Usually I Put on My Strong Persona for the Steemit Community, But Today I am a Defeated Man.
After spending the night in the city, at a hotel, in order to be up bright and early to be at immigration we ended up with nothing to show for it once again. We spent seven hours sitting in a freezing cold building with thousands of other people trying to complete their immigration process here in Panama.
Granted my process is not out of need like many of the Venezuelans who are trying to escape poverty and starvation in their home country but it is still frustrating nonetheless. If it was not for @AnaHilarski pushing me to complete my path to citizenship I would have given up on this process a few years back.
Every time I set foot in a Panama government office I feel my soul being consumed by the, "Death Eaters" from Harry Potter. It seems wherever you go in the world the level of gov employee incompetence is low but in Panama it is unparalleled.
Return Tomorrow Morning Gringo.
So with my veins popping out of my head Ana and I got in the truck and headed home defeated once again. All I really want to do is put this nightmare behind me. Hopefully tomorrow is the last time I need to deal with these people until it is time to get my full citizenship.
Being an Expat is Definitely Not for the Faint of Heart.
If you are thinking about living in paradise like we do, I recommend you live here for a while before making the leap and spending money on attorneys. This country and most of the countries in Latin America will humble most men and break others. Hopefully I have better news tomorrow.
Oh goodness, I know how this is Randy! Being a world traveler for the past 6 years we have seen all types of wacky, zany and sometimes outright frustrating visa processes. I know how this feels so darn well. We had some interesting ones in Bali, including needing to return to immigrasi 3 days in a row. 1 day for paperwork. 2nd day to pay. 3rd day to get visa stamp. Not kidding. 3 trips. 3 days. 3rd world LOL. Good luck tomorrow!
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Yes, this is actually how it is. If people knew what we all go through I think some would rethink the process. BTW congratulations on joining us on Steemit!!
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Thanks a bunch! Happy to be here :)
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You are generally so upbeat, so we know this has gotten you down! You are such a determined person. If anyone can navigate and get through the process, you can! I hope tomorrow is the day it all works out.
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Wow, best of luck tomorrow.
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Damn son! Chin up Randy, you know how these fools operate, they're only goal is to break people down 😠
I hope the appointment tomorrow works out and you are smooth sailing afterwards man ⛵
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Oh god - my body tightened up on the word immigration. Just a mess.
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Well that's government for you sure you cant bribe some one, there must be Steemians working there :) Hope all ends well Good luck
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If not there will be soon. ; )
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I spent 10 years sitting in the immigration department in Dominican Republic. I know that office as well as almost anywhere after having spent so much time there! Luckily I had the best lawyer on the island who usually fast tracked me to the front of the line or it would have been a nightmare like with you. Have you searched for a good lawyer in Panama who accepts Steem? It might help. ;)
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I thought today was the final day in the process Jeff. Then somehow my file was sent to archives. They have to retrieve it for me to come back tomorrow. Incompetence is why we thrive here. ; )
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Keep your head up. No great adventure is great with out a battle.
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Sorry about that Randy, my Steemit post today was also about the Immigration Office.
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Saw that Brad and I upvoted it. We were not as well off financially when we started this four years ago or we would have definitely hired an attorney that was efficient like yours.
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Thanks @hilarski. Looking forward to hearing about your success tomorrow.
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Hey man keep your head up , i myself have been an expat in the U.A.E all my life i was born and raised here.. just graduated college , and in order to stay here i was asked to put my Visa under a company , so i did that and i ended up getting rejected so now i have no clue what the f to do... Can't go back to war torn syria in fear of being targeted by the goverment to be drafted for army and can't stay here seems to me like the whole worlds shut its doors on me.Well now , anyways haha enough with the depressing stuff point is theres always someone having it worse than you are, and nothing to do but be grateful and happy for being here.
On a positive note check me latest post out and tell me what you think !! :)
https://steemit.com/foodforthought/@dwehji/is-it-though
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Keep your head up and think positive! It WILL get better :)
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wow, I'd love to hear more about your story. I've been considering trying something like this but am a little afraid as I will be doing it by myself. :) Good luck to you and I hope it gets resolved quickly
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Sending Luck over your way so you have a much better day tomorrow! Looking forward to the great news thats coming ahead and you have your full citizenship sooner than you think!
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Thank you Brandon, tomorrow will be my third attempt at the final step. Fingers crossed!
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I'm sorry to hear that
cheer up!
