Dominicans in NY expressed alarm after leaders of the People’s Force denounced a supposed scheme of excessive charges and parallel billing at the Dominican Consulate in New York, a key site for thousands of daily transactions of the diaspora.
The complaint, attributed to the general secretary of FP-NY, Odell Suero, raises doubts about additional payments that, according to the distributed proposal, would be applied outside the official tariff. Among the allegations are computerized invoices of $100 for consular powers and a manual invoice of $60, plus increases in services related to citizenship, route letters, and travel permits.
Dominicans in NY demand transparency in charges
The concern does not stop at the amount of the transactions. According to the complaint, at the headquarters, users would be encouraged to request 10-year passports, of higher cost, and the so-called ID consular would be added as part of an automatic package, with an additional charge of $25.
That allegation has generated concern among Dominicans in NY of Upper Manhattan and The Bronx, areas where a good part of the Dominican community in the city is concentrated. The complaint is direct: if there is a standardized tariff approved by the MIREX, any different charge must be explained and supervised.
Charges questioned at the consular headquarters
- $100 for consular powers, plus $60 in additional manual invoice.
- $10 extra in double citizenship requests.
- $20 more for route letters.
- Up to $60 for VIP services in travel permits for minors.
- $1 per photocopy.
- $30 for shipping in passport applications outside the central headquarters.
According to the complaint, a 6-year passport renewal would rise from $125 to $150 for added charges. It is also questioned that the applicant must pay shipping even when they could pick up the document themselves.
Dominicans in NY claim government intervention
Suero recalled that the MIREX approved the standardization of consular tariffs to ensure uniformity and transparency in all Dominican sites abroad. From that framework, the central question is whether the reported charges respond to an irregular practice or administrative control failures.
“Why are there manual charges outside the official system? Who supervises these procedures? Where does that money end up?”, questioned the political leader.
In the face of public pressure, the signers of the document asked President Luis Abinader to, if the facts are confirmed, order a deep investigation and intervene the headquarters. The request aims to protect users and prevent Dominicans in NY from paying more than established for basic consular services.
A claim that can escalate
The case touches a sensitive topic for the diaspora: the real cost of doing transactions from abroad. In a community where the consulate is the door for documents, passports, and powers, any doubt about parallel charges immediately impacts institutional trust. That’s why Dominicans in NY maintain the pressure for a clear and verifiable official response. If the handling of tariffs is not clarified, the discontent with Dominicans in NY will continue to grow.
