My provisional residency has just been approved. It took more than 8 months, mostly due to the fact that the government was changing the forms and reviewing processes to implement the retiree residency (fast track), bu t that actually did not apply to me...just slowed the process down. I paid US$1,000, including two trips to Santo Domingo from Puerto Plata. I understand that I will receive my cedula when I got to pick up my residency paperwork next week. I'll update next week assuming all goes well. It's been very difficult to be patient, but there is really no choice, it appears, other than waiting for formal approval. Good luck.