Rumor of visa free travel to USA jams passport offices

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
Today I went with my wife to renew her expiring passport. She has a 10 year visitor's visa to the US, so it actually makes sense for her to have a passport.

When we got to the Puerto Plata office, it was packed with people. It took all day to get the passport renewal process started. People were coming from Santiago at 4 AM and waiting for the office to open.
The office in Santiago is reportedly overwhelmed, so they travelled to Puerto Plata. What was going on?

We found out why. PICHARDO posted a story about someone asking nicely to the US Government to allow Dominicans to travel to the US visa free. PICHARDO posted it as if it were a fact that this would actually happen. Somehow word got out to the Dominicans and they are all now rushing to passport office to take advantage of this. With one problem. Visa free travel for Dominicans to the US is about as likely has the proverbial freezing over of hell. It is not going to happen just because someone asks nice for it.
Yet the result is a rush for Dominicans to get passports. I don't care how nicely you ask for this, the answer is NO! Can you spell gullible?
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
The need for a birth certificate added another day to the passport renewal process. Note to Dominicans who like to make up stupid regulations. If you have a passport, you already proved you had been born in the DR or were naturalized. But yet again, a new legalized birth certificate is required to renew a passport. Stupid is as stupid does. Go ahead and link the Cedula data base to the new and amazing digital passport data base and to the even more incredible digital birth certificate data base and don't waste peoples time.
 

Gringo Starr

*** I love DR1! ***
Aug 11, 2014
544
0
0
Stupid is as stupid does. Go ahead and link the Cedula data base to the new and amazing digital passport data base and to the even more incredible digital birth certificate data base and don't waste peoples time.

You forgot that we are in the country where the dumbest people on Earth live.
 

keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
4,732
2,491
113
People tend to think these things are true because "fulano" said they did it.
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
8,367
842
113
people actually believe Picardo? All along I thought he was comic relief. P.T. Barnum was right. Love the b.c. needed along with the old passport. Only in the DR
 
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
You don't see what the true clever idea behind that "announcement" was. Increase the state revenue from passport fees!
 

josh2203

Bronze
Dec 5, 2013
1,570
525
113
But yet again, a new legalized birth certificate is required to renew a passport. Stupid is as stupid does. Go ahead and link the Cedula data base to the new and amazing digital passport data base and to the even more incredible digital birth certificate data base and don't waste peoples time.

My wife renew her passport in the POP office in the end of January. No documents apart from the receipt of payment from Banreservas was needed. They checked the passport, and confirmed that she had already everything correct in the system. Whole thing took us a bit less than 2 hours, which was mostly waiting.

In this case the links and databases seemed to work perfecty. Perhaps there were too many people there?
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
Unless I missed something, the thread Pichardo started was about visa free travel to schengen/euro countries
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
I thought it wasn't necessary anymore to legalize a birth certificate?!

In my wife's case and with every one else I saw waiting in Puerto Plata, they had a legalized birth certificate and that was indeed required for the process of renewal.
Of course, most people were there for their first passports and I can understand a birth certificate being needed for that if their cedula is not linked properly to a data base.

Bottom line was everybody had to have a birth certificate, it had to be the legalized version ($400 pesos) and they kept that document despite scanning it into their records.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
people actually believe Picardo? All along I thought he was comic relief. P.T. Barnum was right. Love the b.c. needed along with the old passport. Only in the DR

You don't see what the true clever idea behind that "announcement" was. Increase the state revenue from passport fees!

Dominicans don't follow DR1. The rumor started from the story about someone asking for the US to grant visa free travel. That blossomed in to the rumor and now false information taken as fact that visa free travel will be granted to Dominicans.

We did come to the conclusion that it was strictly a revenue stream for the DR government to con people into taking out passports they will probably never use. The vast majority of them will never use them to go to the USA in any event.
 

ccarabella

Newbie
Feb 5, 2002
733
12
0
That's the same thing I was thinking. He did not mention traveling to the USA visa free.
Everyone knows that will not happen anytime soon.

On another note... My BFF tried to renew her passport in La Vega last week and she did mention an additional delay.

