Guayaquil Consulate "Administrative Process"

[PDXbicycleboy 5]

Let me just preface this by saying the BIGGEST MISTAKE made was that I didn't fly down there for the interview.

My fiance had her interview on November 21st at the Guayaquil, Ecuador consulate and we are getting hosed. The officer wanted more evidence, gave a letter to my fiance documenting this, and then sent her on her way.

Since then, we sent in two rounds of evidence being sent in and are in a cloud of mystery as to when we will receive any useful information from this rogue consulate. A week after sending in the first round of evidence (post-interview), my fiance was sent her passport and the the same exact letter given to her the first time. So, I sent down EVERYTHING we had and according to DHL, it was received by the consulate January 5th. I know it is common for them to wait 3 days and that would put it at January 8th. They sent me this email on January 13th saying:

Dear Mr. xxx:

Thank you again for contacting us. The new evidence of relationship has not been processed yet because we have not received it. As soon as the evidence arrives the Consular officer will review the case again.

Sincerely,

Immigrant Visa Unit

I figured that my 4th visit down to Ecuador to see my fiance and visit the consulate the week of January 19th, 2009 would help them see that this was indeed a real relationship and we were legit. WRONG! The visit to the consulate was a complete waste as the man who worked behind the desk was programmed to "play dumb" and get guys like me out of there as fast as he could. As I told him I was an American citizen and wanted to see if they got the second round of evidence, I noticed several workers on computer terminals reading El Universo, and basically screwing around. He looked at me and then his computer and simply said, "we did not receive it" and told me to leave.

"Not so fast, I replied. Would you mind if I looked at the file for myself?" I asked.

Incredulously, he looked at me and when he didn't hear the punch line to what to him was a joke, reluctantly retrieved the file only after I prodded with the fact that had traveled from the U.S to get this straightened out. He came back with a folder, opened it and what do you know? There was the second round of evidence! He said, "Oh, there it is!" I felt my blood boil through my veins and I took a few breaths and asked him when it would be looked at. He said it was next in line to be looked at.

On the phone call I made to this consulate, they said they hadn't received the evidence, and on email, they say they hadn't received it. What gives? Could it be that they were lying to me? Or is it that I am just an impatient person who doesn't understand how things really work? All I know is that there, as if it had just been delivered by DHL that moment, the stuff was there! It was a miracle right there in the Guayaquil consulate.

So, where does that leave us now. My fiance is due the end of April/May first and it looks like the baby is going to be born down there. I have been emailing the consulate every single day of the week and starting today they are going to get two emails per day. Here is there response to the first round of emailing on February 9th:

Dear Mr. (My last Name Horribly misspelled)

Our office is conducting an administrative process on this case. As

soon as our process is complete, we will be pleased to contact Ms.

X with our decision.

After receiving that, I kept emailing them everyday and received this one February 20th:

Sir,

Thank you for all your emails, as we wrote in our previous email, we will contact you or your fiancée, once the Consular Officer makes a decision.

I am planning on two emails per day starting today. My big question is can the officer thrash my file if I am bothering her too much with emails? Should I keep pestering? I have an idea of what I should do based on how they have treated us (lies that officer has told us and officer's disrespectful treatment of my fiance during the interview among many other thing). However, I wanted to run this by others to see if I am headed down the wrong road with this strategy of daily pestering until the officer gets tired of it and caves. Believe me, I'm not under the illusion that this consulate is going to do anything rational or anything helpful.

Thanks for reading this and hope to hear some good ideas/feedback!

PDXBicycleboy

Edited February 22, 2009 by PDXbicycleboy

[VivaBaños 2]

I don't want to comment on the pestering emails because I have no idea about that one.

The one thing I would suggest, if you haven't already, is that you get your Senator's office involved--at the very least make them aware of what is happening. They can make calls to the Consulate on your behalf.

[pushbrk 12,999]

I don't want to comment on the pestering emails because I have no idea about that one.

