MONTEGO BAY, St James — Carlos Martinez is anxiously counting down the days until his first trip to meet and embrace his Jamaican family.

The man from the Dominican Republic was belatedly granted a visa to enter Jamaica after a second visit to the Jamaica Embassy in the Spanish-speaking country’s capital of Santo Domingo last week.

Earlier this month, Martinez, who recently utilised the Jamaica Observer newspaper to locate his Jamaican ex-sailor father, Lincoln Roache, stated that he was left disappointed at the Jamaica Embassy in his home country after learning that he would not be travelling as anticipated. He, however, was not given a reason for the denial, but was told to reapply six months later.

An appeal was subsequently made in the Sunday Observer by Martinez’s sister Kimona Roache for the intervention of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senator Kamina Johnson Smith as the family was left confused as to why the young man was denied entry.

“I don’t know who can make a call to DR and appeal this on our behalf because I don’t understand the reason why he was denied. I don’t know if…Johnson Smith and the relevant authorities can appeal on our behalf in a bid to have him here at least by next month. We would appreciate that,” Roache said then.

Speaking to the Sunday Observer on Friday afternoon after Martinez received his passport with the well-anticipated Jamaican visa stamped inside, Roache was a ball of excitement, as for the first time since making contact with her older brother there is a date set for their union.

Roache expressed gratitude to Minister Johnson Smith, whom she said reached out to her after the Sunday Observer story was published to assist the family in their bid to have Martinez visit the island. She stated that the family learned that Martinez was initially denied the visa due to inconsistencies in their surnames.

“His visa was approved as of Tuesday with the assistance of Senator Kamina Johnson Smith. She reached out because he was still having complications even though all the documents requested were provided. So he collected it today and all is looking well for him to be here in short order for our grand reunion,” said a seemingly excited Roache.

Martinez, who was left feeling crushed after his initial visa denial, is also excited to have received the go-ahead to plan a trip to visit the island. He told the Sunday Observer that while he had hoped to spend his 28th birthday with his new-found Jamaican family, he is grateful for what he now considers as his late birthday gift.

“I feel very good and I am so excited to receive the visa and now be able to achieve my dream of meeting my family,” said Martinez in a translated response to the Sunday Observer.

Acknowledging the strenuous process that her family had to go through to receive this visa, Roache told the Sunday Observer that plans were being put in place to have Martinez acquire Jamaican citizenship through his father.

She said that steps will be taken in both countries to make an easier transit as there may be a need to have Martinez’s birth certificate altered to include his father’s name.

“His job gave him 20 vacation days so when he gets here, we are planning to have the necessary steps taken upon with an immigration lawyer in adherence to the immigration policies to have his citizenship begin processed,” she explained..

Roache continued, “We plan to have a DNA test done and go through all the necessary avenues to ensure that the documents can be provided to prove that he is a descendant. We are all very happy and the focus now is on getting him here in a bid to ensure that when he returns home, he will be able to come back without having to revisit the embassy.”

According to Roache, their father Lincoln is also patiently waiting to meet the son he fathered during his time as a sailor in the Dominican Republic. The senior Roache, who had lost connection with his then-pregnant wife after returning home to Jamaica, is also hoping to meet his two Dominican granddaughters soon.

“He is so happy. This is like a dream come true and he is just thinking about helping him to get his Jamaican paperwork sorted out so that he can bring his kids to visit the next time. We want his transit to be much easier the next time he wants to visit. At least he will just be a plane fare away,” Roache told the Sunday Observer.

At the same time, Roache said she is planning to spend some “quality time” with her older brother to make up for the times lost. She said that the family’s original plans to fete Martinez are now back on the table.

“I asked him what activities he would like to do during his visit, and we plan to ensure that he enjoys his time here while he experiences our culture,” she said.