Married, now what?

I just have to say congratulations.   I love the wholesomeness and values that are so evident in the people who live and worlk here as a whole.  Ecuador is fast becoming one of my favorite counties.

I married an Ecuatoriana in May 2019. I did all the paperwork in the US a few months later at the closest consulate, which for me was Los Angeles.

It is easy enough to do without a lawyer (some exceptions).

It is a lot of paperwork.

Would you like some tips?

If you answer this, I will write more later

Yes, please tell me everything I need to know!

Damon.

If you go for residency, you will have to come live here for the first years. You cannot get residency and still live in the US due to requirements of being here. Residency is where you live. So unless you are definitely going to move here, then don't bother.

You also have (had?) option of becoming citizen. However, I think you need to be married for a period of time before doing that.

user159 wrote:

If you go for residency, you will have to come live here for the first years. You cannot get residency and still live in the US due to requirements of being here. Residency is where you live. So unless you are definitely going to move here, then don't bother.

I'm planning on living in Ecuador permanently, returning to the states to visit family, etc.

You also have (had?) option of becoming citizen. However, I think you need to be married for a period of time before doing that.

I think it is for 3 years. I also plan on doing that, since I feel if I am subject to the local laws, I should at least have a voice in those laws.

Damon.

OK, to get permanent residency based on marriage:

the rules and document checklist are here, which is up to date:
https://www.gob.ec/mremh/tramites/conce … permanente

(google translated)
"Permanent residence authorization granted by the Ecuadorian State to foreigners who prove a marriage bond or "de facto union" with an Ecuadorian It is issued through the Diplomatic Missions or Consular Offices of Ecuador abroad and in the Zonal Coordinations in Ecuador."

I suggest getting your residency visa done in the US at the consulate offices. In Guayaquil, when I was at the building where you get visas and cedulas in both May 2019 and early March 2020 (before the shutdown) probably close to 500 people were waiting in line (no exagerration).  When I was at the LA consulate, there were like 10 people waiting.

Most of the documents will need to be apostilled. Some may need to be certified or notarized (in order to be apostilled). All will need to be translated to Spanish.

It is best to do the process in the order of
1) gather all the certified documents on the checklist
2) get the apostille
3) go to the consulate (in person if they are allowing visitors) and ask the agent to check if anything is missing or incorrect from your visa application document checklist 4) ask the agent what form they expect for acceptable translations.
5) scan all your documents, apostilles
6) get all the documents translated
7) submit your official application (could be online at this point, might have to be at the consulate).
8) get the appointment to process documents, pay for visa fees, and obtain the visa

so regarding the translations, based on the hundreds of first-person reports by expats I have read, different offices interpret the law in their own way. some will allow anyone to translate the documents. However, in my case the visa agent wanted a certified translation.

Dana Cameron, a visa expediter in Guayaquil with 20 years of experience, did all the certified translations exactly as the consulate expected. she sent them to the US via DHL.

Apostilles for state and county documents can be done at the secretary of state office where the document originates (so if you got married in Texas, you'll get your marriage certificate copy in Texas and the apostille in texas, even if you are now an official resident of another state).

Federal documents, like the FBI background check, have to be apostilled at a specific designated office in the DC area. If you get it apostilled at the wrong place it will be rejected ( i talked to a woman waiting to get her visa in Guayaquil who made this mistake and it set her back 3 months plus she had to hire a lawyer to straighten it out).

regarding step 7) -- in November 2019 when I first applied, certain visa applications could be started online. you might go here to submit your application Consulado Virtual del Ecuador https://www.consuladovirtual.gob.ec/en/web/guest/inicio

unfortunately, the marriage visa wasn't possible, so i had to go in person. since it has been more than a year since then, it might be possible nowadays to start that visa application online at Consulado Virtual del Ecuador .

There is a new, faster way to get your FBI background check with digital fingerprinting done at certain US Post Office locations. I will put that it a seperate post

The New, "Faster" way to get your FBI background check and digital fingerprints.

The FBI background check. Here's how I did it:

1. register  FBI background check at https://www.edo.cjis.gov/#/
2. print FBI  all registration receipts, codes, and emails.
3. after you get the codes, register at US Postal service site for USPS Fingerprinting Services Registration, also known as Identity Capture. USPS is offering digital fingerprinting services for the FBI IdHSC program at certain Post Offices.
https://ips.usps.com/IdentityCapture/ 
4. Print Postal Service registration receipts and codes
5. Visit the select Post Office with the Identity Capture program available and bring printed receipts and codes (FBI, US Post Office)
6. Do your fingerprints at the post office. You'll Receive your FBI background check via email about 48-72 hours later.
7.print that background check PDF, you'll need it for your apostille.

8. FBI Apostille. There are expediters who were able to do this in the past and turn it around in 7 to 10 days.
??But Who knows if they can get it done fast with Covid shutdowns??

I used an apostille service in 2019-- but I have read even these expediters can't get it through fast enough since March 2020

So nowadays snailmail might be the only option to get the FBI apostille?

Office of Authentications - read carefully
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel … tions.html
U.S. Department of State Office of Authentications
CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
44132 Mercure Cir.
PO Box 1206
Sterling, VA 20166-1206


All other apostilles i did myself at the secretary of state offices (saved about $500 that way)

Instances when you might need a lawyer for a visa application.

1. close to the visa financial requirements, but not quite over the minimum, or,
2.  hard to verify steady income or unconventional investments, or,
3. some negative remarks on a local background check, or,
4. some negative remarks on a federal background check, or,
5. no understanding of Spanish, legalese, and a hard time handling papers, and instructions

1-4 are areas that could get you rejected and a lawyer would need to appeal. 5 is really a matter of comfort.