of a lawyer? Um, no.
I take deep breathes and take a book with me. I very gently approach these topics with my husband knowing full well the pain of these “paperwork” days for him (and me!). I am sure this is God’s way of teaching us patience…since that doesn’t come very naturally to either one of us.
This is an example of how paperwork works in the DR. Another day we can talk about trying to use my address, explain the mail postal service (just…NO), have electric turned on, get WIFI to the house, figure out why we never have water coming through the pipes. We can discuss why we purchase oxygen tanks from the rice factory in town, or change our money at the Agricultural Center (better rate than the banks!), or buy cell phone minutes from the lady who sits by the side of the road at the military checkpoint. I can tell you another day some of the beauty and pain in these daily life decisions…how I make a phone call (if I have minutes!) and in less than an hour a 15 year old kid will bring me 10 eggs IN A PLASTIC baggie (none are broken!) and some salami if that is what I ordered. They will ask me on the phone how I’m going to pay and in what denomination so that he can bring me correct change. Of course they won’t be able to tell me the total on the phone so I have to guess at about how much money I may need.
But back to our paperwork. I’m estimating that each PAGE that we need to have…costs us an average of 140-200 dollars. Pray with me that we can get them all finished and turned in within the 6 month window. And that, my dear friends, is an idea of what it means to need “just a birth certificate, translated and legalized”. RRRRIIIIIIGGGGGGHHHHHHHTTTTTTTT. This is so fun. So easy.
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