Any Information about Ecuador?

[mspsfs1]

If anyone has any experience to do with ecuador or information about what their policies are regarding their citizens coming to the U.S. illeagally, I would appreciate it very much. Thank you.

[perrito1]

Hello!! My husband is from Ecuador too and we filled I601 in country we been waiting for almost 11 months and haven't heard anything he's been here almost 15 years and we got married 2 years ago what about you???

[mspsfs1]

Hi, my husband got here 6 years ago, we have been together for three of them and married two years out of the three. I am now pregnant with our first child together, though he has been the father figure in my first child's life from my previous marriage.

I haven't started any paper work yet. We are looking at all the options and I came to this forum to obtain more information.

What part of Ecuador is your husband from? Mine is from Cuenca area. We have and are continuing to consult with the embassy also. Trying to get more information, they have been helpful so far.

Anyway, nice to meet you.

[Lulu]

If your husband entered illegally, he will have to file in Ecuador, but his waiver will be processed in Panama City. Panama City has a great approval rate (I've only heard of 1 denial, and we know no details about it at all). My husband is Venezuelan and was approved through Panama. Only problem is, that Panama is severely backlogged right now, and waivers are taking almost a year to decide.

[mspsfs1]

Why Panama? I'm am really clueless about all this stuff. Does he have to go to Panama or back to Ecuador?

[Laura]

Why Panama? I'm am really clueless about all this stuff. Does he have to go to Panama or back to Ecuador?

He will have his interview in Ecuador (probably at the Consulate in Quito), but his waiver will be transferred to Panama. From what Lulu said, that's great news, as it's relatively easy to get a waiver approved there, although it will take a while. Yeah for you! Your husband can wait in any country but the U.S., and, it's possible that the Ciudad Juarez pilot program could be started in other consulates by the time you file the I-130 and wait for it's approval and an interview, etc.

[Lulu]

Basically, the embassy does not decide on waivers. The embassy is part of the Dept. of State, waivers are decided by USCIS (former INS, part of DHS). While almost every country has its own US embassy, USCIS offices are regional. In other words, each one has jurisdiction over - or covers - a bunch of countries. The DHS office with jurisdiction over Ecuador is USCIS Panama City (they also cover Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname). Your husband does not have to step foot in Panama. His waiver, however, will log in quite a few miles :D

There is a thread in this forum just for people filing through Panama, check it out for extra info and support from people who are going through your same office.

[Pinkpig]

Why Panama? I'm am really clueless about all this stuff. Does he have to go to Panama or back to Ecuador?

Here is the list of members who have filed through Ecuador:

Spouse Panama City Ecuador Approved Y 1-Mar-03 1-Feb-04 Over, F/M S Own Ecuador I-601s now go to Panama

chamaquita Panama City Ecuador Approved 24-Jun-05 17-Nov-05 Over S Own Panama receipt = Sept. 7

ecuador1 Panama City Ecuador Pending 17-Nov-06 Over S

His consular appointment/interview will be in Ecuador. He will file his 601 waiver there and it will be sent on to Panama for adjudication.

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.detail&office=pmc&OfficeLocator.office_type=OS&OfficeLocator.statecode=amx

USCIS Service and Office Locator
Services Overview » Find An Overseas Office » In The Mexico City District » Office Detail
Panama City Sub-Office for The Mexico City District
Who Are We?
Officer-in-Charge:
Donna Petree

Service Area:
The Panama City office has jurisdiction over benefit activities such as adoptions, petitions, and waivers for the following countries: Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Surinam, and Venezuela.

This process can be overwhelming. You really need to take it one piece at a time and then it is very doable.

This is the process generally

The first step is to file the I-130 peititon for spouse.

when it is approved you will have some forms to fill out and send back in.

when they are all approved you will go to Ecuador for an interview

you will then be told if you are eligible for the waiver which you will file in Ecuador

the waiver will be sent to Panama for adjudication

you will be notified of the approval and

then you will be allowed to re-enter the US

This site has tons of people who will help you and answer your questions and be a support for your family during the process.

My best piece of advice is to have a consulation with a trusted experienced immigration attorney who has experience with the waiver as well as Panama. To tell this attorney every little fact of your case and let them tell you what your best option for going forward will be.

Good luck.

[mspsfs1]

WOW! Thank you so much for all that information. I now feel like we have a chance and I can actually start somewhere. Thanks again, so much for this. You all have been oh so very helpful!

Thanks!

[perrito1]

Hello!!! my husband is from Quito and we had the chance to file our waiver here in the States, my husband came with a tourist visa and stood for 3 years then we went back to Ecuador and after 3 months returned to the States, i know too that we could file the waiver in his country but for now they let us do it here but i heard that is less possibility that we can get approved for now we just have to wait . It's been 11 month since we submit our waiver and haven't heard anything???? I would suggest you to find out with a lawyer what could you do since your case is different than ours your expecting a baby and have another child, we don't have a ny kids yet but my husband from his first marriage has a US citizen kid i don't know if that is going to help on the desition for him to stay i hope so!!! Good Luck
Perrito1

[Lulu]

Hi perrito, you are able to file your waiver in the US because your husband's entry was legal. You are very lucky that they screwed up and let him in after his overstay. Unfortunately, that's not mspsfs1's case. As for your case, it is hard to gauge how long is too long. Have you made any inquiries?

[mspsfs1]

I found a major Immigration Attorney who's been around doing this for 50 years, next week I'm going to call and set up an appointment and see what all our options are. The main thing I learned is what questions to ask since I joined this forum, where before, I had no idea where to start. I just would like to get a list of all possibilities and see which would work best for us in our situation. Thank you for asking.

[perrito1]

Hi Lulu !!! We filled our waiver 11 months ago and haven't heard anything i spoke w/our lawyer last week to see if he could find out about our case he told me that is not a good idea to request any information on this yet he suggested that we should wait!!! I don't know for how long i guess it may take years???
Thanks for your response !!!
Perrito1

[Lulu]

Your best bet is to compare yourself with other Chicago filers. If their wait times are considerably less, then I'd definitely start asking questions. Either way, there's nothing wrong with requesting status and time-frame.