Question about Punta Cana/Bavaro Consular agency

Pseg24

New member
Sep 21, 2016
19
0
0
Hi Folks,

The wife and I plan to move to the Bavaro/Punta Cana area next year. (too much of a back story to go into).
I plan to the take the Bar Exam in New York next year, but hope to work in Dominican Republic as an Immigration Attorney practicing United States Immigration Law (hopefully).

My question: Does anybody have any further information on this Consular Agency listed on the US Embassy website? Is it still active? Where can you find employment opportunities?
I plan to visit the location this December but figure I would ask the actual hands on the grounds.

Thank you, below is all the website lists:
Address: Palma Real Shopping Village, Business Center, Second Floor, Suite 1, B?varo, La Altagracia
Phone Number: (809) 552-8990
The U.S. Consular Agency in B?varo/Punta Cana provides all U.S. Citizen Services with the exception of adults 18 and over applying for their first passport, to American Citizens residing in or visiting the eastern Dominican Republic, including the cities of Hig?ey, El Seibo, Hato Mayor, and La Romana.
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
Hi Folks,

The wife and I plan to move to the Bavaro/Punta Cana area next year. (too much of a back story to go into).
I plan to the take the Bar Exam in New York next year, but hope to work in Dominican Republic as an Immigration Attorney practicing United States Immigration Law (hopefully).

My question: Does anybody have any further information on this Consular Agency listed on the US Embassy website? Is it still active? Where can you find employment opportunities?
I plan to visit the location this December but figure I would ask the actual hands on the grounds.

Thank you, below is all the website lists:

Are you preparing to apply for residency in the DR? That starts in NY. You will need to check with the closest DR Consulate in NY to see what documents you need to get together, translate into Spanish and get approved by the Consulate before bringing these with you to the DR to finish the process. You will also need a criminal background check, including digitial fingerprints. The process in the DR will cost you around $1200-1600usd per person. You will need the assistance of an attorney to channel your documents through the system for acceptance. Than it will take 6 months to a year to get temporary residency. Good luck and good travels.
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
0
36
Weren't all visas on hold for a while? I seem to recall a recent thread about that.

And a work visa is much easier to get than residency; I get mine processed and approved at the DR Embassy in ~4 business days, and it's the same cost as a residency visa. Biggest difference between work and residency visas is that I can't get a cedula, so I can't drive after 90 days.
 

Pseg24

New member
Sep 21, 2016
19
0
0
Thank you for the information.

We have a family lawyer in Dominican Republic who will help me with the residency process. My wife is currently a dual citizen (US and RD).
I am a retired Police Officer with a monthly pension. So I have to look into the tax benefits of that. I know the country is very welcoming to those who will basically put money into the economy. We plan to start the process January 2017 and move June 2017. Would you think 6 months would be enough time?
 

Jaime809

Bronze
Aug 23, 2012
1,152
0
36
Thank you for the information.

We have a family lawyer in Dominican Republic who will help me with the residency process. My wife is currently a dual citizen (US and RD).
I am a retired Police Officer with a monthly pension. So I have to look into the tax benefits of that.

Foreign Earned Income Exemption; first $108k is tax free. There's a Physical Presence test that's very straightforward. I think the threshold is 330 days or more outside of the USA and you qualify. You also get to deduct a certain amount of living expenses, with a different cap for many countries.