US spouse visa for Ecuadorian nationals
What this visa is
The CR-1 and IR-1 immigrant visas allow the husband or wife of a United States citizen to move to the US permanently. The applicant enters as a lawful permanent resident and receives a green card shortly after arrival.
Immigrant visa interviews for Ecuador are held at the US Consulate General in Guayaquil rather than at the embassy in Quito. Confirm the post named in your appointment letter before booking travel.
If the couple has been married for less than two years when the applicant enters the US, the visa is a CR-1 with a conditional two year green card. Two years or more and it is an IR-1 with a ten year card.
Who can apply
You can apply if you are legally married to a United States citizen and the marriage is valid where it took place. An Ecuadorian marriage is celebrated before a civil registrar and recorded with the Registro Civil, which issues the certified marriage record.
A unión de hecho, even where registered, is not a marriage for US immigration purposes.
Both spouses must have been free to marry, with a divorce record or death certificate for any earlier marriage.
Who can sponsor
The sponsor must be a United States citizen. Spouses of green card holders apply in the F2A category, which has annual limits and a waiting list.
Financial requirement
The sponsor signs Form I-864, the affidavit of support, which is enforceable against them in court.
Household income must be at least 125 percent of the federal poverty guidelines: $27,050 for a household of two in the contiguous states. Shortfalls can be covered with assets worth three times the gap, or with a joint sponsor who meets the test independently. Active duty military sponsors need only 100 percent.
Each financial sponsor files their own Form I-864 with IRS transcripts or tax returns attached.
Step one: the I-130 petition
Your spouse files Form I-130 with USCIS from the United States, with the marriage record, proof of US citizenship and evidence of the relationship over time.
Once approved, the case transfers to the National Visa Center.
Step two: the National Visa Center
The National Visa Center collects the DS-260 application, fees, the affidavit of support and civil documents. The case only progresses once every document has been accepted.
Ecuadorian civil records should be recently issued certified copies. Documents in Spanish require certified English translations.
Step three: the interview in Guayaquil
Register your appointment online before attending, so the consulate has the details it needs to return your passport. Applicants from Quito, Cuenca and elsewhere travel to Guayaquil for the interview.
Interviews are conducted in Spanish. Bring originals of your birth record, marriage record, police certificate and passport, along with the sealed medical results, even where scans were uploaded earlier.
Only one interpreter, or one companion for an elderly, disabled or minor applicant, may accompany you. Lawyers are not admitted to the consulate.
Medical examination
Every immigrant visa applicant, whatever their age, must be examined by a consulate approved panel physician before the visa can be issued. Book the appointment in advance and allow time for the results to reach the post.
The examination covers a physical check, chest x ray, blood tests and required vaccinations. Bring your vaccination records.
Police certificates and civil documents
Applicants aged 16 and over need a police certificate. In Ecuador this is the certificate of criminal records issued by the competent national authority, and it has a limited validity, so request it close to the interview date.
Birth and marriage records come from the Registro Civil. Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date you intend to enter the United States.
If you have lived in another country for twelve months or more since turning 16, you need a police certificate from that country as well.
Documents needed
- Valid Ecuadorian passport, valid six months beyond intended entry
- Certified marriage record from the Registro Civil
- Certified birth record from the Registro Civil
- Cédula de identidad
- Divorce record or death certificate for any previous marriage
- Ecuadorian police certificate
- Court and prison records if ever arrested or convicted
- Sponsor’s proof of US citizenship
- Form I-864 from each financial sponsor, with IRS transcripts or tax returns
- Medical examination results in the sealed envelope
- Two US visa format photographs
- Relationship evidence spanning the whole relationship
- Certified English translations of Spanish documents
Costs
- Form I-130: $625 online, $675 on paper
- Immigrant visa application fee (DS-260): $325
- Affidavit of support review fee: $120
- Medical examination: typically $200 to $350
- Civil records and police certificate: modest local fees
- USCIS Immigrant Fee after the visa is issued: $235
Verify current amounts on the USCIS and Department of State websites before paying.
Processing times
The I-130 stage at USCIS commonly runs from several months to well over a year. The National Visa Center stage is quick when documents are correct first time.
Plan for a total of twelve to twenty four months from filing to arrival. Do not sell property, resign from a job or make any other irreversible commitment until the visa is actually issued, because approval is never guaranteed.
After approval: what comes next
Your passport is returned with the visa and a sealed packet that must not be opened. Travel before the visa expires, normally within six months of the medical examination.
Pay the $235 USCIS Immigrant Fee online before you fly so that your green card is produced. You can work immediately on arrival and can apply for a Social Security number.
If you hold a CR-1, you and your spouse jointly file Form I-751 in the ninety days before the two year card expires.
FAQs
Do I interview in Quito or Guayaquil?
Immigrant visa interviews are held at the consulate general in Guayaquil. Your appointment letter is the authority on this, so read it before booking travel.
Can my lawyer come to the interview with me?
No. Attorneys are not admitted to the consulate. Only one interpreter, or one companion for an elderly, disabled or minor applicant, may attend.
We registered a unión de hecho. Does that count?
No. US immigration law recognises marriage, so you would need to marry and register it with the Registro Civil.
Does my child need a medical examination too?
Yes. Every immigrant visa applicant needs one regardless of age.
Should I resign from my job once the interview is scheduled?
No. Wait until the visa is physically in your passport. There is no guarantee of issuance, and applicants who commit early can be left in a difficult position.
Can my children come with me?
Not automatically. Your spouse files a separate I-130 for each child, and the stepchild relationship must have been created before the child turned 18.