Moving to D.R., never even been there, HELP...

milliebx

New member
Feb 1, 2007
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Hello everyone,

I am an American Citizen, of Puertorican decent. I was born and raised in New York City. I am 30 years old, one son and a spouse. My spouse is Dominican and may be facing deportation in a few months. I have never even visited the Dominican Republic and I must say, the internet search engines do not offer enough information about San Francisco De Macoris, D.R.

I have an Associate of Science Degree in Business Administration and Computer Operations. I have about 8 years experience in office and corporate enviornment. I am bilingual, fluent in Spanish and English, I have even translated Legal Documents in my place of employment. I also have some Legal background as I have been working for attorneys for about 6 years now.

We have a couple of properties out here that I have placed up for sale. Can someone give me an idea as to what would be wiser for me to do? Is it worth looking for work? should I invest the proceeds of my property into some sort of business? How about my son, he is 13, can I trust the educational system out there? My son is very advanced in his studies, he is actually in a Mentally Gifted school out here, he is also very involved in the arts and music with a very promising future.

Thank you in advance.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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WOW!!
Well, San Francisco is not the place I would choose, since it is somewhat of a "campo" and while it might offer some opportunities, they will be limited.
Santiago or Santo Domingo or La Romana (because of your language skills) might be better choices.

I would NEVER, EVER try to start a business before looking things over every, very carefully.

As for the education of your child, if he is truly gifted, then you are limited to three choices. Santiago, Santo Domingo or home schooling. The best school in la Romana is not prepared for gifted children, last time I looked...but it might be.

No place else has even the barest facilities for a gifted child. In fact, I might be stretching things a bit by saying that Santiago has them....I am thinking New Horizons for example, but i cold be way way off....

"Trust the educational system?" NOT on your life!!

Sorry you are in this bind...

HB
 

milliebx

New member
Feb 1, 2007
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Thanks so much for your heads up...My son's education and taking him from his enviornment is what REALLY worries me. I am a survivor and can make it anywhere...I don't mind any type of work...But he has such a promising future at the rate that he is going. Thanks again, I really appreciate the info.
 

SosuaJoe

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Feb 24, 2005
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A question:

As you are a US citizen, is your son not also a US citizen? That being the case, how can the US deport his mother (or father, if you're a woman)?

If he is not your biological son, have you legally adopted (and subsequently nationalized) him? If so, the same question as to the deportation of his other parent would apply.

I'm not an immigration specialist, but it would appear that the only way they could deport the parent of a US citizen is if the child is an adult, which isn't the case, of it the deportee is not legally a parent.

When you say spouse, do you mean legally wed, or are you using it the way we use "wife" or "husband" down here to mean live-in significant other, but not necessarily married? Or the way they use 'spouse' in San Francisco to mean significant other / life partner?

I am mainly curious because, again, I don't see how the US deports a parent of a minor US citizen.
 

NALs

Economist by Profession
Jan 20, 2003
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A question:

As you are a US citizen, is your son not also a US citizen? That being the case, how can the US deport his mother (or father, if you're a woman)?

If he is not your biological son, have you legally adopted (and subsequently nationalized) him? If so, the same question as to the deportation of his other parent would apply.

I'm not an immigration specialist, but it would appear that the only way they could deport the parent of a US citizen is if the child is an adult, which isn't the case, of it the deportee is not legally a parent.

When you say spouse, do you mean legally wed, or are you using it the way we use "wife" or "husband" down here to mean live-in significant other, but not necessarily married? Or the way they use 'spouse' in San Francisco to mean significant other / life partner?

I am mainly curious because, again, I don't see how the US deports a parent of a minor US citizen.
The US does deports illegal immigrants, even if one or more of their children are US citizens. The exception would be if the following is true and could be proven:

"Currently, deportation can be suspended for illegal immigrants only if they have lived in the USA longer than 10 years, have no criminal record and can prove their removal would cause "extremely unusual hardship" to a close relative with legal status."

I would assume that if the OP's wife or husband has been in the US for more than a decade and has no criminal record; they could probably avert deportation by claiming the hardship their child will most likely suffer in the absence of his mother or father, whomever is facing the deportation.

Also:

"About 2 million families nationwide face a similarly gut-wrenching risk of deportation because the children are U.S.-born citizens but at least one parent is an illegal immigrant, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. If deported, the parent must decide whether to leave the kids with relatives in the USA or take them along."
For source of quotes and to read more about this : click here.

-NALs
 

simpson Homer

Bronze
Nov 14, 2003
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sorry about the case

Be ready for a lot of things, culture shock and many other issues.
hopefully wont end leaving your family behind. To move back to the Dominican
to live and work is a challenge. If getting a job do not expect to much about wage. If you can appeal the case do it before heading back.

DR is not what used to be, people who live there dont feel safe.
you get a job for who you know skills most of the times.

good luck
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
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Cold Hard Facts

The cold hard answer would be:

Keep the job, keep the kid, keep the school, keep the property, keep living in New York.

