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Immigration Info
Immigration Status
IR-1/CR-1 Visa
Place benefits filed at
Local Office
Country
Ecuador
Our Story
My husband and I met in November of 2006. I went on a service immersion trip to Duran, Ecuador. He was the liason for my trip and we bonded instantly. When I went back to finish school, we started talking every day. I returned to Ecuador for my spring break and by the end of that week, he was introducing me as his girlfriend. I knew that I had found my other half in him.
I started searching for post-graduate opportunities that would send me back to Ecuador. Meanwhile, I worked a part time job and travelled back everytime I had saved up enough for a plane ticket. On my birthday (months after we met), we took a trip to a small town in the mountains of Ecuador. He proposed to me on top of a waterfall appropriately named "The Bride's Veil."
My parents came back with me a month later to meet him for the first time. They loved him within minutes of meeting. I have never been more sure about saying "yes" in my life.
Three months later I got a job teaching ESL in Quito. He moved there from the coast to live with me. We were together for more than a year and a half before we decided to get married in a small civil ceremony in October 2009.
I wanted him to meet my extended family before the wedding, but he was quickly denied the tourist visa due to our relationship. I gave up the big ceremony for the chance to bring him home for Christmas.
We applied for the CR-1 visa in October of 08 directly through the US Embassy in Quito. After a lot of effort and stress, we were miraculously granted the visa just one week before Christmas in 2008. All of the hours of preparation and money was well worth it. We were lucky with only having to wait for three months to complete the entire process.
In July of 2009, we made the move permanent to California. Last December, we had the big wedding of my dreams and we could not be happier.
I owe a lot to visa journey for connecting me with others who were so helpful throughout the process.
