Need an attorney (Abagado) in Paraguay to handle citizenship process.

Hi Corinne,

Here is the attorney who helped me get my residency and cedula:
[moderated]

Hello corinne75229!

A new thread has been created on the Paraguay forum for better visibility.

I hope that you will soon get replies.

Harmonie.

I wholeheartedly recommend Jeronimo Finestra. He goes above and beyond to help. jmfinestra @ gmail.com (remove spaces).

We have used an attorney who posts here under the name Assantander  Would highly recommend him.

TomVacaville wrote:

Hi Corinne,

Here is the attorney who helped me get my residency and cedula:

Alice Neufeld & Asociados                   

Prof. Cesar Samaniego 1345,
Barrio - Santo Domingo,
Asunción-Paraguay

Postfach:
Casilla de Correo 1045, Asuncion-Paraguay
Email: [email protected]
Homepage:
alice-neufeld.com
farmland-online.com

I'd seriously think twice before using Alice Neufeld.  I visited her office in March 2011 and went through the residency application process. Here it is SEPTEMBER and I STILL HAVE NOT received a cedula or residency card.  Meanwhile, two of my associated who applied for residency after me, have already received their Paraguayan credentials.  Furthermore, she has been completely UNRESPONSIVE to ANY of my several emails and voicemail messages. 

When I was first contacting her about using her services for residency in Paraguay, she was ultra responsive.  Now that SHE HAS MY MONEY and I have NOTHING, I can't reach her to save my life!!!

She will talk your ear off and share outlandish stories.  Yet, in terms of delivering the result for which she was hired, SHE FAILS MISERABLY!!! 

Is she a crook?  Hard for me to say at this point.  However, I can share MY EXPERIENCE with ALICE NEUFELD which has resulted in zilch.  So, use your best judgment. 

Because my Spanish language skills are severely limited at the moment, getting any info from anyone else when I phone her office has proved fruitless.  I've tried phoning her office at various times of the day and night.

It would appear as though Ms. Neufeld has gone MIA with MY MONEY!!

If anyone has a direct line to Ms. Neufeld and is willing to assist me in getting my cedula/residency card, I would be eternally grateful and will recant this factual rant.

Otherwise, I will say, based on my experience using Alice Neufeld for residency, I would choose someone else!

You don't need a lawyer / attorney to process your paperwork !

i would definitly recommend JERONIMO FINESTRA as ive used his services and must honestly say that he exceeded all my expectations.
theres lots of running around to be done,there was several screw ups on the part of government officials wich needed a second trip to correct a certain document or to clarify a certain matter.
all in all,if i had to look at the work involved in my case,i would say that whatever fee i paid for JERONIMO FINESTRA was well worth every penny.

I definitely agree with the post below. I'm in Py right now and after applying for residency last July with the help of Jeronimo Finestra, on this trip he facilitated getting my residency card AND my cedula in record time.

In response to the person on this thread who said "you don't need an attorney":  Well, maybe not, IF your Spanish is VERY fluent, IF you can find out what is required (a challenge in itself), and IF you know the city AND have a car, and If you either live in Asuncion or have LOTS of time here to do all the running around on your own, getting the myriad copies of documents, legalization of those documents, etc. Offices that have to be visited are strung out all over the city, some of which could not possibly be accessed by bus...with a long taxi ride, maybe.

I enthusiastically concur - Jeronimo Finestra is worth every penny he charges!

Dottie

elgringo22 wrote:

i would definitly recommend JERONIMO FINESTRA as ive used his services and must honestly say that he exceeded all my expectations.
theres lots of running around to be done,there was several screw ups on the part of government officials wich needed a second trip to correct a certain document or to clarify a certain matter.
all in all,if i had to look at the work involved in my case,i would say that whatever fee i paid for JERONIMO FINESTRA was well worth every penny.

muffiemae wrote:

I definitely agree with the post below. I'm in Py right now and after applying for residency last July with the help of Jeronimo Finestra, on this trip he facilitated getting my residency card AND my cedula in record time.

In response to the person on this thread who said "you don't need an attorney":  Well, maybe not, IF your Spanish is VERY fluent, IF you can find out what is required (a challenge in itself), and IF you know the city AND have a car, and If you either live in Asuncion or have LOTS of time here to do all the running around on your own, getting the myriad copies of documents, legalization of those documents, etc. Offices that have to be visited are strung out all over the city, some of which could not possibly be accessed by bus...with a long taxi ride, maybe.

