US passport renewal

[bigbird]

Bird take cash! either peso or dollars

They say they do but when I tried was told the machine was not working (twice). had to walk down to the bank next to pricesmart.

Thanks, I did that walk once down to the bank next to PriceSmart in the morning heat and don't want to do it again.

I had just got an email response from the place in the plaza that does forms and they said they do take credit card. Never thought about ............. well the machine ain't working today ............ which would be typical la rep dom

 

[cruzan1]

Why are you guys going through all this nonsense? Just use a passport expediter. $300.00 and you can have a new passport in two - three business days. Fly to Florida and have a mini vacay using whatever hotel your staying at as the delivery address or just ship to BM Cargo's address in Miami and chill here on the beach until it arrives (adds 2-3 business days)

 

[SKY]

It is really simple to just make an appointment by phone and go with the form you printed online and your old passport to the office in Miami. I have got a renewal there on the same day I went. You just pay the fee and come back in the afternoon and get your passport. But you need to present a reservation for the next day. Last year I made an appointment on a Tuesday, presented my reservation for Thursday, and had the passport Wed AM. And the whole thing took less than an hour counting both visits. Cost was about $160 US. And they take cash or Cards.

Just to add they never actually check the reservation, just look at the date on it. And you can park your car right there in the downstairs garage. That is where you go first anyway. Make the first available appt. for the day you go and get there before they open. They will have your name and a no. that they give you when you make the reservation on an IPad and send you right up.

 

[bigbird]

Why are you guys going through all this nonsense?

In my case my passport was lost and i have no choice.

 

[SKY]

In my case my passport was lost and i have no choice.

Not really, you can still get it directly at the Miami office with the proper documents. Check online for lost passports at the Miami office. This office is one of the largest in the US, and there are only a few of these.

 

[bigbird]

Not really, you can still get it directly at the Miami office with the proper documents. Check online for lost passports at the Miami office. This office is one of the largest in the US, and there are only a few of these.

How do I get to Miami when I am currently in la rep dom? I lost my passport in la rep dom NOT the states.

 

[SKY]

How do I get to Miami when I am currently in la rep dom? I lost my passport in la rep dom NOT the states.

Good point, I forgot that aspect. They do have Yolas leaving on Sundays from Nagua. LOL

 

[bienamor]

Thanks, I did that walk once down to the bank next to PriceSmart in the morning heat and don't want to do it again.

I had just got an email response from the place in the plaza that does forms and they said they do take credit card. Never thought about ............. well the machine ain't working today ............ which would be typical la rep dom

Mine was at the consolut don't have any idea about the one in the plaza?

 

[bienamor]

Why are you guys going through all this nonsense? Just use a passport expediter. $300.00 and you can have a new passport in two - three business days. Fly to Florida and have a mini vacay using whatever hotel your staying at as the delivery address or just ship to BM Cargo's address in Miami and chill here on the beach until it arrives (adds 2-3 business days)

would really rather not spend a grand to get a $160 passport. and its delivered to the house, so can still go to the beach while I wait.

 

[bigbird]

Mine was at the consolut don't have any idea about the one in the plaza?

My bad, when I spoke of the plaza I was referring to JudicioVisa which is a small firm who will print out all forms, take photo ID, make appointment for you, the whole nine yards except hold you by the hand and walk you to the Embassy. All for a small fee of course, plus they will hold your cell phone while you go to the Embassy. For those who may not be aware cell phones are not allowed in the Embassy.

There are probably a half dozen or so of these companies in that plaza plus a nice, small, clean, place to get a bite to eat or a coffee. I always thought kilometer 9 and the autopista was chaos central but the activity at the plaza put that Metro stop to shame.

I didn't care about the small fee cause I wanted everything done right the first time. Turns out they got me an appointment a week sooner than when i tried online. JudicioVisa very professional place. Since they did my paperwork I emailed them about paying with a CC. Not like I planned for this to happen so I decided to take what i think was the best way.

If it was a simple renewal i would have went your route and did everything myself.

