US Consulate in Guayaquil, Ecuador

[Indy90 21]

I forgot to include two other questions Stephydanny...VJ won't let me edit my message for some reason.

1. Can you tell me how you met your husband? I am curious to see if they tend to be harder on people who met online or not (we did not meet online).

2. Also, was your husband given the opportunity to be interviewed in English or Spanish, and what language did they ask you questions in? I would be completely comfortable answering in Spanish (especially if we get the same woman-it might give me an advantage considering that my Spanish is probably better than her Spanish). My wife's English is a bit shakier than my Spanish, but with some practice, she could probably be interviewed in English.

I really hope and pray that you hear back quickly, especially given that you just found out that your pregnant. I really don't understand why they would deny you. I can respect the fact that they want to prevent the trafficking of women, which is a problem in Ecuador, as you can see from the link below.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100...Norristown.html

However, there cannot be any suspicion of that I would think considering that you are petitioning your husband.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

[StephyDanny 0]

Wow Stephydanny I really feel for you; it really sounds like they are being completely unfair. And it also worries me because it sounds like our case is pretty similar. My ring has our wedding date engraved in it, but my wife's does not (maybe we could get it engraved and claim that it is original, but that would not be exactly truthful); she also lost the original engagement ring that I gave her, which thankfully was quite cheap. However, shouldn't the consulate take cultural norms into account? Unless you are from the very upper class, it is very unusual to even wear your wedding ring after a few months of marriage. My wife's parents and married sister don't. Even my study abroad host family (which was upper class) didn't wear their rings (if they ever had any) when I was with them. Wedding and engagement rings seem to me to be much more important in American culture, but the consulate doesn't really take that into account. As for the cost, do most women in the US (or anywhere in the world) know or want to know how much their fiancee paid?

Also, we don't really have a record of our honeymoon. We went to Manta and stayed at a friend's house (it was completely private). We didn't save our bus tickets and only have a few pictures. Quite frankly there are much better things to do during your honeymoon than take pictures and collect evidence. And at the time we did not realize that we needed so much evidence.

Our wedding was also really small like yours...I think about 50 people came. I think it cost about $800 (DJ, wedding photographer and food all included); I paid for half and my wife's family paid for the other half. We do have quite a few pictures though. Again, I don't really see why this should be considered a problem.

Like you, I would be fine moving to Ecuador. I loved my time down there. However, it would be really nice for my wife to get an American passport so that we could at least visit the United States without having to go through the trouble of getting a visa. This naturally would require her to reside in the US for a few years. And of course good paying jobs are even more scarce there.

Do you remember what type of evidence you included in your USCIS application and did the woman who interviewed you really seem to examine the evidence that you included?

well i had a joint sponsor.. who is my father. him and i combined make more than enough to support my husband financially.. i included copies of his taxes and mine and his citizenship certificate.. i also included a letter from my emlyer stating how long i worked there and wat my hourly pay rate was.. nothing else really because they dont really ask for relationship evidence.. that's about it.. and yes ur story is almost identical to mine!! lolz... we went to tonsupa BY BUS! lolz. I also payed 800 for the wedding everything included.. didnt take many pics.. we had about 15 in total... but the consul didnt even really look at them!! she didnt even ask for any evidene whatsoever!! thats why i feel so down.. I think we were doomed from the start... and were put under "review" and then denied.. our case is being sent back o the nvc and they will send it to the dept of homeland security where they will decide if i can appeal to the consul's decision... what kind of BS is this!!??? i am so down i sware to god.. and i need my husband honestly now more than ever with our pregnancy that we planned because we were so sure he wud get the visa so we started planning our family out.. now im here in the US pregnant without my husband and he's there so helpless without me and our baby..

[StephyDanny 0]

I forgot to include two other questions Stephydanny...VJ won't let me edit my message for some reason.

1. Can you tell me how you met your husband? I am curious to see if they tend to be harder on people who met online or not (we did not meet online).

2. Also, was your husband given the opportunity to be interviewed in English or Spanish, and what language did they ask you questions in? I would be completely comfortable answering in Spanish (especially if we get the same woman-it might give me an advantage considering that my Spanish is probably better than her Spanish). My wife's English is a bit shakier than my Spanish, but with some practice, she could probably be interviewed in English.

I really hope and pray that you hear back quickly, especially given that you just found out that your pregnant. I really don't understand why they would deny you. I can respect the fact that they want to prevent the trafficking of women, which is a problem in Ecuador, as you can see from the link below.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20100...Norristown.html

However, there cannot be any suspicion of that I would think considering that you are petitioning your husband.

I'll keep you in my prayers.

His family and my family are mutual friends.....

we met 10 years ago and started out as friends...

we were interviewed in spanish. my husband doesnt speak english and i speak both language very fluently.. so we were interviewed in spanish. they didnt even ask us a preference...

[Indy90 21]

We got engaged in Tonsupa! You can probably tell that my wife loves the beach, which I imagine will make it quite difficult for her to adjust here in the US in the beginning considering that we will be living in the Midwest.

Maybe the key then is to include A LOT of evidence in the initial USCIS application...because they don't seen to look over any of the evidence that you bring to the interview. Hopefully they really examine the evidence I sent with the I 130.

Having gone over pretty much all of the posters, it does seem that in the end things end up working out...and I am sure your case will as well. I am just really curious to see what the reason is for them to recommend that your case gets denied. I mean you have known him for 10 years!!!