I enthusiastically concur - Jeronimo Finestra is worth every penny he charges!

Dottie

elgringo22 wrote:

i would definitly recommend JERONIMO FINESTRA as ive used his services and must honestly say that he exceeded all my expectations.
theres lots of running around to be done,there was several screw ups on the part of government officials wich needed a second trip to correct a certain document or to clarify a certain matter.
all in all,if i had to look at the work involved in my case,i would say that whatever fee i paid for JERONIMO FINESTRA was well worth every penny.

I second all of this! He also charged me less then I got quoted from some of the other lawyers I contacted for the same services.

I hired the attorney Jerónimo Finestra, [email protected], based on the recommendations in this forum and on his resume at Linkedin,

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jer%C3%B3ni … 21/6a2/977

After eight business days in Asuncion, we have finished the residency application. Jerónimo's assistant, Edwin, who is also an attorney, turned in a thick stack of official, legalized papers to the Paraguayan immigration department yesterday morning, and I am now at my hotel waiting for my taxi and flight back to the US via Montevideo.

Jerónimo and Edwin have my highest recommendation. I found them both to be scrupulously honest and highly competent; they are real gentlemen as well. Either of them alone could complete the residency application; working together, everything went smoothly with no surprises and no unexpected expenses. Both attorneys accompanied me to the bank for making the 'proof of financial responsibility' deposit. The money is safe and accessible. I paid Jerónimo $425, half of his fee, at the end of a week of processing, and I will pay him the other half in about three months when I expect to receive the Cedula on my second trip to Asuncion. Total expenses for official offices and the doctor were $500, which I paid out of my pocket as they arose.

Altogether during the several business days of processing, I had one full business day off while my attorneys worked on papers, and six half-days of visiting official offices, the doctor's office, getting photographed, showing my passport - a lot of running around town.  You can expect to spend 5 or 6 days like this, each of them consuming anywhere from 2 to 5 hours of business at various offices.  The attorney Edwin is an expert driver in Asuncion, and he safely took me to each of the many official offices we needed to visit.

I had a good time in Asuncion with no worries. I'm glad I hired these two energetic and reasonably priced attorneys. I will write here again in about three months when I expect to obtain the Cedula. Meanwhile you can message me privately if you have any questions. I could say more good things about my experience in Asuncion, but I have a plane to catch. Adios.

SanMarcos wrote:

I hired the attorney Jerónimo Finestra, [email protected], based on the recommendations in this forum and on his resume at Linkedin, 36ohk6dgmcd1n-c.c.yom.mail.yahoo.net/om/api/1.0/openmail.app.invoke/36ohk6dgmcd1n/9/1.0.35/us/en-US/view.html/0#.

After eight business days in Asuncion, we have finished the   the residency application. Jerónimo's assistant Edwin, who is also an attorney, turned in a thick stack of official and legalized papers to the Paraguayan immigration department yesterday morning, and I am now at my hotel waiting for my taxi and flight back to the US via Montevideo.

Jerónimo and Edwin have my highest recommendation. I found them both to be unscrupulously honest and highly competent; they are real gentlemen as well. Either of them alone could complete the entire residency application; working together, everything went smoothly with no serious surprises and no unexpected expenses or fees. Both attorneys accompanied me to the bank for making the 'proof of financial responsibility' deposit. The money is safe and accessible. I paid Jerónimo $425, half of his fee, at the end of a week of processing, and I will pay him the other half in about three months when I expect to receive the Cedula on my second trip to Asuncion. Total expenses in fees for officials and the doctor were $500, which I paid out of my pocket as they occurred during the processing.

Altogether during the several business days of processing, I had one full business day off while my attorneys worked on papers, and six half days of visiting official offices, the doctor's office, getting photographed, showing my passport - a lot of running around town.  You can expect to spend 5 or 6 days like this, each of them consuming anywhere from 2 to 5 hours of business at various offices.  The attorney Edwin is an expert driver in Asuncion, and he safely took me to each of the many official offices we needed to visit.

I had a good time in Asuncion with no worries. I'm glad I hired these two very energetic and reasonably priced attorneys. I will write here again in about three months when I expect to obtain the Cedula. Meanwhile you can message me privately if you have any questions. I could say more good things about my experience in Asuncion, but I have a plane to catch. Adios.