Visit the Dominican Republic AFTER the spouse is deported, THEN decide.

You will NOT like the conditions here for you or your son.

If the deportation is for criminal reasons(not just being illegal allien), STAY IN THE STATES......

Don - SantiagoDR
 

amparocorp

Bronze
Aug 11, 2002
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moving

i think that coming from NYC you would feel quite comfortable in SDQ,
anywhere else you'd go crazy. SDQ and NYC are similar, you will have a bigger apt., you will need a small car. for half of what you pay in NYC rent you can live good in SDQ. it's city life., here you will definetly have a bigger apt. most aare three bedroom, with balconies. you go to san pedro on the weekends to visit the relatives. that's how it's done. i would leave all my money in the states, in my name only, in either real estate, bank, or diversified stock, bond, portfolio. take only the money for rent, 6 months or less, car can be financed if you have money in the bank, here. when you finance a car and leave the country ( in case you hate it here) just give the car back, call the finance co. and tell them where it's parked. use your round-trip tkt. back to ny. if you need a little money go back to NY and get a little, ya got a round trip tkt. 3.5 hours on a plane, simple. i feel sorry for people that buy a vacation house in Fiji, 24 hours in a plane and expensive.
i think with your background you can easily find work, it will not pay anything. their are beautiful, elegant, sophisticated, educated people all over SDQ and they don't make any money. but you get a job that let's you meet these people and it gets you out of the house and you feel you have a purpose in life. and it keeps you away from the in-laws. you might have to lean on that bank account a little that first year. but after that you will probably get settled in to what fits.
i am not familiar with any special schools other than Carroll Morgan, expensive, but i do know that there are some good private schools. as a male i can say that it would have been a blast to have spent my teen years in SDQ, not for hormonal reasons only. i have a 16 year old nephew here, his family does ok, mom and dad both work, and he is having a blast. very active in sports, video games, cars, girls, etc. teenagers in SDQ are having a great time. my nephew has been with me to NYC, catkills mountains, north carolina, key west. he always wants to get back to SDQ. he travels all over SDQ at night without problems, teenagers get away with that.........i have played violin with some very talented dominican teen violinists.......they got to go to school someplace, they didn't go to Carroll Morgan. for what i pay in property tax in NY i could easily send my son to private school in SDQ.
come on down for a week and look around. i do not want to bad mouth San Pedro but i guarantee you won't like it........EOM
 

Lambada

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Mar 4, 2004
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I'd agree about your husband coming down first, if deportation is an unappealable decision. Then you & son coming down & making a decision subsequently. I'm sure you want to live as a family but if you felt that either the education here would not encourage your son to develop his potential to the best or you felt you could not cope with a Dominican salary, then maybe return to US where you are earning enough to make frequent visits to DR? At least until your son is College age. If it was an action of your husbannd's which caused this sudden glitch in your lives then the least he can do is get all the groundwork done here before you arrive.

I can imagine your son might feel quite resentful about all this. He speaks Spanish too I assume? It isn't a wonderful time for a potentially resentful teenager to arrive here for the first time - quite a lot of drugs & disaffected kids around. OK maybe not too different from where you currently live, but some of the 'law enforcement' or lack thereof here are probably very different. You'd have to watch with whom he made friends. The teen tigueres here would be quick to spot a very bright but maybe not so streetsmart child. It's all going to depend on the circles in which you move.

Not easy. You have my empathy.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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if your son is gifted it will be better to stay in USA or at least leave him there (boarding school etc) if you decide to move to DR. not even SD will give you the same possibilities your child may have in america/europe.

if i kew all i know now about DR i'd think twice before moving here. so i agree with suggestions you should let your spouse get deported and come for visits before you commit.

good luck with you decision!
 

milliebx

New member
Feb 1, 2007
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Guys, thank you all and bear with me, as I am a first timer on this forum and am still getting adjusted to how to reply. FOR SosuaJoe:

Yes, I AM AN AMERICAN BORN CITIZEN and so is my son, I met my "Live-in-significant other" 14 years ago and been together since. He has never been LEGAL in the US because he wasn't patient enough to wait for his Residency to arrive while living in DR after his father, whom was an American Citizen petitioned him, so he came via the back roads, long story short, got into some trouble for making a living, did some time and got deported, came back again and two years after being here, I met him. Now, he is again behind bars for violating his parole and has an INS detainer, meaning, once his time is done, INS will pick him up and deport him. I don't think he has a shot at being here even if I am or his son is American. So that confirms NALS post as well, he does have a criminal record.

HOMER, thanks for the heads up but what if we move to like a suburb or something and have our own business?? He has a business in DR before and did very well, he was able to sell it and make a trip to the states with the proceeds before.

CHRIS, I believe you're correct, that would be the best thing to do, I guess I am being emotional right now, I just want my family back, for 14 years, this is all I knew and my son has never been without his mom and dad so it's tough. Thanks for your input.


