Residency - Authentication of documents by consulates in U.S.

[robohm]

My wife and I have been working for several weeks on getting notarized and authenticated copies of our marriage certificate, police records, and health certificates from Washington State and birth certificates from Illinois and New York, plus notarized and authenticated translations of same. We expected to send them all to the Nicaraguan consulate in San Francisco, which has jurisdiction over Washington State where we live.

No one ever answers the phone at the San Francisco consulate, their voicemail box is always full so you can't leave a message, and they failed to respond to e-mail. In desperation, I called the Consulate General in Washington, D.C. and learned three things that we had not discovered before from guidebooks, expat forums, or Nicaraguan government publication or Website:

1) Documents must be authenticated by the consulate with jurisdiction over the state where they originated, regardless of where the applicant lives now. For us, that means sending birth certificates to three different consulates: Washington, D.C. (which has jurisdiction over Illinois), New York, and San Francisco. (See http://www.cancilleria.gob.ni/embaja...sulado_1.shtml for a list of consulates and the states over which each has jurisdiction.)

2) The fee for authenticating marriage and birth certificates is $20 each; all other documents are $40; authenticating translations is another $40 each. That amounts to $500 for the whole set.

3) The Consulate General in D.C. can authenticate documents from jurisdictions other than its own (DC, DE, KY, IN, IL, MD, NC, TN, VA, WV), but only if they are first authenticated by the Authentications Office of the U.S. Department of State (http://www.state.gov/m/a/auth/) for a fee of $8 per document. The Website says it takes about 4 weeks by mail after they get the documents, but "Documents sent through the U.S. mail can be delayed by several weeks in arriving at the Authentications Office because of the irradiation process." (Use FedEx or UPS.) "The Authentications Office will mail documents directly to a foreign Embassy or Consulate if you provide a cover-letter, the correct fee, and a pre-paid (or stamped), pre-addressed envelope. Please enclose an additional prepaid (or stamped) self-addressed stamped envelope for the embassy or consulate to return the document." If you or your agent can hand-carry documents to the Authentications Office, you can avoid the 4-week delay by using the walk-in, while-you-wait, counter service.

Three questions:
1) Has anyone succeeded in communicating with the San Francisco consulate recently? If so, what's the trick?
2) Could I have found the information above at the necessary level of detail somewhere else?
3) Have other folks succeeded in getting documents authenticated by the Nicaraguan government through a less tortuous process?

I'd be grateful for any corrections, insights, or new information.

[Little Corn Tom]

I can offer no help but can only offer sympathy. What a nightmare!

[Playa Pete]

After 3 years...I received my Cedula in Feb 2011

Here is what I learned (But first, when I lived in Mexico a friend told me there is ONE word, that describes all the issues I had with getting more then a tourist visa in Mexico...That word "MEXICO ! ") Here the word is "NICARAGUA"

1. The consulate I had to use was in LA...TIP 1.. Pay expitated fee and enclosed prepaid Fedex with your address...they were responsive...no problem...I think I did the translation in Ni.

2. My birth certificate was from the Midwest, BUT, this document I do not think I sent to Consulate..just enclosed down here

3. I made a mistake ...on the application , I stated I was an Engineer...my application was delayed...as, ready for this, ...they wanted a certified copy of my college transcript from 4 decades ago...state you are RETIRED.

4. By the time I got my certified college transcript, my police report was over one year old....Catch 22...need a new one

5. After I thought I had everything, then I was told I need three pro formas for a one way ticket back to the USA...cheapest flights are Miami...I pulled off internet..they used the $350 ticket and you post a "bond" ie..give 'em the cash

6. So I am ready to pay

Step A...pay the bond...lets assume , its $353...they MEAN $353...no change...exactly $353...no change...not in $C or US$...so we drive out and find a street money changer
Step B..pay fee in $C...and again the exact amount...no change...here you can go outside and get $C change

SUMMARY:

1. Here is the lesson...This is Nicaragua...one needs to relax about these "things"
2. You WILL develop a sense of humor as one sees on TRN...or you will go nuts in NI
3. as far as residency...it is a "process"....get in line...give them what you have...let them tell you what you are missing...and train for ROUND 2...bell is ringing

But, it is worth it...good luck
pp

[robohm]

You made me laugh, Pete. I like your attitude, and will strive to emulate it. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."

...

1. Here is the lesson...This is Nicaragua...one needs to relax about these "things"
2. You WILL develop a sense of humor as one sees on TRN...or you will go nuts in NI
3. as far as residency...it is a "process"....get in line...give them what you have...let them tell you what you are missing...and train for ROUND 2...bell is ringing

But, it is worth it...good luck
pp

[MizBrown]

I can offer no help but can only offer sympathy. What a nightmare!