If somebody work base on honesty ,then s/He would be successful for sure .
the best advertisements in any business is when people themselves find that service is good and reliable . I will also follow the same suggestions here .

I see in review that I have a faulty link in my previous post. Here is the correct link to Jeronimo Finestra's resume.

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/jer%C3%B3ni … 21/6a2/977

I found the link by searching his name on the Internet after reading positive reviews of his legal service on this forum. My apologies to all for this error - I really should not post messages while rushing to airports.

I will add to my previous comments two things. First, I do not speak Spanish; however both Jeronimo and Edwin are fluent in English, and they acted as interpreters at all the offices we visited. Spanish speakers who might be tempted to try the residency application independently should be warned that the process is a bureaucratically intricate one.  Even if I were fluent in Spanish myself, I would have regarded the help of my attorneys as absolutely essential.

Also, I was surpised at Paraguay itself. It is definitely a remote country for someone from the US, but it is by no means a primitive country. You can fly to Asuncion from Sao Paulo, Lima, Santiago and Montevideo. Asuncion is quite modern, with an educated population ( there are nine universities in Asuncion), good roads, fine hotels, transportation, lots of good restaurants, a few small casinos, many sights to be seen on excursions outside the city, and an abundance of very good food. Paraguay is a republic. Some of the reports about Paraguay, particularly Wikitravel, in my opinion do not do the country justice. I found the people of Paraguay to be friendly and accommodating to someone who does not speak their language. You can only go there, as I did, and see for yourself.  Even if you are not interested in residency, you can have an enjoyable  holiday in Paraguay.

For people going to Asuncion from Panama, Copa now has a direct non-stop flight from Tocumen airport in Panama City.

Thanks for that info San Marcos,

Was looking to inquire and budget for this situation.
I have enjoyed reading your comments towards your experience in assuncion.
Bad things happens anywhere on the world - http://paraguay.com/nacionales/asaltan- … iata-80721 - but PY has a very bad reputation in Brazil ( mostly for contraband of electronics and as narco-state ).

Found your words a bit reassuring.
thanks for sharing.

Paulo

This last Monday I returned from Asuncion, Paraguay having completed the first leg of my journey in obtaining full Paraguayan citizenship. I now am an official, albeit temporary, resident of Paraguay. This too with change in three to four months when I return to obtain my cedula, or permanent residency card in Paraguay.



I hired attorney Jeronimo Finestra and his firm, Finestra Group ([email protected]) to help me navigate the process. He and his quite capable associate Edwin, also an attorney, helped make the process of visiting government buildings, medical offices, banks, notaries, obtaining translations and certifications without trouble or incident. They compiled the rather formidable stack of official, legalized papers on my eighth day in the country, submitted them to Immigration and I left a full fledged resident. I also see that Jeronimo posts in this forum and is very much a wealth of information about things legal and Paraguayan. Jeronimo is fluent in English, well acquainted with ex-pat issues and has intimate knowledge of how the governmental dynamic works. Additionally, he is uncompromisingly honest, meticulous and a fully competent lawyer. If this sounds like a shameless plug......well, it is. In a situation where it might be possible to fully take advantage of the naive ex-pat (ie, me), instead I was blessed with a level of professionalism that I actually find increasingly rare in the US these days. So, if there is any interest at all, please feel free to contact Jeronimo yourself at the email address above. I cannot imagine the time he must spend, beyond the hours of his regular practice, answering email. Your inquiry will be answered promptly and professionally, that I can assure you.

Sky

I second skylvguy.  I made a post about it on this forum  I am the US lawyer

Actually, as I understand well, you pay the lawyer about 1000 $, plus 500$ paperwork, where in the last stage, obtaining the cedula, will again a bit.
that makes some 1500-1600 $ . I payed with a private helper 800 €, inclusive  paperwork, and it took 3 days.
And yes, if you like to do it yourself, you can, if you speak Spanish, know your way around the city, have a car, or use a taxi.
Any way, after being through the process myself, I did it myself for some family members, later on, when I knew Spanish.