I hope there's good news for you tomorrow
if not - Japan or Arnhem is an option ;)
where BTC can really be burned
Good luck!
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I just spent the week doing the same thing. Got my residence card yesterday and did the prove your marriage is valid test today. The interviewer didn't want to go slow, so I had to bring in a interpreter. 20 minutes and $50 later done deal.
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What were the questions like for that test? I'm going to have to do the same pretty soon.
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pretty random, it's the second time I've done it, First time was 8 years ago, without an interpreter and far less Spanish.
My wife got the name of my Daughter wrong ( she has never met her )
but family questions, what we planted for food in the yard, color of bedroom walls and what is on them. how many fans do we have, and where are they, work related stuff. I didn't actually read it after he printed it and we had to sign. I'm sure they just make it up as they go, no real set form. that way if something sounds suspicious they can lead you down that path. after all it is meant to trip you up.
But we have been married 10 years now so we know each other pretty well LOL
Funny, when we were waitig to go in, my wife says what color is my toothbush? honey I don't even know the color of my tooth brush hehe
make more than 5 mistakes, you need to start the process all over.
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OK. Thanks for the insight Cody. I guess I should start memorizing the colors of things around the house lol.
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Where do you sleep on the bed?
What is your wifes favorite food?
Where did you meet?
Those kinds of questions.
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Way to go, my interviews both went well. The only words that tripped me up were the ones for Brother-in-Law. I completed both interviews and now am just trying to get my permanent carnet tomorrow and cedula in a month.
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Randy, reading about your life in Panama has been interesting for me. Friending you on Facebook is what introduced me to cryptocurrencies, and for that I thank you! Here I am on steemit because of you! You were right! I was wrong!
Glad to be on Steemit now, trying to build something of my own.
Keep plugging along on the citizenship! You'll get there!
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I should have my permanent carnet tomorrow and cedula a month from now.
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I believe @dollarvigilante said it took him 10 years to get citizenship is Dominican Republic.
You will persevere.
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They seem to have a problem in many things actually. Very unfortunate. I know how you feel.
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Just read that you where also a Marine. Semper Fi Brother. I was out in 2000 served 4 years straight out of high school, 0311 groundlounder YUT YUT YUT!!!!!
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Navy Corpsman which is as close to being a Marine you can be without going to their bootcamp.
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Much Respect Doc, thank you for your service👊🏼
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Ah, sorry Randy. That's definitely a sucky way to spend a day.
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Good luck and without failure you won't appreciate the success! (sorry, I FEEL your pain!)
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Great post, really appreciated your blogs thanks upvoted :)
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I wish you tons of luck, you will certainly need it. Those "officials" are a pain in the ass in "1st world countries" I can only imagine what you have to face. Good luck!
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It blows my mind on a daily basis. Hundreds of people working, shuffling paper but very little getting done.
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Hang in there, man. We're rooting for you.
I'd say "Semper Fi" and all that stuff, but I'm not a Marine, so can't co-opt your lingo.
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For sure, in most foreign countries if you are a "white man" you are the epitome of everything that is wrong in this world. You are the reason why they are poor, you are the reason why they are sick, you are the reason why their life's sucks so badly. It sad but true. On the surface many of them may seem polite, but deep down you can tell that they hate you.
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Wish you all the best wishes for tomorrow...
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"This too shall pass," something I learned to keep in mind whenever I'm starring in a B-movie nightmare.
It's the same everywhere, and the worst of it is, it's not really the fault of the person in front of you, they are just B-grade actors.
Have patience with everyone -- it's the SYSTEM that's out of whack not the poor devils strutting and fretting their hour upon the stage.
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Oh man, your story sounds a bit too familiar. My family and I got stuck there in 1987 when I was a 9 year old kid. We came from Cuba and we where supposed to make a stop in Panama for a few days then go to Boston with our family that sent for us. We ended up getting stuck there for a year and even went theough the Noriega issue in an American Airforce Base where our family members that where in the service lived. After all of that I am grateful that I got to live there for a year and saw such an incredible country, amazing memories from there as a kid fishing in cayucas in the canal. Up to this day I think of buying property there or Costa Rica. I actually owned some in Costa Rica and lost it with the collapse of 2008 here in the US.
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Very cool story, you should write it in chunks here on Steemit. I really miss going fishing on the canal. We need to take some time for that kind of recreation.