Nightmare?

The Nicaraguan consulate in DC has a work around for the MIA San Francisco consulate (and not all of the consulates have full-time hours -- and have you seen the US embassy's schedule for when you can discuss what with them if you have an appointment).

Various people were having hissy fits when some guy who signs cedulas in Managua had a death in the family last fall/early winter and forced some gringos to make a second trip to Managua a week later. If SF is lightly staffed on partial hours and if the person who is on the Minrex registry of people who sign paperwork is sick/just died/had a stroke, then go with the work around.

I found that things in Nicaragua work smoother if you don't bitch about minor glitches on line. I'm fantasize a bit that they have a Fussy Gringo List, but people might have easier times of it if they assumed good faith and some real human emergency stalled things a bit rather than fuss about an additional $36 to $92 in charges.

[MizBrown]

After 3 years...I received my Cedula in Feb 2011


5. After I thought I had everything, then I was told I need three pro formas for a one way ticket back to the USA...cheapest flights are Miami...I pulled off internet..they used the $350 ticket and you post a "bond" ie..give 'em the cash

pp

Um, I went through Intur and was told I didn't need a one way ticket back to the USA but I got residency in November/December 2010. My understanding is that's for other categories of immigrant, not pensionado, though since fees have changed, the rule may also have changed (I always say last person to do the process is the person to listen to on the process).

If you don't go through Intur, you don't get pensionado status officially -- at least that's what Migracion told me. If you went directly to Migracion, you wouldn't have gotten pensionado status residency. (I had lawyers in Jinotega refuse to believe that Intur handled any classification of immigrant -- we did a bit of lawyer shopping before finding one that believed me that Intur handled pensionado residency).

[Little Corn Tom]

Nightmare?


I'm fantasize a bit that they have a Fussy Gringo List, .

FGL .....I bet they do ...and should.

[robohm]

Let me sing the praises of Yalpri I. Moncada G., Oficial Administrativo at the Consulate General of Nicaragua in Washington, D.C. (and not because I hope it will get me off the Fussy Gringo list):
When I called the number of the Consulate General, Yalpri answered on the first ring. She made sure the numbers I had been using to try to phone the SF consulate for several weeks were correct and, although she was too busy to talk more at the time, gave me the e-mail address where I could reach her (consuladoni.wdc@gmail.com). In response to my e-mail, she promptly gave me the information about the authentication process with which I started this thread. She also took pains to be very clear after I said I wasn't sure if she was referring to the U.S. Secretary of State or to a state official with the same title, and she sent a follow-up e-mail to make sure I understood. ¡Muchísimas gracias, Yalpri!

Take-Home Message:
Folks who have documents from multiple states and might otherwise need to have them authenticated by multiple consulates may find it pays to get them all authenticated by the Consulate General. If so, except for those states that are specifically in the D.C. Consulate's jurisdiction, you must first get your documents authenticated by the U.S. State Department. Then the Consulate General can authenticate everything in one place at one time. On the minus side, unless you go to D.C. yourself or have someone to go there for you to get same-day counter service, the State Dept. could take a month to authenticate your documents and send them on to the Nicaraguan Consulate.

Authentication Service Companies
A number of companies will get your documents authenticated for you, for a price that may be worth it if time is short and traveling to D.C. impractical. U.S. Legalization (http://uslegalization.com/), for example, charges $80 for the first document and $40 for each one after that for the same country, plus the fees payable to the State Dept & Nicaraguan Consulate. You FedEx them the documents, a check, and a self-addressed prepaid airbill; they get documents authenticated within 2 business days after receiving them and send them back to you.

[MizBrown]

I found the Nicaraguans did tend to know what the process was and that they were more helpful than a lot of people posting on the websites. It's detailed but not complicated if that makes any sense.

The woman who put the seals on my paperwork was very charming, but I didn't get her name. If she's the same person, she's quite good and is enthusiastic about people interested in moving to Nicaragua and came out to meet me after doing my paperwork in her office.

If you're picked for a spot check of references and residency, you may have delays. One of the biggies for Migracion is having a good description of your address. Some lawyers may not explain all the contingencies.

[robohm]

If you're picked for a spot check of references and residency, you may have delays. One of the biggies for Migracion is having a good description of your address. Some lawyers may not explain all the contingencies.

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[MizBrown]

You might want to post the final post with the information you got from the DC consulate on the Other Other Site. People tend to ask each other how to do this and often the information is dated, or they used a lawyer and don't really know how things work.

[robohm]

You might want to post the final post with the information you got from the DC consulate on the Other Other Site.

Will do, and I'll update the info here as soon as I know how my submittals are handled.