Residency

How long does it take and how much does it typically cost to get an immigrant visa once I have all my paperwork collected, Apostilled, and translated into Spanish.  Is there a discount for a couple. I understand I have to hire someone in Ecuador to do this and they have to be a lawyer/judge or have access to them to get this done.  I have heard horror stories of people who have hired someone, given them money and then they disappear.

Thanks, David

ZenSpike just went through the whole process in June, I am sure he could point you in the right direction.

Hi dmcmillen,
There are no discounts for couples per se (lol!) but you can file your spouse as dependent, which will require the basic visa condition to be met by you only: be it the basic monthly retirement income, the minimim investment amount, the profession, the bond holder, etc (depends on the type of Visa you apply for, there are many).
You only need to hire someone if you do not master Spanish. The visa application is personal, but you can have a lawyer get docs translated, certified, fomrms filled and papers organized in your behalf for a fee, usually between 800 and 1200 depending upon each case.
There are horror stories about everything in life, but the vast majority of the expats relocating here with sucessful visa process stories outweights by far the bad stories.
Just get a good lawyer referral and you will be just fine..good luck!