Immigrant visas
Petitions
A citizen of the United States residing in Quito’s consular district for at least the preceding six months may file a Petition for Immediate Relatives (spouses, children and parents) to start the Immigrant Visa process. United States citizens residing in the United States must file I-130 petitions for their relatives with the appropriate USCIS office in the United States.
To demonstrate residency in a consular district, American Citizen petitioners must be able to show that they have permission to reside in the consular district and that they have been doing so continuously for at least six months before filing the petition. Individuals who are in the country on a temporary status, such as student or tourist, would not be considered to meet the residency standard.
Exceptions to the residency requirement are only made for cases of national interest or family emergencies, such as minor children who would be unexpectedly left without a caretaker. Examples of national interest include facilitating the travel of United States military and other USG direct hire employees assigned overseas who are pending transfer on orders and need to petition for immigrant classification of their spouse and minor children at posts overseas.
Requirements:
Schedule an Appointment with our Call Center. The US Embassy in Quito accepts petitions by appointment only.To schedule an appointment you should buy a PIN number for $12 at Banco de Guayaquil. The number of the Call Center is: 1-800-010-145.
BOTH PETITIONER AND BENEFICIARY MUST BE PHYSICALLY PRESENT TO SUBMIT THE PETITION AND PRESENT DOCUMENTS TO PROVE RESIDENCE IN OUR CONSULAR DISTRICT.
- Completed form I-130 for each beneficiary;
- Completed form G-325A for each petitioner and each beneficiary;
- One (1) photograph for the petitioner and another for the beneficiary;
- Proof of the citizenship of the petitioner. (US passport, US birth certificate, or US nationalization certificate);
- Beneficiary’s ID document (passport or cedula or driver’s license – the original and one copy);
- The cost of each petition is US$355.00. This can be paid with a certified check from a U.S. bank or with an international credit card (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Diners or Discover).
If you are filing for your spouse - Marriage certificate and your spouse’s birth certificate. If previously married, the divorce decree(s) or death certificate(s), as applicable, of all previous marriages.
If you are filing for your children or step-children - Parents’ marriage certificate; proof of legal termination of any previous marriage(s) (divorce decree(s) or death certificate(s), as applicable; child’s birth certificate.
If you are filing for your parents or step-parents - Petitioner’s birth certificate showing the name of both parents; parent’s marriage certificate; proof of legal termination of any previous marriage(s) (divorce decree(s) or death certificate(s), as applicable and parent’s birth certificate.
If you are filing for your adoptive parent or adopted child - If you and the person your are filing for are related by adoption, you must submit a copy of the adoption decree showing that the adoption took place before the child became 16 years old. If you adopted the sibling of a child already adopted by you, you must submit a copy of the adoption decree showing that the second adoption occurred before the child’s 18th birthday. In either case, you must also submit evidence that the child was in the legal custody of and resided with the adoptive parent(s) for at least two years before or after the adoption. Legal custody may only be granted by a court or recognized government entity and is usually granted at the time the adoption is finalized. However, if legal custody is granted by a court of recognized government agency prior to the adoption, that time may be counted toward fulfilling the two-year legal custody requirement.
Important:
Documents not written in English must be translated. The translator must certify the translation with the following statement:
I CERTIFY THAT I AM FLUENT IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH (OR OTHER) LANGUAGES AND THAT I HAVE PREPARED THE ATTACHED TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL IN THE SPANISH (OR OTHER) LANGUAGE TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE AND BELIEF.
To prove your relationship, please bring photos (from the wedding, during the courtship, baptism, etc.)
The Ecuadorian birth, marriage and death certificates and divorce decrees must be the “inscripción” and must be handwritten and certified copies from the book (certified by the Civil Registry). Computer-generated or typed documents are not accepted.
PLEASE BRING THE ORIGINAL AND ONE PHOTOCOPY OF EACH DOCUMENT INCLUDING PASSPORTS.
