Succeeding in a Polyglot, Multinational World

MIAMI-BASED DOCURAPID OFFERS NOT ONLY TRANSLATIONS, BUT LEGAL DOCUMENTATION ACROSS THE GLOBE

BY KATELIN STECZ

In 2003, Jenny Betancourt was sitting in her family’s kitchen helping her mother, Esperanza Lopez, translate legal documents. Every day after Betancourt finished her homework, she riffled through an ever-growing stack of visa applications, travel permits, and records. Twenty years later and Betancourt is still helping her mother. However, instead of the kitchen table, they now have an office and a company called DocuRapid.

DocuRapid was born out of an idea Lopez had when she was working at the consulate of Colombia. Day after day, she’d see members of the community come to the consulate and request services it couldn’t provide. So, she decided to leave her job and fulfill the demand. From kitchen table to cubicle, DocuRapid has grown from translating documents to offering a variety of services.

Today, DocuRapid is Miami’s one-stop shop for pretty much anything related to official documents. Even though the company does offer translation services, it’s hard to classify it as just a translation agency. For instance, instead of just translating a corporate document, DocuRapid will translate that document, interpret it, and verify that it is legal according to the laws of a given country.

The company also provides notarial procedures, legalization, authentication, and apostille (the authentication of a legal signature) of public and private documents. If you need a travel permit for a minor, a rush on your passport, or a power of attorney, you can go to DocuRapid.

“Usually, we end up being the last place a person stops at for help. You know, maybe they tried A, B, and C, and we’re their last hope,” says Betancourt. “Our goal is to get that document legalized, or whatever else they need, and do it fast.”

Betancourt says requests range from preparing a letter of invitation for a visa application to translating large-scale corporate bids. They can even help clients move the body of a loved one from one country to another, providing proper documentation from both departing and receiving locales. “For us, it’s not just about the business, because, in this scenario, there’s a family panicking that they can’t bury their loved one. So, we have to be empathetic and find a solution as quickly as possible,” she says.

Betancourt says that the company’s client-focused approach reflects its humble beginnings and family-oriented atmosphere. She shares the duty of company president with her father Jose, while her mother Espe- ranza remains CEO. Beyond the family, the company now has up to 30 people working for it at any time, the majority as freelancers; last year, DocuRapid handled more than 80,000 documents.

DocuRapid works with documents in Spanish, Traditional Chinese, French, Creole, Portuguese, German, and, of course, English, translating between any two languages. They legalize documents for embassies as disparate as those of Cuba, Kuwait, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and the Philippines. And as Miami grows, Betancourt expects DocuRapid to grow with it - soon offering Hindi translations.

“With so many changes that Miami is going through, we are expected to adapt to meet those needs,” says Betancourt. “There is a possibility for huge growth.” l