Today, I finished the last step to my visa process! After two months, I am officially finished with running around the city signing papers, getting fingerprinted, and waiting in lines.
In order to stay and teach here in Bolivia for ten months, I had to first apply for a work visa before I even left the United States. This allowed me to enter the country. Then once I arrived, I had to meet with an immigration lawyer, who helped me with the long term visa process. We started this process back in August and have just finished, two months later.
The people working at the various government buildings are not the most efficient workers. They also only take a certain number of people each day, so if you are not within the daily quota, then you have to return and try again the next day. In spite of all of the hassles and negative things that I heard about the visa process, my experience was quite unusual. The process normally takes much longer than two months to complete. I have heard it taking up to four months in one case. Places that usually take hours of waiting in line, I just stepped right up to the counter. Even our timing of arriving at some of the offices put us ahead of big groups of people coming through too.
The only way I can describe my visa experience is that God was looking out for me.
I now have a two year work visa and my carnet (Bolivian ID card)! My visa allows me to stay for the remainder of the school year and my lawyer went after a second year just in case something comes up. The perks of having a carnet now is that I am eligible to get the native Bolivian discounts at various places!
To top this special day off, I took a taxi all by myself! Making progress in settling in to my life in Bolivia!
In order to stay and teach here in Bolivia for ten months, I had to first apply for a work visa before I even left the United States. This allowed me to enter the country. Then once I arrived, I had to meet with an immigration lawyer, who helped me with the long term visa process. We started this process back in August and have just finished, two months later.
The people working at the various government buildings are not the most efficient workers. They also only take a certain number of people each day, so if you are not within the daily quota, then you have to return and try again the next day. In spite of all of the hassles and negative things that I heard about the visa process, my experience was quite unusual. The process normally takes much longer than two months to complete. I have heard it taking up to four months in one case. Places that usually take hours of waiting in line, I just stepped right up to the counter. Even our timing of arriving at some of the offices put us ahead of big groups of people coming through too.
The only way I can describe my visa experience is that God was looking out for me.
I now have a two year work visa and my carnet (Bolivian ID card)! My visa allows me to stay for the remainder of the school year and my lawyer went after a second year just in case something comes up. The perks of having a carnet now is that I am eligible to get the native Bolivian discounts at various places!
To top this special day off, I took a taxi all by myself! Making progress in settling in to my life in Bolivia!