Started my process

No -- it must be notarized and apostilled -- but of course the sig of the SS person can't be notarized because he/she is not present. That's why I signed the letter and had my sig notarized -- which is meaningless, but it satisfied them.

Then they will give you is a 'certification' of income, which summarizes (in Spanish) the info on the SS letter.

For your circumstances, you need to get the SS letter notarized and apostilled before you go to LA.

.....ok....let's try this again (sorry)

I meant -getting it notarized and apostilled through the Social Security Administration office, the originator of the document itself. I'm gathering this canNOT be done, si?

So I'm kind of stuck on how to do it legitimately, if the SS office cannot provide these seals. Yes, you got YOUR signature notarized and then took the notarized SS letter of income to the Ecuador consulate to be 'legalized' as there is no real way to have it apostilled.  Understood.

I have a real problem (I know you've noticed) with hauling my keister to LA to try to deal with the consulate there. My biggest problem is that I quit driving nearly 10 years ago. There is no way to navigate LA without driving a car.

I don't know what to do. And I don't understand why the SSA cannot/will not notarize this document and then send it on somewhere else in the agency for apostilling. I just don't get it.

This is a very vexing problem.

I have read from others that whatever the consulates do is meaningless once you actually get to EC. They are getting to be fewer and farther between. Lot of extra expense travel and time for nothing.Maybe the lawyers in EC just know whose palm to grease to get your stuff thru. It seems logical if you have a valid US driver's license and the award letter is addressed to you someone at SS office could notarize it. What exactly does legalize mean? I was told that apostille is some kind of international notarization and can be done at your state capitol. Also have read that docs can be mailed to EC consulates and they will want originals  so is best to send return receipt requested and tell them you want multiple copies with seals because they will want originals in EC,. Now, everything is as clear as mud.

Sorry I misunderstood your question.

As far as I know, SSA will not notarize/apostille the letter, but it might be worth asking. Sure would simplify things.

I don't know what to suggest re getting around LA without a car -- there must be some kind of shuttle from LAX to downtown. But if you are working far enough ahead (within the ninety day limit) you may be able to mail the SS docs to the consulate -- I understand some folks have done that.

suefrankdahl wrote:

I have read from others that whatever the consulates do is meaningless once you actually get to EC. They are getting to be fewer and farther between. Lot of extra expense travel and time for nothing.Maybe the lawyers in EC just know whose palm to grease to get your stuff thru. It seems logical if you have a valid US driver's license and the award letter is addressed to you someone at SS office could notarize it. What exactly does legalize mean? I was told that apostille is some kind of international notarization and can be done at your state capitol. Also have read that docs can be mailed to EC consulates and they will want originals  so is best to send return receipt requested and tell them you want multiple copies with seals because they will want originals in EC,. Now, everything is as clear as mud.

Maybe this will help? But probably not.....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille_convention

suefrankdahl wrote:

I have read from others that whatever the consulates do is meaningless once you actually get to EC. They are getting to be fewer and farther between. Lot of extra expense travel and time for nothing.Maybe the lawyers in EC just know whose palm to grease to get your stuff thru. It seems logical if you have a valid US driver's license and the award letter is addressed to you someone at SS office could notarize it. What exactly does legalize mean? I was told that apostille is some kind of international notarization and can be done at your state capitol. Also have read that docs can be mailed to EC consulates and they will want originals  so is best to send return receipt requested and tell them you want multiple copies with seals because they will want originals in EC,. Now, everything is as clear as mud.

Sue, the apostille process is actually quite a simple process. Though finding information about how to exactly go about it can be confusing. Once had a site bookmarked that broke the process down, but can't find it. It has been about 2 years since I have had to get a document apostilized (if that's the correct word), but unless things have changed it's a pretty simple process.

Step 1: Go to a notary and get document notarized.
Step 2: Take document to what ever county you are from, and get it stamped, or sealed at county executive office. Sorry can't remember exactly what they did, but they will know exactly what to do at the county office.
Step 3: Take document to wherever your State Capitol is located and give them the document to put the apostille stamp on. Sorry again, can't recall what office exactly it is that you do this, but just ask when you go to the county executive office, and they will tell you where to go next.

