He was Puertorican Afterall!!!!

NALs

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A few months ago, I pointed towards the story of the American citizen who was being denied his citizenship by the US embassy here, because he "look Dominican, thus could not be an American citizen".

Well, it turns out that all he had to do was wait 11 years in order to be recognized as a real American Citizen.

What a story!

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=8462
 

Stodgord

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Nal0whs said:
A few months ago, I pointed towards the story of the American citizen who was being denied his citizenship by the US embassy here, because he "look Dominican, thus could not be an American citizen".

Well, it turns out that all he had to do was wait 11 years in order to be recognized as a real American Citizen.

What a story!

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=8462


I pretty sure his kids "se estan riendo con la ultima muela" as they don't have to contemplate travelling on Yolanda de aviacion and AA (Agua alante y Agua atras) to Puerto Rico anymore. I am glad it worked out for him. Is he suing?
 

RHM

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Nal0whs said:
A few months ago, I pointed towards the story of the American citizen who was being denied his citizenship by the US embassy here, because he "look Dominican, thus could not be an American citizen".

Well, it turns out that all he had to do was wait 11 years in order to be recognized as a real American Citizen.

What a story!

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=8462

The whole "looked Dominican" thing is his story...as stated clearly in the link you provided. I don't think any intelligent person believes that is the whole story. There are just too many things that he could do about it. And any US official who would be stupid enough to deny a citizen their passport for such a ridiculous reason would be taken care of pretty quickly.

I have a theory...he is an idiot. And the papers love a good story like this. There is no comment from the Embassy because it is against policy to publicly discuss another person's situation. Thus, they print one side of the story.

Scandall
 

NALs

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Stodgord said:
I pretty sure his kids "se estan riendo con la ultima muela" as they don't have to contemplate travelling on Yolanda de aviacion and AA (Agua alante y Agua atras) to Puerto Rico anymore. I am glad it worked out for him. Is he suing?
He has been living here for the past 11 years!

Suing is probably not in his mind, for the moment.

Let's see what would happen when he reaches PR and is reminded of this action he can take.

-NAL
 

NALs

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Scandall said:
The whole "looked Dominican" thing is his story...as stated clearly in the link you provided. I don't think any intelligent person believes that is the whole story. There are just too many things that he could do about it. And any US official who would be stupid enough to deny a citizen their passport for such a ridiculous reason would be taken care of pretty quickly.

I have a theory...he is an idiot. And the papers love a good story like this. There is no comment from the Embassy because it is against policy to publicly discuss another person's situation. Thus, they print one side of the story.

Scandall
Of course, it is his story, but there really is no excuse why the Americans waited 11 years to verify if the guy was American or not!

The guy even served in the US military... 11 years simply is not fitting for any country, let alone the world's superpower.

-NAL
 

RHM

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Nal0whs said:
Of course, it is his story, but there really is no excuse why the Americans waited 11 years to verify if the guy was American or not!

The guy even served in the US military... 11 years simply is not fitting for any country, let alone the world's superpower.

-NAL

Again...you are assumning they took 11 years...I doubt his story almost entirely...I can think of a dozen different things a citizen could do...

Remember what happens when you "assume"...

This guy is not telling the whole story.

Scandall
 

Stodgord

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I place the burden of proof on him and not the government

I think it was his responsibility to prove to the government who he was and not for the government to prove. If it took 11 years is because he allowed it to be somehow. In the US, if the computer says I am dead I must prove the government that I am alive by providing substantiated proof. Me moving around and looking alive is not a valid proof. Samething in the DR, you must pay and provide substantiated proof of who you are before you get any type of offical document.
 

RHM

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Stodgord said:
I think it was his responsibility to prove to the government who he was and not for the government to prove. If it took 11 years is because he allowed it to be somehow. In the US, if the computer says I am dead I must prove the government that I am alive by providing substantiated proof. Me moving around and looking alive is not a valid proof. Samething in the DR, you must pay and provide substantiated proof of who you are before you get any type of offical document.

Ahh...a voice of reason. Thank God.

Proving your citizenship is easy. A few calls to you Congressman, Senator or even local official would get the ball rolling. 11 years? I imagine that this guy went to the embassy and was told that he needed more documentation or something that he did not have. Instead of doing some legwork and solving the problem he decided to spend 11 years doing whatever it was that he was doing and blaming them.

NEWSFLASH...being in the National Guard does not make you a "veteran"...and being in the U.S. military does not mean you are a citizen...you only need residency to join. Which is why there was a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives that passed and went to the Senate to fast track citizenship for soldiers serving in Iraq. I am not sure of the outcome.

Scandall
 

NALs

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Scandall said:
Ahh...a voice of reason. Thank God.

Proving your citizenship is easy. A few calls to you Congressman, Senator or even local official would get the ball rolling. 11 years? I imagine that this guy went to the embassy and was told that he needed more documentation or something that he did not have. Instead of doing some legwork and solving the problem he decided to spend 11 years doing whatever it was that he was doing and blaming them.

NEWSFLASH...being in the National Guard does not make you a "veteran"...and being in the U.S. military does not mean you are a citizen...you only need residency to join. Which is why there was a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives that passed and went to the Senate to fast track citizenship for soldiers serving in Iraq. I am not sure of the outcome.