Now, I'm not saying that Mr. finestra, and some other lawyers do their work not 100% bad.
But mind the sharks, that you sometimes see noted on this website as well

Now, I'm not saying that Mr. finestra, and some other lawyers do their work not 100% GOOD ...typo
But mind the sharks, that you sometimes see noted on this website as well

Yes, I am sure there are "sharks" out there. That's the category in which I place almost all lawyers, especially in the US. But I echo the positive comments by Sky and others above about Jeronimo Finestra and Edwin. One could not ask for more professionalism - and from just downright nice people to boot.

I obtained my cedula through Jeronimo and Edwin , and I'm about 18 months into the three years before I can apply for citizenship. I will have them assist me in that process as well.

I understand that Jeronimo charges $1,200 now, and the cost is worth every penny. I am in Paraguay right now (don't live here yet) and I spoke with an expat at my hotel who knows of an expat who is paying another lawyer $4,000. This lawyer's service could not possibly be better than that of Jeronimo and Edwin - and maybe not as good.

I would not attempt to jump through the bureaucratic hurdles without professional help, and I am very grateful for Jeronimo and Edwin!

Dottie

helo mister Steve,

can you share your recomendations on this subject please?
i am looking at py as possible destination.

thanks

Olá, também sou português e moro em Asunción. Alguma duvida que tenhas podes perguntar. Abraço.

Hello Filipe Hil -> In english please on this English Speaking forum!

Thank you,
Aurélie

I had a really good experience with Alice Neufeld, she was very responsive and competent. Is the person according to my opinion that has more experience in areas such as immigration issues, I know many people who do the same, but do many things illegally. Also the service is complete with driver, we sought the hotel, we had dinner at fine restaurants, I felt at home

You can find here Email address at the immigration lawyer list.

Comevisitparaguay,
have you join this forum ans post several message for e-reputation purposes?

highly suspicious your recomendations.

paulopereirra wrote:

Comevisitparaguay,
have you join this forum ans post several message for e-reputation purposes?

highly suspicious your recomendations.

It's pretty obvious that Comevisitparaguay is either Ms Neufeld herself or someone who knows her.

I have no problem with people here who offer their services here under their own name like some other lawyers on this forum, but this is pretty annoying.

I also highly doubt that she is a lawyer (I don't know if she claims to be one, but since this topic is about lawyers I wanted to add this). El colegio de abogados used to have a pdf file online( I can't find it now) with all the registered lawyers on it, Neufeld wasn't on it.

As I stated on this thread back in July 2011, we've used a local lawyer in ASU named Ariel Santander (posts as Asantander I believe) with excellent results.  He's actually originally a real estate and civil lawyer that fell into working immigration cases a few years ago.  So his practice is still basically divided between civil law/real estate and he takes on residency/immigration as he's availabe.  This basically means he isn't a "big business" in terms of immigration as some other recommended lawyers (or possible quasi lawyers) I've seen recommended here.  But it does mean you get personal attention from the actual lawyer who isn't interested in selling you "tours", "upgrades", "investment advice", etc....   Paraguay has gotten and is still getting a lot more attention by the expat crowd it seems.  And the sharks seem to be gathering for a good feed....Anyways, anyone interested in contacting Sr. Santander that doesn't want to go thru a name search on this site just PM me and I'll pass it on.  But he has posted here and responds to PM's also.

Cheers and enjoy any Paraguayan adventures coming your way!  That's sort of "tongue in cheek" so to say...

sooo....

has anyone actually naturalized in paraguay yet?

becoming a resident is fine and dandy...but isnt the goal to actually obtain the passport/become a citizen?

regards,

bobdole wrote:

...but isnt the goal to actually obtain the passport/become a citizen?

regards,

Why...? Maybe its different from country to country but I've been living now for almost 20 years here in PY and I want to see the day SA trying to TAX me $1! Its a pain (and COST) enough to get my ID AND passport renewed... 

As for getting citizenship, "so-far" as I understand it, it will take you a further 2 years (at least) after obtaining your cedula seeing all the high court-judges must sign...Paying a bit more than $1200 per head (AT LEAST)may shorten the time.......

My 2 cents.

why?
for the residency flag/2nd passport.

many folks(ie me) interested in pursuing PR in paraguay follow a 'perpetual tourist' lifestyle...and the passport from paraguay seems to be popular (with the SMC crowd at least)

however, i have yet to make note of a single person that successfully naturalized and obtained this passport...which is unfortunate.

