I thought it might be useful to pass on some current information about renewing your US passport at the US Consulate in Santo Domingo, something that I did yesterday.
1. Passport renewal is only done between 7:30 and 9:30 am, Monday-Friday, except on days that are holidays in either the US or the DR.
2. When you get to the Consulate, show your passport and explain why you are there, you will be taken to the entrance of the Citizens' Services section and told to take a number from one of those devices that you sometimes see in stores. You will then be told to sit in a section where many others are waiting for one service of the Consulate or another. This is not, however, the section section that is crowded with Dominicans trying to get a visa.
3. Eventually, though the wait isn't too long, someone will come down and read of five or 6 numbers. If the number on your ticket is one of those numbers, you go with this person to the entrance to the Citizens' Services section and form a line according to your number. When it is your turn, you enter, present your passport and the renewal application you will have completed in advance as well as two identical 2"x2" photos. If all is ok, you will be given a receipt and directed to a cashier to pay your fee. The current fee is US$55 per passport and can be paid in dollars or pesos. Yesterday, the exchange rate being used by the Consulate was RD$54 to 1.
4. With payment receipt in hand, you return to the person who you gave your papers and they will give you a receipt. This receipt is very important because it must be shown when you return to the Consulate to pick up your passport 10 working days later. In my case, I turned in my papers on the 10 and can pick up my passport on the 26th.
Additional:
1. Get your pictures taken in advance and remember they must be 2" by 2". Many of the picture places advertise 2x2 but give you 1.5"x1.5" photos and tell you they are acceptable; they are not. Before I could complete the process, I had to get new pictures taken. Several places very close to the Consulate have been set up to take the pictures, but they are much more expensive. For example, my wife and I paid a total of RD$168 for pictures before going to the Consulate, but they were not acceptable because of their size. So we went a nearby place for the fotos and this time paid a total of RD$600.
2. Best if you can get your renewal form in advance and fill it out before going to the Consulate. If you have Adobe reader on your computer, go to http://travel.state.gov/DS-0082.pdf and copy form DS-82, Application for US Passport by Mail. If renewing in the DR, don't mail the form but take it with you to the Consulate. You can get the form at the Consulate, but only when standing outside Citizens' Services waiting to turn in your papers. Much less stressful to fill it out in advance.
3. The person who calls out the numbers doesn't speak very loudly, or maybe he/she does, but there is some much other noise that it is very hard to hear. If you don't clearly hear the numbers, don't hesitate to ask what they were. Otherwise you may end up waiting to be called much longer than is necessary.
1. Passport renewal is only done between 7:30 and 9:30 am, Monday-Friday, except on days that are holidays in either the US or the DR.
2. When you get to the Consulate, show your passport and explain why you are there, you will be taken to the entrance of the Citizens' Services section and told to take a number from one of those devices that you sometimes see in stores. You will then be told to sit in a section where many others are waiting for one service of the Consulate or another. This is not, however, the section section that is crowded with Dominicans trying to get a visa.
3. Eventually, though the wait isn't too long, someone will come down and read of five or 6 numbers. If the number on your ticket is one of those numbers, you go with this person to the entrance to the Citizens' Services section and form a line according to your number. When it is your turn, you enter, present your passport and the renewal application you will have completed in advance as well as two identical 2"x2" photos. If all is ok, you will be given a receipt and directed to a cashier to pay your fee. The current fee is US$55 per passport and can be paid in dollars or pesos. Yesterday, the exchange rate being used by the Consulate was RD$54 to 1.
4. With payment receipt in hand, you return to the person who you gave your papers and they will give you a receipt. This receipt is very important because it must be shown when you return to the Consulate to pick up your passport 10 working days later. In my case, I turned in my papers on the 10 and can pick up my passport on the 26th.
Additional:
1. Get your pictures taken in advance and remember they must be 2" by 2". Many of the picture places advertise 2x2 but give you 1.5"x1.5" photos and tell you they are acceptable; they are not. Before I could complete the process, I had to get new pictures taken. Several places very close to the Consulate have been set up to take the pictures, but they are much more expensive. For example, my wife and I paid a total of RD$168 for pictures before going to the Consulate, but they were not acceptable because of their size. So we went a nearby place for the fotos and this time paid a total of RD$600.
2. Best if you can get your renewal form in advance and fill it out before going to the Consulate. If you have Adobe reader on your computer, go to http://travel.state.gov/DS-0082.pdf and copy form DS-82, Application for US Passport by Mail. If renewing in the DR, don't mail the form but take it with you to the Consulate. You can get the form at the Consulate, but only when standing outside Citizens' Services waiting to turn in your papers. Much less stressful to fill it out in advance.
3. The person who calls out the numbers doesn't speak very loudly, or maybe he/she does, but there is some much other noise that it is very hard to hear. If you don't clearly hear the numbers, don't hesitate to ask what they were. Otherwise you may end up waiting to be called much longer than is necessary.
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