Don Santiago, thanks, it does seem like the sane thing to do, however, I love my husband very much and only God knows in my heart, I would follow him to the end, I am a very self-secure person. Question, how well do the INTERNET CAFEs do over there?

amparo, WOW....you really have it down packed!!!! From the culture to the schools to the enviornment to the hood to the teens lives...wow...so much info...sounds great and I like the fact that YOU and your nephew HAVE traveled and seen a lot and can compare....I also travel every year, to Florida, the Carribbean and so forth so I am not afraid of any culture shock...My son is half Dominican and can hang with the most whtie american boy in the suburbs, to a tigere in washington heights...He is very versatile and very mature. I am not worried about his adaptation, so long as he has a shot at a good education, he is bilingual like I am and can always pick up over here again if need be.

I want to thank you all, I really need all the input I can get. I have one question and please bear with me if it is an ignorant one, HOW IN HEAVENS DO ALL OF YALL WRITE SUCH GREAT ENGLISH???? I mean, yall express and write better than most AMERICANS!!! Are all of you Dominican Natives? Did you study in DR? I mean, this makes me feel confident about taking my son out there? I hate to sound ignorant but there are a lot of things that we are not aware of, I mean, you hear things but don't always believe them and where my husband's family is from, SAN FRANCISCO DE MACORIS, I rarely know anyone who speaks great English like this.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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most of us on dr1 are expats from different countries, mostly english speaking. sometimes i am amazed myself to see people for whom i know english is not first language being so fluent...
congratulations to all.

all dominicans on this site speak great english too, probably better than lot of native speakers... (i lived in uk for few years and there in no one with worse spelling than young brits).

back on a subject: include your son in making this decision, he has to know what the situation is like. maybe he'd rather be with his family than be a virtuoso... you say he is mature so he will appreciate you treating him like an adult.
 

mountainfrog

On Vacation!
Dec 8, 2003
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SFdM

Wait for the deportation to happen (At least it's a free flight, isn't it? :) )
As your husband has family in SFdM he'll be able to survive and start from there.
Once he has secured a base for all of you come down and see how things develop.
SFdM can be a dangerous place tempting people to get rich quickly (if you know what I mean).
Do help your5 spouse to stay clear of all the 'basura' there and keep him off the 'yolas'...

m'frog
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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So your husband deals...he should be right at home in SFM. Major area for that.

And there are a lot of job openings. Just last night the cops killed four dealers in Navarrete...

I would not move an inch from the US of A. Think of the kid first. You can get your "honey" during some vacation time or long weekends...

The odds of him becoming "something" are not that good, coming from that sort of background. Keep thinking of him first and your significant other later.

HB
 

milliebx

New member
Feb 1, 2007
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Mountain Frog, thanks...I don't plan on living in SFDM and NO, he would never take a yola, he always flew in somehow....But thanks for the heads up.

Hillbilly, NO, he does not "DEAL", he did that in past, if you read my lil bio, he came to the country, did it for a bit as many do, did time and got deported, we are talking 1986...I have been with him since 1992, it's been almost 15 years and NEVER have we lived that life, if he is in now, it's because he was AWOL from PAROLE and got detained at the airport on our way back from vacation in November. He has been working hard since I met him, we have three houses in Pennsylvania, all ligit purchased, I went to school while he worked, got a degree and have been working to help the household income since. We have done nothing but work hard, he even had back surgery for working so hard so, that should answer your question. The last thing he wants to involve himself in IS that, which is why we don't even want to go to SFDM.

Thanks.
 

Kemo

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Nov 2, 2006
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My freind it seems it is a very hard situation i know i have helped many of my employees here in Puerto rico legalized and some of them had to returned to the d.r in order to get parole by a judge and get entry status with a job guaranteed. You see i live in Puerto rico and i am Puerto rican the reason is that i go to the D.R anytime i want to with no troubled i could by a villa with no trouble i could extend my stayed with no trouble and i could get residency with no trouble why? because i am american citizen. I think it is unfair the practice to separate families specially on this case but immigration seems to be indefferent to imigrants and this will continue unless we have imigration reform. Control the borders but legalized the already millions of hardworking imigrants in the U.S.A.


Now if you were Puertorican born!!!!!! you could ask teh Governor of Puerto rico for a stayed! of Deportation!!! this is a priviliege that hardly the govenor of Puerto rico uses but the case has to be very strong!!!!! and he may use the power in the constitution of Puerto rico to stayed your wifes deportation and that will give you the time to resolved the situation without separating the family. I only know of one case in 1994 yet the govenor or Puerto rico has not use the privielege so in other words it is very hard and you have to get a very influential $$$$ lawyer to get petition thrue. Puerto rico enjoys U.S terriotrial status but legally the sovereignty of Puerto rico is Share by U.S Congress and by the People of Puerto rico and the rep of the people of Puerto rico is the Govenor. This is called the Jones Act that enacted the U.S-P.R relation 1952. Try to see if this could help you.....
 

monster

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Oct 16, 2005
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you should have married him before....he would have probably been a citizen by now and you wouldnt be in this situation.