Hello ALL,

every bod talk positive about Finestra group, but my question is why they do not reply to the mails,I sent several time e-mail to start the process with them but only receive one e-mail and have not been answered to my questions, may be they too much busy!!!

do you wish another sugestion ? i can forward you to another professional.

There are other trusted Consultants that are validated by the Association of Immigrants in Paraguay (Legal Non-profit organization that helps expats) Within the nexus of the group we have Judges and Political muscle to move things along [moderated]

Hi I have sent you message about Ariel Ortiz santander. Could you help me reach him? He has my birth certificate. Thank you

There are a lot of sharks in Paraguay. Better watch out. Some of the lawyers that are getting high marks on these forums are turning into money grabbing sharks now who are making your process deliberately slow instead of smoother. You really need to brush up on your Spanish skills or get a spanish speaking person to accompany you who is unknown to your attorney.

you can shift paraguay with any other country, caution sugestion would also be valid.

[i]I also highly doubt that she is a lawyer (I don't know if she claims to be one, but since this topic is about lawyers I wanted to add this). El colegio de abogados used to have a pdf file online( I can't find it now) with all the registered lawyers on it, Neufeld wasn't on it.


Alice Neufeld is a fully qualified attorney. I met her and she was very nice. She did not promise me a passport in 6 months. As per Paraguayan law, it takes 4 years to get citizenship depending on your Spanish skills, ties to the country, passing the tests and getting signed your citizenship certification signed by a Supreme court judge. This is what she told me. She only helps in collection of paperwork efficiently and you can be out of Paraguay if you like in 3-5 days. With others, you spend a lot of time. I asked many who have done with others and they were not happy. As per her, you have two times to come to Py, once to collect Carnet and the other time to collect your Cedula.

I won't comment on the person in question's qualifications or abilities, but I believe anyone who says they can obtain residency for you in 3 to 5 days is stretching the truth and has an agenda, as does anyone who makes that claim on her behalf.
There are so many aspects of the residency process which take hours or days: 1-2 days for your translations, 1/2 a day to legalise your overseas documents (before or after the translation), 1/2 a day to verify your visa in your passport if you needed one. 2 days for your interpol certificate; 2+ hrs driving out to Villa Mora and return to legalise the interpol and police residency certificate, plus 2 hrs if the applicant doesn't go in person, then back to Police Headquarters to legalise those stamps and another 18 hr wait. You then take those double legalised papers back to Villa Mora, to Identificacciones for your National Police check.  Thats another 2-3 hrs gone. 5 different medical examinations. If you use any private doctors for the medical exam then you need an extra stamp from the Health Ministry legalising the doctors signature, and if you don't get that application submitted in the morning for an afternoon pickup then you have to wait for the next day. You then walk upstairs to obtain your Health Certificate (if the one person in Paraguay who issues the certificate hasn't gone home early), and in a final twist you take that certificate back downstairs to have it legalised, and again, if it isn't in by the morning cutoff then its an overnight wait. Paraguayan bureaucracy loves stamps, and you will need every last one of them.  Migracciones shuts at 2pm, so you had better be there a couple of hours earlier on the day you submit the application, or that's another day gone. I know its not every week, but Migracciones also regularly shuts early on Fridays for various reasons, so that may catch you out and ensure another weekend in Asuncion.

5 working (not calendar) days maybe, if you have the luck of the gods, and you lawyer has the ability equivalent to organising the next olympics. Some things can be done concurrently, but not all.  It just takes time.

There is a reason that the other lawyers/helpers take longer, and that is because that's how long it takes.

The statement "As per her, you have two times to come to Py, once to collect Carnet and the other time to collect your Cedula" is patently wrong.  You have to come to Paraguay the first time to apply for your Carnet (residency) and a second time to collect your Carnet and bank deposit and apply for your Cedula.  You can have the lawyer collect your Cedula and forward it to you or you can make a third trip to pick it up yourself. (The last trip is dependant on your trust in your lawyer to forward it to you without asking for a little bit more propina (or multa)).

I personally know of 2 lawyers who will charge in the range $1100 - $1500 US (June 2013), and both successfully got the (residency)job done in under 2 weeks. I don't know if that is high, as I did everything myself, for free in 2 1/2 weeks, but you certainly shouldn't pay more, and that should also be a consideration.