Scandall
But Scandall,

Is this an assumption or fact? :ermm:

-NAL
 

rellosk

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Mar 18, 2002
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At first I thought that story was a fake. After all, the article says he was a veteran of the National Guard; identification should be easy. They must have his picture or fingerprints on file. There are plenty of people that lose their documentation in a foreign country. I imagine there are quick and simple procedures to establish identity. The story sounded very bizarre, but not nearly as bizarre as this http://www.snopes.com/travel/airline/airport.asp
 

TimInDR

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Scandall said:
Ahh...a voice of reason. Thank God.

NEWSFLASH...being in the National Guard does not make you a "veteran"...and being in the U.S. military does not mean you are a citizen...you only need residency to join. Which is why there was a resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives that passed and went to the Senate to fast track citizenship for soldiers serving in Iraq. I am not sure of the outcome.

Scandall

On a bit of a tangent...

Successfully serving in the National Guard for six years and either re-enlisting or being honorably or generally discharged does indeed gain a person the status (legally and otherwise) of "Veteran". Mobilization or war-time service not required.

Tim

(don't know what the person in question did with the guard or for how long... but there ya go)
 

RHM

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TimInDR said:
On a bit of a tangent...

Successfully serving in the National Guard for six years and either re-enlisting or being honorably or generally discharged does indeed gain a person the status (legally and otherwise) of "Veteran". Mobilization or war-time service not required.

Tim

(don't know what the person in question did with the guard or for how long... but there ya go)

Timmy,

They would be considered having served honorably. But the title "veteran" typically implies having served in combat. For example: I have served in the enlisted and officer ranks in both the reserve and active components, in the US and abroad. But I would never call myself a "veteran" because I never served in any official combat position.

We are all eligible for VA benefits but if you look closely into them you will see that those who have served in combat environments are rightfully entitled to more.

I do not mean to split hairs with you. BTW: I am an American Legion member and the benefits are actually pretty good. If there are other organizations that I could join, support and enjoy benefits from please PM me.

Scandall
 

NY1

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Anyone who has dealt with the US Embassy/Consulate in Santo Domingo, will not doubt their ineptitude for one minute!!
 

RHM

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NY1 said:
Anyone who has dealt with the US Embassy/Consulate in Santo Domingo, will not doubt their ineptitude for one minute!!

That is true. I have dealt with them too. But I still pin this one on the "Puerto Rican National Guard Veteran".

Scandall
 

NY1

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Scandall my guess is as someone else alluded, the guy is probably some campesino that had no clue what it is to contact a Congressman or even a Senator.
I know in PR they don't have Senate Reps, but I would have sent a letter to all 100 of them hoping someone would get off their butts!
 

RHM

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NY1 said:
Scandall my guess is as someone else alluded, the guy is probably some campesino that had no clue what it is to contact a Congressman or even a Senator.
I know in PR they don't have Senate Reps, but I would have sent a letter to all 100 of them hoping someone would get off their butts!


Amen. I would do the same and I guarantee it wouldn't take me 11 years unless I wanted it to.

Puerto Rico has Congressional representaion without voting rights. They have offices in the Capitol Building etc. but cannot drop ballots on Congressional issues. But hey...they don't have the IRS! They get all of the benefits and very little of the responsibility. God bless'em. Nobody will ever get that kind of deal again.

Scandall

Scandall
 

sunshine_79

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Scandall said:
Action he can take?...aren't we assuming a bit here?

...and look at this realistically...11 years? he must not have been trying very hard...

Scandall

(Beware: Acronyms used abundantly; too lazy to write everything out)


And...

The guy was still an E-4/Specialist after 6 years in the Guard????

Of all the military components, the Guard has the highest incidence of promotions and of upward mobility in general.

No promotion board, no primary/secondary zones, no nada.

No PLDC before you get your E-5, BNCOC before your E-6, etc. You simply have to have a "slot" on a unit's MTOE and be MOS-qualified.

I'm not sure if the Guard has a RQP (Retention Quality) but I know if you find yourself staring at ten years as an E-4 on AD, they boot you out.

6 years as an E-4 in the Guard?

I'm sorry but the guy couldn't be the brightest crayon in the box.

Or I suppose I should say, for the sake of embellishing upon Scandall's points, he couldn't have been a highly motivated person.

I can see why it might have taken him 11 years to get everything straightened out.


Disclaimer: I am in no way insulting any National Guard or other reserve component soldiers/sailors/airmen.
 

RHM

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sunshine_79 said:
(Beware: Acronyms used abundantly; too lazy to write everything out)


And...

The guy was still an E-4/Specialist after 6 years in the Guard????

Of all the military components, the Guard has the highest incidence of promotions and of upward mobility in general.

No promotion board, no primary/secondary zones, no nada.

No PLDC before you get your E-5, BNCOC before your E-6, etc. You simply have to have a "slot" on a unit's MTOE and be MOS-qualified.

I'm not sure if the Guard has a RQP (Retention Quality) but I know if you find yourself staring at ten years as an E-4 on AD, they boot you out.

6 years as an E-4 in the Guard?

I'm sorry but the guy couldn't be the brightest crayon in the box.

Or I suppose I should say, for the sake of embellishing upon Scandall's points, he couldn't have been a highly motivated person.

I can see why it might have taken him 11 years to get everything straightened out.


Disclaimer: I am in no way insulting any National Guard or other reserve component soldiers/sailors/airmen.

Congratulations, Sunshine. You have posted information that only Tim and I understand.

:) :)

Scandall