Venezuelans' input requested

[twocastles 26]

Hi.  My mother-in-law is a green card holder.  Her passport is from Venezuela and expires in September.  There is an extension you can apply for online for 5 years, however, the crooked Maduro government has allowed her passport number to be stolen by a Colombian woman.  My mother-in-law is 90 years old, and they probably assumed she passed away.  Anyhow, can't renew online because her passport ID# was stolen/hijacked.  None of the Venezuelan embassies' phone numbers actually work.   Does anyone on here from Venezuela have any suggestions?  Any contact info for the Venezuelan embassy to get this straightened out?   I realize nothing is simple with Venezuelan embassies in the best of circumstances, and this will likely be a long drawn out battle, but if anyone has any info whatsoever that will help, it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

[TBoneTX 45,319]

Country-specific thread is moved from Off Topic to the Mexico/Latin/South America regional forum.

[TBoneTX 45,319]

I think that Bogota has been handling most Venezolano visa issues, so you might contact that consulate.  I'll see if I can rustle up some better advice for you.

[milimelo 4,481]

Where is your mother-in-law? Are you trying to get her back to the US? 

[twocastles 26]

8 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I think that Bogota has been handling most Venezolano visa issues, so you might contact that consulate.  I'll see if I can rustle up some better advice for you.

That's good to know TBone.  Maybe we can get a phone number that actually gets answered there.  Thank you.

 

8 hours ago, milimelo said:

Where is your mother-in-law? Are you trying to get her back to the US? 

Hi milimelo, my mother-in-law is here in the US living with us.  My wife juts wants her to have her passport valid, and current via the extension being offered.  They ("We", by extension) still have a condo in Valencia with items there.  A friend that lives upstairs monitors it to make sure nobody has broken in.   Her mother has now been officially living with us as a green card holder since April (?) 2018. 

 

Anyhow, having a difficult time reaching anyone with Venezuelan authority to both straighten out the ID theft and get the extension.  I must admit, I am a bit ignorant when it comes to these procedures...because Venezuela's version of "customer service" is drastically different to anything I've ever encountered before...it's like the joy of going to the DMV times a thousand.   I told my wife, "Well, if the criminal activated the ID extension, shouldn't the passport be valid then...by the passport number?    She wasn't convinced.   I doubt my mother-in-law will ever use it again anyhow, but...that's not something my wife will ever let stand.  So, whatever it takes.  Happy wife...happy life.

[milimelo 4,481]

Ok, did you go the route of Venezuela embassy in DC? Not sure if police report of the circumstances filed in your town and sent to them would make a difference but you'd have a report to show if anything arises. 

[twocastles 26]

9 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

I think that Bogota has been handling most Venezolano visa issues, so you might contact that consulate.  I'll see if I can rustle up some better advice for you.

That's good to know TBone.  Maybe we can get a phone number that actually gets answered there.  Thank you.

 

8 hours ago, milimelo said:

Where is your mother-in-law? Are you trying to get her back to the US? 

Hi milimelo, my mother-in-law is here in the US living with us.  My wife just wants her to have her passport valid, and current via the extension being offered.  They ("We", by extension) still have a condo in Valencia with items there.  A friend that lives upstairs monitors it to make sure nobody has broken in.   Her mother has now been officially living with us as a green card holder since April (?) 2018. 

 

Anyhow, having a difficult time reaching anyone with Venezuelan authority to both straighten out the ID theft and get the extension.  I must admit, I am a bit ignorant when it comes to these procedures...because Venezuela's version of "customer service" is drastically different to anything I've ever encountered before...it's like the joy of going to the DMV times a thousand.   I told my wife, "Well, if the criminal activated the ID extension, shouldn't the passport be valid then...by the passport number?    She wasn't convinced.   I doubt my mother-in-law will ever use it again anyhow, but...that's not something my wife will ever let stand.  So, whatever it takes.  Happy wife...happy life.

 

UPDATE:  My wife just informed me...it's not the passport # that got hijacked as I understood it.  It is her actual Venezuelan National ID, which for the Americans here, is like the equivalent to US Social Security #.   

 

It's messed up, because when my wife checks her own ID number, it is still attached to her name, except the contact phone number is a 201 area code here in the States (our area code is 716)   This 201 area code also is attached to the thief's name that stole her mother's ID#.   Looks like they're trying to sell a block of ID #s.  Probably the Castro Cubans that Maduro imports into the country and gives government jobs to.  She, my wife, is going to check on her brother and his family next while trying to get this sorted.

 

Edited July 8, 2020 by twocastles

[twocastles 26]

21 minutes ago, milimelo said:

Ok, did you go the route of Venezuela embassy in DC? Not sure if police report of the circumstances filed in your town and sent to them would make a difference but you'd have a report to show if anything arises. 

Well, we haven't traveled there.  Trying to get through with no luck via telephone and email.

[milimelo 4,481]

2 hours ago, twocastles said:

Well, we haven't traveled there.  Trying to get through with no luck via telephone and email.

No, I mean police report from the police department of the place you live in - in the US. 

[twocastles 26]

On 7/8/2020 at 11:04 AM, milimelo said:

No, I mean police report from the police department of the place you live in - in the US. 

No we haven't gone that route yet.  The phone number listed is in NJ, but comes up as a scam number.  My wife figured something out on the registration website apparently, where she somehow was able to overwrite the information / record and properly assign it to her mother.   So, just need to print out  the docs and we should be fine.   Thank you for your responses!   

[NickD 203]

What can you do with a corrupt government, still have a son stuck down there with two grandsons, extremely dangerous for me to go down with a US passport and now a visa is required.  Wife was able do visit about five years ago, but flew to Bogota first, than to Caracas, but she has a Colombian passport.

 

Now its no longer safe almost as bad as traveling to Germany in 1942 with a Jewish last name.

 

We were able to give her son a US credit card so her son can buy food for our two young grandsons,  US credit cards are like gold down there.  And we just prayer that crooked socialistic government will come to end.

 

Can get 15 million bucks if you capture Maduro and turn him in.  But with no 2nd amendments rights in Venezuela only will have a water gun against AK-47's.