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You’re pretty funny, Diego, but with your comments you’ve managed to catapult the women’s rights movement back into the 19th century. I’m married to a Latin, who constantly tells me that he prefers me to be in the kitchen preparing his meals rather than persuing a career. I just laugh because like all (or most!) Italian men, he’s such a mommoni, and I have yet to meet a man who was qualified to tell me what to do or to manage my life or even to support me in the style to which I became accustomed (on my own!). When I look at history, it seems that men are the ones who made a complete debacle of things, so thank you very much, but I like being in control of my life and not letting some chauvinist orchestrate it to his liking. The feminist movement got a bad rap. Not all independent and self-sufficient woman are men-haters. We just don’t want to adhere to some antiquated social standard where we don’t get equal pay for the same job, and where we are subordinate to a man. Can’t we all just play nice in the sandbox??
What kind of an account did you open? A savings account? Did you get a debit card with that account? I have my corporate account at Banex, from which I could pay all my bills, but I wanted a personal account with a debit card. Did you get that at BN?
“These Ticas tend to be very attractive and have been brought up to treat men as gods (general statement). These women don’t think of themselves as independent thinkers with aspirations for personal or career growth. They want to marry a wealthy men and secure their futures by having babies. Procreating is what they’ve been trained to do.”
I’ve known plenty of gringas who have this attitude, especially when it comes to dating very wealthy men: They get pregnant as soon as they can and then make the guy pay child support and palimony for the next 18 years. It’s kind of a built-in retirement fund! So this isn’t a practice relegated to Tico culture at all.
Bill is right. There are houses that have been on the market for 6+ months with no possibility of a sale now with winter approaching. We finally took our house off the market and are proceeding with plan B which is for me to live in CR while hubby does the 35 bank murals for Wells Fargo and just travels back and forth. We still have some people who are interested in buying it but it’s all about financing. Not even the million dollar homes are moving in my neighborhood. It’s not just slow — it’s a DEAD market right now.
That’s good news, I guess, but I can only imagine the nightmare ahead when they actually start construction. It will be like the T-Rex project in Denver.
Here’s the link — I had it stashed from when I did my Italian passport.
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/fprequest.htm
It clearly states that you must have fingerprints on the original application card, which can be obtained from the local police station in the States. I see they will accept a money order OR a cashier’s check.
My experience with the FBI report is that you must be fingerprinted first and that card with your fingerprints is then submitted to the FBI headquarters for a records check. The appropriate form is usually available at your local police station. Maybe you could get someone in the States to get you that form and then get your fingerprints done in CR after which you would mail it to the FBI with a cashier’s check for $18 (I think it was). I spoke to Javier yesterday and he explained the new rules about filing in the States FIRST before your application for residency is submitted to immigration. This isn’t a new ruling apparently but one which is now being enforced, so if your previous lawyer hasn’t filed your application it will need to be done in the States and you may have to have your fingerprints done there as well, if you can’t get a copy of the appropriate fingerprint form. And whatever you do, don’t send the FBI some other form of payment besides a cashier’s check because they will reject your form outright.
There is a single woman on another board who drove by herself to Costa Rica from California. She had a big dog. if I remember correctly, some border crossings didn’t even care about the dog, and barely checked the paperwork. Mexicans typically don’t like big dogs, so if you are traveling with a Rottweiler or a Doberman, it’s probably to your advantage. I think your bigger headache is going to be coming back and crossing the border into the US after the dog has been in all those other countries. Make sure you check with Customs to see what will be required to bring your dog back.
You’re right, David. You also have to pass rigorous tests and speak fluent Spanish, but yes, after seven years you can apply for citizenship.
My FBI report took 5 – 7 weeks to get back. Also, they don’t take personal checks or money orders — ONLY cashier’s checks. First you must be fingerprinted by your local police department and that form with your fingerprints is then submitted to the FBI. They will return that form with a stamp on the back that says “No criminal record” — unless you have a criminal record and then I don’t know what they put.
Remember, Javier’s fee includes EVERYTHING, and yes, your documents have to be authenticated by a CR consulate IN THE STATES! This cannot be done in Costa Rica, and what that means is they have a huge book in which all the notaries are listed , etc. and they must authenticate all the documents that you had notarized and apostilled to make sure that the person who did that part of the process is actually legally able to do that. The Consulate charges $40+ for each stamp that they affix to any document. And then the consulate insists that everything be sent FedEx so when you start adding up those costs, it becomes a big part of what he’s charging, but hey, do what you gotta do. I don’t know if that also includes the bond you have to post to immigration after you’re approved — that’s nearly $400 per person. Good luck.
You’re very welcome. Before I discovered Javier I had already queried no less than 8 different lawyers in Costa Rica, and it really seemed daunting trying to work with someone in Costa Rica while I was still in the States. In fact, I was about ready to give up on the whole process but Javier made it so easy.
My pleasure. Moving to a foreign country is daunting enough, and because residency is so important, it’s that much easier to have someone like Javier help you. And his sister is a hoot! Very funny, VERY professional, and efficient — you won’t be sorry.
Butch — you won’t be sorry you used them. Besides myself, 6 other people I know got their residency through Javier and his sister and everyone of those people said that without them they wouldn’t have known what to do. Javier’s e-mail address is jzava@pacbell.net
Please tell him that Trisha referred you. I don’t get kickbacks or anything but I like him to know where the referral originated. His sister is married to a judge and their mother was once a consulate so they know the system, they know how it works, and they can maneuver you through it without any trouble at all.
If you have your application stamped with the immigration office official stamp, you can stay and don’t have to trot across some border. I used Residency In Costa Rica (bill gave you the link) — Javier’s sister does all the footwork in CR and she is EFFICIENT like nothing you’ve ever seen. If you haven’t already paid that lawyer, I’d suggest contacting Javier Zavaleta and letting him and his sister do the work, which will actually get your your residency.
