Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Permanent visa to Argentina. The move is on.
01/04/2006
Today, I received my permanent visa to Argentina, from the consulate in Atlanta. We're definitely moving!!!!!!!!
The whole process was pretty painless. My appointment was at 9:30 A.M. eastern, and since I live 2:30 hours away in Birmingham, I woke up at 4:45 A.M. central. After making the drive over, and fighting a few wrecks, I arrived at the consul at 9:10 A.M. Everyone was very cordial, and by 10:00 A.M. they told me that everything was in order, and that I could return between 12:00 and 13:00 to finish everything up.
I returned at 12:35, and was ushered in by 12:45. They took fingerprints of all fingers, twice, had me sign a few papers, including a sworn statement (You can see the sworn statement as a part of the application, e.g. here: http://www.consuladoargentinoatlanta.org/images/docs/visa_permanente.doc), and they gave me the visa. Now, interestingly enough, the consul said that the visa would last for 6 months. We had been planning on going in September, so I told him that. He did a doubletake! He then said, "You can't! This is only valid for 6 months!" But then, he said, "Let me see the visa." He then said, "Well, it's a permanent visa. It should be alright." Hmm... I agree that neither the visa itself, nor the stamp they placed in my passport, appear to have any expiration date, so from that standpoint I'm sure we'd be O.K. to go in September. However, I fear that the Certificate of Good conduct, or something else associated with adjusting my status to permanent residence, may cause a problem in Buenos Aires. So, we're going to go in June, now. Actually, we wanted to go in June previously, but were talked out of it. Now, I don't know if we can be deterred. I really feel God moving us to go in June.
Ok, enough with the details of what happened today. Let me tell you what I did to prepare. I used the consul's instructions as a guide, here: http://www.consuladoargentinoatlanta.org/visa_permanente.htm . However, I changed it up based upon discussions with the consul. So, the details of what I did are:
1. I obtained 3 original copies of my birth certificate, from the State Registrar of Alabama. Once obtained, I sent these off to the Secretary of State, to have them Apostilized (Apostille's seal placed on them, although it doesn't seem to actually be placed on the document; instead, they just staple a new page with the Apostille seal.)
2. I obtained a certificate of good conduct from the Birmingham police office, with a notary's seal. Note that you can also obtain a certificate of this sort from your local courthouse, however I believe that Argentina wants the one from the police office. Be sure to get it notarized. Because, next I had to send it to the Secretary of State, to have them place the Apostille's seal.
3. I had 6 passport photos taken at Walmart, although they only used 4. Go figure. I think the other 2 may be for the national ID (DNI), which you don't get until after you've gone to Argentina.
4. Marriage Certificate. My wife and I got married in Argentina, and we had it Apostilized down there, so this was no problem.
5. Translation to english - The web site says that you have to have a translator sign the translation, get it notarized, and get an Apostille seal. However, I asked the Consul about this, and they told me that I could do the translation myself. So, that's what I did.
6. My wife's DNI, with her residence (domicilio) listed as her residence in Argentina. The consul told me that if your sponsor (e.g. in my case, my wife) changed his/her residence at an Argentinean Embassy/Consulate to be within a foreign country, instead of within Argentina, then you can't obtain the visa in this manner. Instead, you have to bring all of the above papers to Argentina (you enter on a tourist visa), you have them translated by a public translator, and then do everything down there. He also advised getting a lawyer if you go this route. Btw, he said that anyone can go this route. So, if you don't plan ahead, then you can do it all down there. BUT, it seems to me to be a lot easier here.
7. Medical Record - I got this done, but they told me that this is no longer required... Go figure.
So, they gave me the visa, and also 2 envelopes; one for immigrations at the airport, and the other to take to immigrations 10-15 days after arrival. Apparently, this will secure my permanent residency, and a National ID card (DNI).
Today, I received my permanent visa to Argentina, from the consulate in Atlanta. We're definitely moving!!!!!!!!
The whole process was pretty painless. My appointment was at 9:30 A.M. eastern, and since I live 2:30 hours away in Birmingham, I woke up at 4:45 A.M. central. After making the drive over, and fighting a few wrecks, I arrived at the consul at 9:10 A.M. Everyone was very cordial, and by 10:00 A.M. they told me that everything was in order, and that I could return between 12:00 and 13:00 to finish everything up.
I returned at 12:35, and was ushered in by 12:45. They took fingerprints of all fingers, twice, had me sign a few papers, including a sworn statement (You can see the sworn statement as a part of the application, e.g. here: http://www.consuladoargentinoatlanta.org/images/docs/visa_permanente.doc), and they gave me the visa. Now, interestingly enough, the consul said that the visa would last for 6 months. We had been planning on going in September, so I told him that. He did a doubletake! He then said, "You can't! This is only valid for 6 months!" But then, he said, "Let me see the visa." He then said, "Well, it's a permanent visa. It should be alright." Hmm... I agree that neither the visa itself, nor the stamp they placed in my passport, appear to have any expiration date, so from that standpoint I'm sure we'd be O.K. to go in September. However, I fear that the Certificate of Good conduct, or something else associated with adjusting my status to permanent residence, may cause a problem in Buenos Aires. So, we're going to go in June, now. Actually, we wanted to go in June previously, but were talked out of it. Now, I don't know if we can be deterred. I really feel God moving us to go in June.
Ok, enough with the details of what happened today. Let me tell you what I did to prepare. I used the consul's instructions as a guide, here: http://www.consuladoargentinoatlanta.org/visa_permanente.htm . However, I changed it up based upon discussions with the consul. So, the details of what I did are:
1. I obtained 3 original copies of my birth certificate, from the State Registrar of Alabama. Once obtained, I sent these off to the Secretary of State, to have them Apostilized (Apostille's seal placed on them, although it doesn't seem to actually be placed on the document; instead, they just staple a new page with the Apostille seal.)
2. I obtained a certificate of good conduct from the Birmingham police office, with a notary's seal. Note that you can also obtain a certificate of this sort from your local courthouse, however I believe that Argentina wants the one from the police office. Be sure to get it notarized. Because, next I had to send it to the Secretary of State, to have them place the Apostille's seal.
3. I had 6 passport photos taken at Walmart, although they only used 4. Go figure. I think the other 2 may be for the national ID (DNI), which you don't get until after you've gone to Argentina.
4. Marriage Certificate. My wife and I got married in Argentina, and we had it Apostilized down there, so this was no problem.
5. Translation to english - The web site says that you have to have a translator sign the translation, get it notarized, and get an Apostille seal. However, I asked the Consul about this, and they told me that I could do the translation myself. So, that's what I did.
6. My wife's DNI, with her residence (domicilio) listed as her residence in Argentina. The consul told me that if your sponsor (e.g. in my case, my wife) changed his/her residence at an Argentinean Embassy/Consulate to be within a foreign country, instead of within Argentina, then you can't obtain the visa in this manner. Instead, you have to bring all of the above papers to Argentina (you enter on a tourist visa), you have them translated by a public translator, and then do everything down there. He also advised getting a lawyer if you go this route. Btw, he said that anyone can go this route. So, if you don't plan ahead, then you can do it all down there. BUT, it seems to me to be a lot easier here.
7. Medical Record - I got this done, but they told me that this is no longer required... Go figure.
So, they gave me the visa, and also 2 envelopes; one for immigrations at the airport, and the other to take to immigrations 10-15 days after arrival. Apparently, this will secure my permanent residency, and a National ID card (DNI).
