SANTO DOMINGO. -The United States Embassy in Santo Domingo is undergoing a transition process that includes the relocation of its Visa Application Center (VAC) from Galería 360 to Sambil, located on Máximo Gómez near the corner of John F. Kennedy, starting September 23, according to Consul General Greg Segas.
"One very important thing: all appointments that people have made, from now on, are still valid. They don't have to do anything. If they already have an appointment, whether for the VAC or the consulate, the same information, same time, and everything is fine. The only thing is that if your appointment at the VAC is on September 23rd or later, you must go to Sambil and not Galería 360," Segas warned at a press conference yesterday, Tuesday.
Segas indicated that the new service center will be located on the first level of the central plaza and announced that "it will have almost double the number of windows that VAC has in Galerías 360.".
"The idea is to offer a better service to visa applicants," the consul said regarding the migration center.
The US official warned that the transition process does not mean the Embassy is closing and assured that the staff continues to work: "Between the 12th and 23rd (of September) only our system is taking a break, not us," he stated.
"There is no change in the cost of the visa, no change in the process at the embassy, and no change in the advice we give to applicants that the applicant is the expert," Segas added.
The relocation of the service center is part of the change of visa service provider being carried out by the US Embassy, which will also affect the appointment scheduling and tracking system.
The transition process was announced by the diplomatic mission at the end of last month.
The VAC is the location contracted by the Embassy for biometric data collection and photographs. They can also receive documents to send to the U.S. Embassy, passports for interview waivers, and can be the passport collection point.
Reasons for change
Segas explained that the change was made because the embassy had a contract for photography, fingerprinting and passport collection services, which are the services offered at the VAC, which had an expiration date with the old provider and this time it was won by a new one after a bidding process, which was not detailed.
"The change is not mandatory, but there is always competition under U.S. law so that we can know if we are receiving the best service with the money they pay in taxes and those who pay for the visa service," the consul explained.
Dates to take into account
September 23rd is the date on which the transition process ends, but throughout these first two weeks of the month the U.S. Embassy has indicated important dates to guide visa applicants.
September 12th will be the last day to pay visa fees online using credit or debit cards until the transition process is complete.
September 13th is the deadline to schedule or reschedule appointments and access your account at ustraveldocs.com and contact customer service.
September 16 marks the temporary suspension of the deposit of documents or passports for delivery to the Embassy at all Mail Boxes locations, except for the "MBE" location on Tiradentes Avenue.
September 18th is the last day to deposit documents or passports at the Visa Service Center (VAC) located in the 360 Gallery and at the "MBE Tiradentes" premises for delivery to the Embassy.
September 20th will be the last day to collect documents or passports sent from the Embassy to the Visa Application Centre (VAC) at Galería 360.
And finally, on September 23, changes will be made to the appointment scheduling and tracking system, and the Visa (VAC) located in Galería 360 will move to another location.
Cover photo: Current building housing the United States consulate. (Credits: El Día newspaper).
Information taken from Diario Libre.