The one thing I would suggest, if you haven't already, is that you get your Senator's office involved--at the very least make them aware of what is happening. They can make calls to the Consulate on your behalf.

Yes, use this link.

http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/ He has six offices in Oregon but not all will have immigration staffers. Merkley would be fine too but his staff would be very new.

Edited February 22, 2009 by pushbrk

[TBoneTX 45,654]

The OP sounds like me. :/

Address IVGuayaquil@state.gov with "For Section Chief Linderman" in the subject line. Write the facts of the case along with your displeasure, and try to avoid offering any of the insults that this hellhole deserves (this will be the hard part).

[TBoneTX 45,654]

Also, see this thread, if you haven't already:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...45&start=45

[PDXbicycleboy 5]

Also, see this thread, if you haven't already:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...45&start=45

All,

Thanks for the info. I have decided to continue with the email sending them two per day (keeping it friendly) and making some sack working there hit delete twice a day or whenever it is they look at the email at that place. Tomorrow I'm calling the number you pointed out and have resolved never to waste another $12...will just keep trying to get some info out of someone there.

I am usually a positive thinker, and feel that things turn out well in the end. However, in this case, I think they are going to try to run the gauntlet with me as my fiance is pregnant and they can say they want any number of things; whether the baby is mine (e.g., request a DNA test). I try to think of how this works in their best interest (maybe they get more money somehow?) and I always conclude that is an officer who is trying to feel important in her position and show us who's boss. I'll keep you updated about how things are going. When I receive another email from them, it will turn to three emails per day.

[mkomav 0]

Reading these VJ posts has terrified me... My fiance has his interview this month and I'm totally not able to be there and am so worried now, after what I've read. I've had to get affidavits of support from my family because I spent the last two years in the Peace Corps in Ecuador making no money. But hopefully they will see that I worked in Ecuador for the US govt (evidence we submitted with the original application) and believe our relationship. I don't know what I'll do if this visa doesn't come through. Lose my mind comes up as option #1

Anyone have any suggestions for very cheap hotels near the consulate? My fiance is coming from another province and doesn't know the city at all

[TBoneTX 45,654]

Reading these VJ posts has terrified me... My fiance has his interview this month and I'm totally not able to be there and am so worried now, after what I've read. I've had to get affidavits of support from my family because I spent the last two years in the Peace Corps in Ecuador making no money. But hopefully they will see that I worked in Ecuador for the US govt (evidence we submitted with the original application) and believe our relationship. I don't know what I'll do if this visa doesn't come through. Lose my mind comes up as option #1

Anyone have any suggestions for very cheap hotels near the consulate? My fiance is coming from another province and doesn't know the city at all

You should be terrified (we all sincerely sympathize), but perhaps lightning will strike. Let us know, with full details -- who, how long, what's said, etc.

The wife (whom I just asked) says to consider the Hotel Velez, in front of Parque Centenario, about 2.5 blocks from the consulate. She says that it's not the VERY bottom of the barrel, "medium" (people from Quito & others stay there), perhaps $15/night or maybe more by now. Another, 5 or 6 blocks from the consulate, is Hotel 9 de Octubre, on 9 de Octubre street, for perhaps $12/night. Her mom stayed there a couple of years ago; the hotel was completely new then. Small rooms but very clean back then... with air conditioning (!). There are other hotels around the Parque Centenario -- avoid the cheapest, because they're terrible. Be careful, because cheap = nasty. Also, Guayaquil is not the safest city, as you both surely know.

Our thoughts & prayers are with you, si man.

[KittyPollitt 284]

Man reading this, I have so much empathy for what you guys go through at Guayaquil. We deal with the same ####### at Casablanca -well, they may make you guys jump through hoops of fire, but at least they issue a visa here or there- we flat out get denied, often times with no reason given and total refusal to communicate after the 221g is issued. We have our interview in 2 weeks and are completely freaked out too. I don't know where they hire these people from, but they're pretty brutal and it hurts people I'm praying for you, bike dude, that your family is together soon, and safely.