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I will do that for sure, I remember back then my cousin that was in the airforce would pay $20 at this place they called La Boca and the fishermen would take us out fishing for the day in a Cayuca. We used to come back with that boat full to the rim with Corvina, Salema, Snook, Triggerfish, all kinds of great fish. Beautiful country and probably some of the best fishing in the world back then.
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Yup, that sounds about right. We used to go fishing for Peacock Bass.
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There is an invasion of those here in Florida now. They are an awesome fight and beautiful looking.
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I wish you tons and tons of luck, you will need it. Good luck!
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Good luck Government incompetence seems a pandemic by design to frustrate, hopefully you will get there in the end. Patience is a virtue but hard to practice lol. Tomorrow is another day. @kevinace
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Damn that sucks to hear
I wish you the best of luck buddy
Don't let it drag you down
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Trying Jake, but it sure is hard.
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Yep, that's expat life here in Latin America... the good news is those beaurocrats are too incompetant and corrupt to harass you unless you actively seek them out for some reason.
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AMEN!
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I am not sure if I should write this message or not, but I decided to do it.
If you get a new citizenship, its like getting one more "owner" of you... The whole idea of being an expat is to avoid the owner (the country that owns you). So getting a new citizenship is a bad idea in my view.
I think you can talk with your friend Jeff Berwick about it, there are even several videos where he talk about this.
For years in the past I was thinking about getting one or two more citizenship, but that was before I understood fully that a country is just a slave farm.
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Never ever give up my friend.All defeats teach us something in our life and it gives more power to getup next time.If today is bad tomorrow is not the same.Keep fighting and I wish you good luck for the future.
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I've been an expat for the last 10 years living in various countries, many of them South American and Eastern European. I hear you man. Good luck!
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The immigration office here in Penonome is relatively empty. I rarely have to wait long before seeing somebody. I have no idea if this office can process the papers for citizenship though.
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I get what you are saying about the Latin countries testing a man's soul.
I had this in the Dominican Republic. I was single and drilling oil out of Trinidad/Venezuela. I decided to have a little paradise year to myself.
So I rented in the DR and thought "I'll need a visa or something, right?"
I made one visit to an office that your story describes, and gave up. I ended up talking to an attorney who nicely said, "My friend. Simply overstay your tourist visa, and pay the exit tax."
"What's the exit tax?" I ask
"About $25 US per month overstayed." he replies
So, when I left I paid about $125 and came back to Texas. Best attorney's visit I've ever had.
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Never give up
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I have a great lawyer if you want some assistance. Made my residency process butter smooth and will be helping me when I go for my citizenship.
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We are done, just waiting for my final carnet. Fingers crossed!
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Hope everything works out for you. :)
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Congratulations @hilarski
You took 79 place in my Top 100 of posts
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Ugh. Dealing with government is the worst. They're especially troublesome when it has to do with citizenship... If I think Canadian government is terrible, I can't even imagine what Panama's "unparalleled incompetence" is like!
Good luck tomorrow!
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Dude you're going full Panamanian!? Never go full Panamanian. Lol.
J/k. I've been thinking about that a little. Maybe I should take the next step beyond permanent residency. I'm sure the process is insane though.
How does it impact your other citizenship?
I have so many questions!
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n all the countries of the world this organism is that it mistreats to the citizens, my whole life works attending to the people, I always did everything possible to satisfy beyond the directives of the company where I worked, hearing this I grab a indignation.
I'm sorry dear friend @ hilarski what you are going through, do not be discouraged and things will be resolved.
Have a great day
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Keep going my man. Push through. Anything of any value-is worth sacrifice.
See the fascination in frustration
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Hey Man, everyone has one of those days. Just like with many crypto coins, when there is a bad day, a really good day is in the future.
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Sorry, you are dealing with this. I moved from Texas to NJ right after 9/11 and they had to have more info after every visit and they weren't very diplomatic in asking for it either. Later the DMV was privatized and things are much better now. Good luck.
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That was really an interesting insight. Thanks for sharing.
100% upvote and resteem :-)
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Wow. Sorry you are going through on this. Let's see what happen tomorrow.
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Good luck @hilarski
Tomorrow will be a better day. Keep us posted!
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Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day.
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wow amazing...! i like your content keep posting stuff like this, i followed and upvoted
your post and please also upvote and follow me @wicky or click on image. i need more followers
can u please help me to get more followers i am new here? thanks
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