How we work
From first conversation to passport in hand.
Every family is different; the discipline is the same. Six stages, each finished properly before the next leans on it. The ranges below are typical, not promised — archives and consulates keep their own calendars, and part of our work is telling you the truth about them.
Stage I · Weeks 1–2
Initial Consultation
A confidential conversation to understand the family’s circumstances, the documentation already in hand, and what the family actually hopes for — which is not always a passport. We give a preliminary view of eligibility and of the honest difficulties. There is no commitment at this stage, and no charge.
Stage II · Weeks 2–4
Research Planning
A detailed engagement letter setting out scope, estimate, and the questions we intend to answer. A researcher with the right archival languages and registries is assigned, and the first archive queries go out. Families see exactly what has been undertaken before anything is spent.
Stage III · Months 1–6
Ancestry Research
Archival work across civil registries, church records, and immigration archives, following the evidence rather than the family legend. DNA testing is coordinated where it genuinely helps. Where the engagement calls for it, living relatives are located and — with consent and care — approached.
Stage IV · Months 3–9
Documentation Assembly
Certified copies retrieved from each registry that holds a link in the chain. Apostille and legalization processing, sworn translations where required, and rectification of records whose errors would otherwise stall a filing. The family tree is formalized into a documented file.
Stage V · Months 6–12
Application Preparation
The consular or registry filing is prepared to the receiving authority’s standard, with multi-jurisdictional coordination where one recognition must precede another. Licensed local counsel is engaged where representation is required. Every file receives legal review before submission — nothing goes out on hope.
Stage VI · Months 9–18+
Consular Filing and Follow-through
Filing at the appropriate consulate or registry, then the long middle: follow-up correspondence, responses to requisitions, and steady pressure applied politely. After recognition, we coordinate the DNI, cédula, or equivalent identity documents, and the passport — and remain available for what comes after.
The first stage costs nothing but a conversation.
Begin one