 

[bienamor]

Bird sorry about the lost passport, its a bummer, went through that long ago (mine was stolen). and was at the former consulate. nothing I would want to repeat

 

[bigbird]

Bird sorry about the lost passport, its a bummer, went through that long ago (mine was stolen). and was at the former consulate. nothing I would want to repeat

Thanks,,,,,,,,,,,,,, one of those misfortunes in life you just got to deal with it.

 

[USA DOC]

.....If you are American and need the help of the USA embassy in santo domingo......forget it.....no help available.....the staff are all Dominican, and will point you in the wrong direction everytime..........Doc........

 

[SKY]

The US Embassy in SD is NOT there to help Americans. There first concern is how much cash they can get from the people they deal with, and that includes Americans.

 

[bigbird]

The US Embassy in SD is NOT there to help Americans. There first concern is how much cash they can get from the people they deal with, and that includes Americans.

SKY you have no clue how much I am laughing. I just this moment logged back onto dr1 to write the exact same thing.

You lose a passport to me is an emergency and should give same day appointment. Not so much in my case but imagine being a tourist and now all of a sudden you have maybe two weeks more to stay at a hotel? Tell your job I won't be back till who knows when?

Imagine a first time tourist not knowing a thing about getting around the city.............

 

[SKY]

I will still say that if you come to the Punta Cana Consulate here you will get service. There is a girl working there named Maria that is tops.

 

[bigbird]

Just an update.........

I now have a temporary USA passport which is valid for a year. I will use it to fly out of la rep dom but as soon as I am stateside I will get the standard 10 year permanent passport.

Procedure was exactly the same as stated in OP. Show up at the Embassy a little before 7 AM and stand in line outside. A little after 7 they start to allow people to enter. You go through tight security, get a number, go upstairs and wait. The initial wait was about 30 minutes. I handed in all my paperwork which was prepared by http://www.juridicovisa.com/. Next go to the pay window and pay. I waited about another thirty minutes and was called to the window to be told all paperwork was in order and my application approved.

Next they give you a red claim check ticket and tell you to come back at 2 PM the same day. Go back at 2 PM and temporary passport is ready. Oh what a relief............

Looking back not really that bad of an experience but still an experience one should try to avoid.


thanks to the OP for mentioning http://www.juridicovisa.com/

 

[Wishing you well]

Just an update.........

I now have a temporary USA passport which is valid for a year. I will use it to fly out of la rep dom but as soon as I am stateside I will get the standard 10 year permanent passport.

Procedure was exactly the same as stated in OP. Show up at the Embassy a little before 7 AM and stand in line outside. A little after 7 they start to allow people to enter. You go through tight security, get a number, go upstairs and wait. The initial wait was about 30 minutes. I handed in all my paperwork which was prepared by http://www.juridicovisa.com/. Next go to the pay window and pay. I waited about another thirty minutes and was called to the window to be told all paperwork was in order and my application approved.

Next they give you a red claim check ticket and tell you to come back at 2 PM the same day. Go back at 2 PM and temporary passport is ready. Oh what a relief............

Looking back not really that bad of an experience but still an experience one should try to avoid.


thanks to the OP for mentioning http://www.juridicovisa.com/

Why would you need the help from this juridico website BB to apply for an American Passport?

 

[USA DOC]

...they should open one in Santiago, like years ago....and close that mess in SD....can anyone tell me how Dom-ex got involved in the delivery of embassy paperwork, ? if you have 3 items about the size of a business card each.........thats 3 separate envelopes at $16 us dollars each, from SD to Santiago........

 

[bigbird]

Why would you need the help from this juridico website BB to apply for an American Passport?

juridiciovisa was able to complete and print out all the forms I needed plus they took the passport photos. It was a small fee for what they did and to me well worth it. The way my luck has been running if I did it on my own I might have missed a form or did the wrong one and show up at the Embassy to be told make another appointment and come back. This was for a lost passport so no time to take chances.

There are three or four firms in that plaza and they all seem to be busy. Most likely they mainly do Visa, spouse to USA type of stuff for Dominicans. The original poster of this thread also used them for most likely the same reason to make sure the paperwork was in order.