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New service center in Orlando will help Puerto Ricans access documents

ORLANDO, Fla. — Puerto Ricans who moved to Central Florida after Hurricane Maria will now have instant access to the documents they need to rebuild their lives.

The Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration opened an integrated services center on Wednesday.

The office will provide vital records issued by the island’s government.

"To have something here is perfect, because you're not going to waste time to send it to Puerto Rico. To be able to do everything here is better for us,” said resident Gilbert Rodriguez.

Typically, it would take two to three months to get documents from Puerto Rico and requests could only be done by mail.

With the new service, one can receive the document on site for $5.

The center will provide birth, marriage and death certificates, which are all records needed when applying for government assistance, employment, school and other services.