Be sure to keep us informed how your case is going.

[TBoneTX 45,598]

Stories like this (a broken record) continue to make my blood boil (it hasn't stopped for nearly two years).

she also asked when was the last time we had sex

A VJ member who has consular experience (not as a CO), and an attorney not on VJ who was a CO, stated to me that this sort of question is borderline harassment and is illegal in government and the private sector. Indy, if you two are asked this, glare the CO straight in the eye and say exactly this, followed by "what's your next question on a different subject, please?"

Stephy, contact your U.S. Congressman's immigration liaison immediately. Pregnant or not, this is no time for emotions. Get some hammers on your side. Also, pay for the (very reasonable) e-mail consultation at Foster & Quan, www.fosterquan.com, and request J.J. Slater & Mark Cross. They're familiar with the monkeyshines at Guayaquil.

[StephyDanny 0]

Stories like this (a broken record) continue to make my blood boil (it hasn't stopped for nearly two years).A VJ member who has consular experience (not as a CO), and an attorney not on VJ who was a CO, stated to me that this sort of question is borderline harassment and is illegal in government and the private sector. Indy, if you two are asked this, glare the CO straight in the eye and say exactly this, followed by "what's your next question on a different subject, please?"

Stephy, contact your U.S. Congressman's immigration liaison immediately. Pregnant or not, this is no time for emotions. Get some hammers on your side. Also, pay for the (very reasonable) e-mail consultation at Foster & Quan, www.fosterquan.com, and request J.J. Slater & Mark Cross. They're familiar with the monkeyshines at Guayaquil.

tbonetx, can you help me do this?? becaude i'm so pissed off at how we were treated and denied.. i just can't believe it.. honestly.. i am in shock..

[StephyDanny 0]

tbonetx, can you help me do this?? becaude i'm so pissed off at how we were treated and denied.. i just can't believe it.. honestly.. i am in shock..

once i get the information, what should i write to the congressmans liaison?? what should i say/complain about??

the same question goes for the attorney... how should i word all of this???

[TBoneTX 45,598]

Your post #112 would be a good start to paste into the "describe your case" (or whatever -- it's been a long time for me) on the lawyer's website. Call the Congressman's local office, ask for the immigration liaison, describe the situation, and ask for them to contact the consulate to keep your file there. Go to the Congressman's website first to see if you can download & submit in advance the "permission" or "release" form that you'll need to complete before anyone there can start to help you.

[Wildbill 0]

I was just wondering if you are sure the blue paper is a denial. This is from some other link here:

"A white paper and a blue paper given to you after your interview are just the same. They are both checklists of the lacking documents you have to submit. The difference is that the white paper contains the Consul's signature, while the blue paper is where you will fill up your basic information.

I was given both and got my visa 3 working days after submitting the required document.

Tell your fiance to follow-up on your case and call the embassy at least 2x a week."

Maybe you said you were sure and I missed it, if so sorry. I am really sorry to hear you are having problems I know how frustrating it is in Guayaquil. Good Luck!

[StephyDanny 0]

Your post #112 would be a good start to paste into the "describe your case" (or whatever -- it's been a long time for me) on the lawyer's website. Call the Congressman's local office, ask for the immigration liaison, describe the situation, and ask for them to contact the consulate to keep your file there. Go to the Congressman's website first to see if you can download & submit in advance the "permission" or "release" form that you'll need to complete before anyone there can start to help you.

OK i started the paperwork with my congressmans immigration liasion and just sent out the info release... do you konw what else i might need?? should i call the consulate at all??? and i wanted to ask you if I can also get help from an immigration lawyer or will it interfere with my case, since the liasion is already working on it?? Please respond asap..

Either way, i am parting for ecuador on april 19th, since this paperwork is going to take a very long time anyway... please help me with any information you may have for me.

Thank You TBoneTX, you have been a great help in our journey...

[TBoneTX 45,598]

Stephy, the congressional liaison will take care of contacting the consulate on your behalf, for now. See what comes from that. The information will be useful to guide your next steps. Stay strong, and keep the faith, si man.

[Indy90 21]

Bump (for cause)

Thanks. TBone, do you remember how long it took the consulate to send everything to your fiancee at the time? We got our I 130 approved about a month ago.

[TBoneTX 45,598]

Thanks. TBone, do you remember how long it took the consulate to send everything to your fiancee at the time? We got our I 130 approved about a month ago.

Si, man; they sent an outdated Packet 4 that arrived many weeks later. Download the stuff from the consulate's website and have it ready. I had to sit with the two versions side-by-side to compare what was different.

[Indy90 21]

Hey all,

when you sent in the packet to NVC, did you include the hand written marriage certificate and birth certificate copy of your loved one or just the computer printed but signed one? I have the computer printed version ready to send to NVC and while I don't think that there will be any problem on the part of NVC, I am worried about what will happen when it gets to the consulate, given how difficult they are. I just looked at Guayaquil's website (stupid I know) and it said that the hand written copies were required at the interview. I don't want to get denied because the right type of copy was not in the packet sent from NVC to the consulate, but waiting for my wife to get the right documents and have her send them to me will delay things for us considerably.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Indy90

[Indy90 21]

Also, has the interview always been $400? I thought that it was like $131 a couple of months ago, or is there a different fee for K1 and CR1/Ir1 interviews?

http://guayaquil.usconsulate.gov/services-fees.html