Unless I missed something, the thread Pichardo started was about visa free travel to schengen/euro countries
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
people actually believe Picardo? All along I thought he was comic relief. P.T. Barnum was right. Love the b.c. needed along with the old passport. Only in the DR

You don't see what the true clever idea behind that "announcement" was. Increase the state revenue from passport fees!

apparently it was a rumor not of "visa free travel" but rather "free visa" to the USA...
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...sa-oferta-de-visas-gratis-para-eeuu-CY3076026
some people mock dominicans for gullibility but cannot do the simplest research themselves? the irony.

I suspect the "free" was modified from "visa free" and published as such in the news and mentioned by PICHARDO. Might as well make the false information as grand as possible.

That is simply dumber following dumb and in no way reduces the commentary on a certain dumbness.

PICHARDO did indeed start a thread about visa free travel to the US for Dominicans. If the DR search function worked, I could even link it here.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
Passport offices cram in Santiago to false offer free visas for US

SANTIAGO. With rumors on social networks that the US Embassy in the country would free visas, dozens of citizens take several days cramming passport offices in this city and other towns in the Cibao.

Hilda Rodriguez, in charge of the local office of the Directorate General of Passports, explained that due to the large number of applicants to the document, had to increase military security on the second floor of the building of public offices President Antonio Guzman (The Huacalito).

He said that the work in that office are normal, but some unscrupulous are arranged extort citizens, selling them "turns" for 500, 600 and up to 700 pesos.

"We want to inform the public by this means that passports should not pay a penny for any of our services, so that people will not let rip off" Rodriguez said when talking to local journalists.

He said that from 8: 000 am to 3:00 pm, are working in different areas Passport to meet citizens' demands.

He said they have 36 employees and several sections to serve the public both domestic and foreign.

Rodriguez asked the public that when you go to passport offices, under any pretext are left swindle by people who do not work in that state agency.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...sa-oferta-de-visas-gratis-para-eeuu-CY3076026

As you can see from the above, Dominicans will never lose the chance to swindle someone. Pichardo was just going along with the flow.
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
That's the same thing I was thinking. He did not mention traveling to the USA visa free.

Everyone knows that will not happen anytime soon.

On another note... My BFF tried to renew her passport in La Vega last week and she did mention an additional delay.

Yes PICHARDO did mention specifically about "visa free" travel for Dominicans to the USA. This thread is on that same topic, not about the EU. Visa free was morphed into "totally free" by rumors on social networks and the rush started on passport offices.

The Dominican side of this island would be practically vacant if "free visas" were actually issued.

From PICHARDO:

It is also propagated by Arelis Versa law firm in an open letter that a similar visa waiver program to and from the US for Dominican and US citizen seems like a high possibility in 2016. The report on said matter has been conducted by the Dominican Republic Tourism and Immigration Department.

To PICHARDO, zero chance is a high possibility.
 
Last edited:
Jan 9, 2004
10,897
2,224
113
SANTIAGO. With rumors on social networks that the US Embassy in the country would free visas, dozens of citizens take several days cramming passport offices in this city and other towns in the Cibao.

Hilda Rodriguez, in charge of the local office of the Directorate General of Passports, explained that due to the large number of applicants to the document, had to increase military security on the second floor of the building of public offices President Antonio Guzman (The Huacalito).

He said that the work in that office are normal, but some unscrupulous are arranged extort citizens, selling them "turns" for 500, 600 and up to 700 pesos.

"We want to inform the public by this means that passports should not pay a penny for any of our services, so that people will not let rip off" Rodriguez said when talking to local journalists.

He said that from 8: 000 am to 3:00 pm, are working in different areas Passport to meet citizens' demands.

He said they have 36 employees and several sections to serve the public both domestic and foreign.

Rodriguez asked the public that when you go to passport offices, under any pretext are left swindle by people who do not work in that state agency.

http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias...sa-oferta-de-visas-gratis-para-eeuu-CY3076026

As you can see from the above, Dominicans will never lose the chance to swindle someone. Pichardo was just going along with the flow.

This is, in pertinent part, what Pichardo posted on February 20, 2016;

It is also propagated by Arelis Versa law firm in an open letter that a similar visa waiver program to and from the US for Dominican and US citizen seems like a high possibility in 2016. The report on said matter has been conducted by the Dominican Republic Tourism and Immigration Department.

http://7thspace.com/headlines/524321...of_europe.html

Perhaps this is where the rumor began.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0