All in all, last time I went through the process think it cost like 20 bucks, and I was in and out of each office with the correct seals etc., in a few minutes.

Yes j600rr, the apostilling of most documents is fairly straightforward.

But Social Security income is a different business. It's a federally administered agency. I've been looking around for hours and I can't find one single link to as to how one might get a SSA document notarized and apostilled. None.

But I did find this on a state of Washington.gov webpage:

Federal Documents:
-Our office does not notarize or authenticate Federal Documents


http://www.sos.wa.gov/corps/apostilles/ … lines.aspx

My screw up Gardener, was only glancing through the last few posts, and saw the question about Apostille. Should have read everything more thoroughly. Now I see why you're so frustrated. Bienvenidos a Latin American.

Gardner: Sorry I don't have any ideas for you. My only suggestion is the work-around I used -- have a notary attest to my sig, not the SS sig.

There's also the real possibility that the LA consulate marches to the beat of a different drum than Chicago. Have you called them to ask what they want in regard to SS?

Gardener,
I understand you are frustrated, but it's a really simple task actually. I just went on the SS site, downloaded the proof of income letter, took it to my bank to get it notarized, then to the consulate to have it apostilled and translated. I was informed this was the only document that HAD to be translated stateside. 
Hope this clarifies the issue for you.
Hit me up if I didn't explain it well enough.
Good Luck,
Neil

15 hours!

(Not that I'm getting anxious, or anything like that).

BobH wrote:

15 hours!

(Not that I'm getting anxious, or anything like that).

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.



-the Irish have a way with words-

I got my visa today. It's three months since I arrived here, but the actual visa process took only about ten days, which included two visits to the immigration offices (combined time there – a few hours, mostly waiting for my number to be called). The big delay involved the Illinois State Police, who lost my police report, so I had to re-do it.

I will cover a few points that came up in the course of this thread.

Entry visa: Although I mentioned in the first post that I was going to get a six-month visa at the Chicago consulate, I ended up just entering with no visa and getting the 90-day stamp at the airport. My paperwork was filed within that 90-day window, so I didn't need an extension. I would think most people should be able to handle everything within ninety days.

Police Report: I used Illinois State Police. I think in most cases your state police would be easier to deal with than the FBI, and the FBI is not required. A question came up about getting a fingerprint report v. non-fingerprint. I ended up with a non-fingerprint report and it was accepted.

Marriage Certificate: Not required.

Birth Certificate: Not required (nor is it required for a cedula).

Health Insurance: I mentioned in a message above that proof of health insurance might be required. This turned out to be a false alarm – not required.

What is required:
-- Letter from SS (notarized, appostilled, certified by consulate)
-- Police report (notarized, appostilled)
-- That's it.

Translations: I had everything translated here in Ecuador (my lawyer took care of it). It's not expensive.

Next step, the cedula. Here, I've run into a small snag – I'm going to have to get my late wife's death certificate, since I listed my civil status as a widower. My lawyer and I now are somewhat regretting our honesty – if I had listed myself as single, there would be no problem.

I used an attorney, Pedro Novillo, who is very good. I'll provide contact info on request. The process could be done solo, but I don't think I'd recommend it unless you're reasonably fluent in Spanish.

Thanks Bob!

I'm guessing a marriage certificate would be required though, if the married couple were using one pension income (social security) as proof of sufficient income to meet the couples immigration visa income requirement. (I believe it is currently $900 per month per married couple).

Anyway, well done!

gardener1 wrote:

Thanks Bob!

I'm guessing a marriage certificate would be required though, if the married couple were using one pension income (social security) as proof of sufficient income to meet the couples immigration visa income requirement. (I believe it is currently $900 per month per married couple).

Anyway, well done!

Gardener: Good point -- I should probably have said that I did not need a marriage cert.