Good luck, all of you.

Sarah

[TBoneTX 45,654]

Good luck, all of you.

That's nice of you, si man. The OP (this is an old thread) did finally get his wife & baby here. Read his review of the consulate. It's been over two years, and I'm still too livid to write my review. It's good that the recent poster revived this thread, however. We all hope that things break well for them.

[mkomav 0]

My fiance got a call today to pick up his passport-- with a visa to the great USA pasted inside. Incredible. After so much stress though, it's not exuberant joy but rather sedate relief, you know? So, it's possible to get the visa even if the petitioner isn't present, though I did Peace Corps in Ecuador, so maybe that helped prove we were legit... but man o man, so glad to have that over with. I've been such a basket-case. Now just to figure out the next steps-- work visa, status changes? etc. SIgh! Best luck to everyone!

[mkomav 0]

Oh, some details? He was interrogated by three people, the first an Ecuadorian woman who absolutely terrified him and made him think he wasn't getting the visa at all (he felt it was over when they asked the questions-- where is your ring? and when is your wedding date? and he replied, uh, we don't have rings and we haven't planned anything for sure, we're waiting to see what happens here today, which apparently, wasn't the answer she was looking for) but then the next two people were more pleasant. His appt was at 8:30am, he ended up leaving the Consul around 2pm. He was told to pay DHL and wait for his passport, but never told whether or not he would get the visa by anyone official. The guard said he was in luck if they gave him the DHL slip, but we weren't sure of anything until today, exactly one week later, when the passport arrived. I saw it on skype today. What a hulabaloo for a little piece of paper! Borders are such a weird concept. Anyways, we applied in Nov 2009, got it Jul 1st 2010. I can't believe it all went as smoothly as it did.

[TBoneTX 45,654]

Holy mackerel -- lightning DID strike! Very, very happy for you, Dear, si man. You both took a mongo chance that isn't recommended, but even Russian roulette results in survivors sometimes. If you fill out an embassy review, PLEASE be brutal with the numerical rating and the write-up -- the picture looks artificially rosy now, which is perilous for those who will follow.

Also, "sedate relief" is an excellent description; it's probably the best that any Ecuador filer can expect. "Boiling rage lasting for years" is the usual.

Construct a VJ timeline, too, please, si man.

When does hubby-to-be arrive in the Estados Unidos?

Edited July 2, 2010 by TBoneTX

[mkomav 0]

He's buying his ticket on Monday-- probably for two weeks out if it's too expensive sooner. He did say that EVERYONE else that was there applying for the fiance or spouse visa was with their petitioner. He felt totally hosed for me not being there. The first lady interrogated him about that too. But hell, they tripled the cost of the interview three weeks before; we've already spent enough money on this nonsense and we're just getting started with the process!

[TBoneTX 45,654]

He's buying his ticket on Monday-- probably for two weeks out if it's too expensive sooner.

It could be cheaper in September, but maybe he'll find a deal.

He did say that EVERYONE else that was there applying for the fiance or spouse visa was with their petitioner. He felt totally hosed for me not being there.

He very well could have been. As I said earlier, lightning struck.

we've already spent enough money on this nonsense and we're just getting started with the process!

Lightning struck. Had it not, your U.S. citizen hindquarters would have been ordered down there for a "marriage interview" (a Stokes fraud interrogation) on your time and your dime. This is emphasized lest others think that the same good fortune will happen to them if they take the same chance. Everyone who appears at the Guayaquil consulate for a fiance(e) or spousal visa is automatically considered to be a CRIMINAL.

With the above ideally understood by all other readers, congratulations again, si man, and keep us apprised of the travel arrangements and U.S. entry. Again, if you still need to construct a VJ timeline, please do.