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Frustration w/ Col. consulates in the US

When I lived in Argentina I had such a nice impresion of the people in the colombian consulate but i dont feel the same way now that I am here in the US.

I live in OR so I am suposed to deal with the San Francisco one, but I never go to SF, I never have any reason to go there, so I called and asked if I could register to vote and register my marriage in DC because my husband and I usually go there due to his job.

Well they say I should call the DC consulate and ask if they will allow me to register to vote there... And that I must register my marriage at the Chicago consulate because I got married in OH.

Ah?????

1. Well if I dont have any reason to go to SF then I have less reasons to go to Chicago... my husband or I never have any kind of commitment there... and its silly to expect us to fly and spend a lot of money so we can register to vote or register our marriage.

So I tried contacting the DC consulate (where no one ever picks up the phone) and of course I couldnt communicate. I was seeing in their website and it seems like they expect you to do everything in person... nothing seems to can be done by mail... So if you want to vote you have to travel to your consulate to register and then travel again to vote for governor, and then travel again to vote for president and then travel again to vote the 2nd round.

Am I crazy or someone else thinks thats ridiculous? Or am I finding the wrong information?

Ahhh so frustrated... well it seems I am not voting or registering my marriage this year.

By silviat on Nov 10, 2005, 17:14 in Friendly Talkzone.

utopiacowboy says on Nov 10, 2005, 17:21:

Most consulates work the same way. They divide the country into areas that they "serve" and you have to deal with that particular consulate. I had to get my Quebec birth certificate authenticated by a Colombian consul so I took it to Houston and they said no, it had to be done by a Colombian consul in Canada. So I sent it to my brother in Toronto and asked him to get it done at the Colombian consulate there. No, they couldn't. Since the birth certificate came from Quebec, only the Colombian consul in Montreal could authenticate it. They are pretty rigid about this stuff.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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silviat says on Nov 10, 2005, 17:25:

Wow that sucks I didnt know that since the only consulate I ever have to deal with is the colombian one.

It makes me so angry... it makes no sense.

Well my mother has to deal with the spanish consulate in bogota and they seem to be a lot more flexible, they allow her to send her passport through mail and then they send it back...

en fin... it seems my best bet is to get used to it...

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Mr. Hollywood says on Nov 10, 2005, 19:56:

Consulate vs. Embassy I'm not sure about the Colombian ones, but there's generally a different level of service at consulates and embassies. For example, you might be able to do a lot more at the actual embassy in Washington than a consulate in San Francisco.

Of course, the Colombian foreign service is chronically underfunded, so I imagine the level of buck-passing is quite high.

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harocha says on Nov 11, 2005, 09:23:

Hello Silviat About the vote, I think you have to come to San Francisco unfortunatly, they are willing to listen, but many times you need to be here in order to get what you want to, I know it sucks, but is just like that. I tell you what, if you come, you can stay with me at my house, you will enjoy it. =)

Now about your marriage, why do you want to register it? I don't understand, it is a "MUST" in order to vote? I don't think so. In any case, you can ask the Colombian consulate to put a stamp on your passport, that says that you are married to Mr. XX and your official name now is Ms. XX based on marriage certificate number XXXX I know they do that for sure and that will help you to get around airports and with any other requirement of name changed.
Take care

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