"Impedimento de Salida"

[Like a Virgo]

hey...

I'm one of the many people who have an unjustified "impedimento de salida" in the Dominican Republic. The past two times that I've visited DR I've managed to board the plane--the first time they made me run around immigration and i nearly missed my flight, and the last time was there was more running only it was accompanied by my mother's anger and frustration from the utter nonsense that they had managed to put us through again.

My name might as well be Jane Smith since its so common, and I don't have a middle name to distiguish me from the person that they're really looking for. I don't completely understand why or what exactly is going on, and why there isn't a better system of tracking the people they're really looking for, but its ridiculous, unnecessary and discourages me from visiting the country altogether.

However, I'm flying to DR next Tuesday and I'm dreading my returning flight b/c issues at immigration are inevitable, unless the real culprit has cleared her own name, thus clearing mine as well. However, in case that has not happened yet, I was curious to know if there was anyway I can get these people off my case so that I can ensure that my travels are completely stress-free...?..

Any advice will help...but hopefully it'll be a little more legit than slippin' a $20 bill.

Thanks

[jskr1us]

IMHO One thing you might try is to have your passport cleared before you go. You might be able to accomplish this by going to the DR Counsel in your area explaining the problem and giving them whatever proof you have that you are not the person they seek. Perhaps they can give you a pass that will avoid the problems you have previously encountered. If you have any contacts in your congressmens office that would be willing to call the counsel on your behalf, this would also go a long way to your getting such clearance.

[Mirador]

This is obviously one for Alfredo Guzman. However, if I was you, I would walk over to the office of "Procuraduría General", and ask for an "oficio" that certifies that you are not in the "registro de impedimentos de salida". With this documents you will have no problems upon exiting the country. By the way, I read somewhere that there were over 22.000 impedimentos outstanding, most for traffic offenses, half of them unjustified or already expired (prescribed)...

...

[Like a Virgo]

Originally Posted by jskr1us

IMHO One thing you might try is to have your passport cleared before you go. You might be able to accomplish this by going to the DR Counsel in your area explaining the problem and giving them whatever proof you have that you are not the person they seek. Perhaps they can give you a pass that will avoid the problems you have previously encountered. If you have any contacts in your congressmens office that would be willing to call the counsel on your behalf, this would also go a long way to your getting such clearance.

I just called the Dominican consulate and they didn't help me at all--i just got bruto on the phone and he pretty much insulted me by assuming that i DID do something wrong and was trying to get myself out of it.

First of all, I myself don't even know what's going on, I just want my name to be cleared. Each time i ask what's going on they can't tell me b/c all that shows up on there computer screen is a name..a common name, with no ID number to specify the person...Which means that someone behind me with the same name could be dealing with the same BULL---- when they're done with me.


Im sorry but this is soo discouraging--

I am of dominican descent myself and I know my people--the good and the bad--and im ****ed off that DR is so corrupt. No, I dont want to get a lawyer b/c i did nothing wrong and all they'll do is take my money to correct an error that should have never been made in the first place. All i want is this to be fixed so that I don't have to bat my eyelashes and call the customs agent "mi amor" just to come back home--I know that wont be helping the problem in the long run b/c i'll just be perpetuating the stereotype, but c'mon... Im backed up into a wall here and i'm left with no choice but to fight fire with something equally as hot...

I'm gonna try calling a Congressmen and see if they could provide some advocacy. If that doesn't work i'll be sure to save some money for bribing.

[HOWMAR]

I'd put the onus on the US embassy in the DR. Tell them what has happened in the past and that you are going to leave the DR again, but this time with people from the US press watching what happens to a US citizen who is unjustly detained in the DR. Maybe they will see that this is resolved before an incident occurs.

[cuas]

You said you are of dominican descent, well you know you have to pay. You have to get to the root of the problem. You have to find out where do the list come from. Is it Interior Y Policia? and get a clearance and use it everytime you travel until there is a new president when laws changes. Maybe you do not need a lawyer. good luck

[cobraboy]

I have a common WASP American name. Googling it comes up with hundreds of pages. I'm majorly clean-cut in appearance.

Every time I check in at the airport, the ticket clerk takes my passport, excuses himself, disappears for 5 minutes, then comes back with a supervisor who tickles a few keys on their computer and passes me through.

I'd also like to know what they are looking for "him" for. Obviously I'm on ~some~ "watch" list.

[Hillbilly]

Young lady, I think I would follow "Mirador's" advice. Get that letter from the Procuraduría office. that will stop them cold.

HB

[Fabio J. Guzman]

Hillbilly is right. You should get a letter from the Attorney General's Office ("Procuraduría General de la República) stating that Jane Smith, Passport # _____, etc. has no "impedimento de salida".

I know how nightmarish these things can get. I have a 69-year-old brother living in Canada and a Canadian citizen who has had a similar experience with US immigration. As a neurologist doing medical research he has to travel often to the US. After 9/11 every time he entered the US he got stopped and quizzed for hours before being let go. No explanations nor apologies. After much travail, he obtained a letter from the Department of Homeland Security stating that he was not the man they were looking for. Now he's still stopped at immigration but just for a few minutes while the immigration officer reads the letter and wonders aloud how he managed to get it.