right now it's valid for 6 years (at 1,850 pesos) and this option will still be available. not sure why they decided to offer the extension for 10 years. the article says it's because american visa is valid for 10 years but it makes no difference whatsoever. all dominicans i know with long terms visa simply travel with 2 passports (old with visa, new without visa), it's never been an issue.
Visas attached to expired passports longer than 6 months will no longer be accepted as valid by country that issued the same visa, much due to how the visa stores the passport # and dates in their system to validate them too.
The new guidelines were brought up 2 years ago and have a mandatory 4 year compliance to all countries were the visas are issued at.
The DR was waiting until the new system at passports was introduced to begin issuing the 10 year validated passports.
the new guidelines require that visas issued to applicants are done so that the receiving document to be filed must have a later expiration date than the visa type it was stamped with, (I think is 90 days from expired visa period or so).
As many of you may had found out already, the U.S. is currently issuing visa renewals with terms of 10 years B1/B2 in the DR. First time are also being issued 5 to 6 years terms.
Just compliance with the passports that's it.