The Never Ending Story of Social Security Verification Letter

If you have been following the long, long story about us getting all our paper work completed for our residency in Ecuador... it still continues!

Sept. 3rd - 5th we did a two night trip to Miami that we believed would provide us with the certification we need.  The trip was a total bust in getting anything done.  I think the only thing we did was really upset one employee and she is still trying very hard to make our lives difficult.  We wrote an apology letter and asked for forgiveness and sent in along with what we thought were corrected papers, at least we were told if they were submitted this way they would be approved.  Our corrected documents were expressed mailed to the Miami office on Sept. 6th (Thursday).  We expected them to be returned to us with the pre-paid express mail envelope we provided not later than Tuesday the 11th.

This morning (the 13th) Ed received a phone call from a gentleman speaking Spanish from the Miami office.  He told Ed that they needed $45.  We had sent them a cashier's check for $50 to cover the cost (amount on website).  He explained to Ed they don't give money back.  Ed told him we didn't need any cash back but return our papers.

I have the feeling that the "witch of Miami" sat on our documents.  She knew our original departure date and waited to make sure we wouldn't get the papers in time.  Both Ed and I had a feeling that the Miami Ecuadorian Consulate would not approve our documents, or them not arrive in time, not matter how great of an apology letter we wrote. 

When we started this process, I was going as a dependent on Ed's pension.  Now, I am applying under my own pension from Social Security.   That means I needed my own Social Security Verification of Benefits Letter.  We were starting from the very beginning with this document and it just meant I needed my own papers to be properly completed.

The first step, you have to obtain a Verification of Benefits Letter from Social Security to prove the amount of your pension.  The amount for Ecuador has to be $800 per person plus $100 for each dependent.  The letter has to be signed by an employee of the SS office.  The employee's signature has to be notarized. 

Ed and I both had to appear at the Social Security office in Tampa for them to provide each of us with our letter.  I had arranged for a Mobile Notary to meet us there at 1:00pm on Tuesday, the 11th.  We were called back to a 'booth' after 30 minutes of waiting.  We explained to the young lady behind the window what we needed.  The employee was very unsure that she could or would do this.  She had to visit her supervisor and was asked to wait again in the lobby.  It was another 30 minutes before they called us to a new 'booth'.  To this new employee, Mr. Lopez, we explained what we needed and provided our Social Security numbers and photo ID card. 

 
The problem was we needed a special statement to be added to the regular form Verification Letter.  It had to read... 

"On .......(date), I the undersigned, do hereby certify that this is a true and original Social Security Verification Letter for Edward D. Mooney, issued by the Social Security Administration."  The employee then signed and give his business title.  It was this statement & his signature that was notarized by our mobile notary.

The next step in the process was for this paper to be apostilled at the Florida Secretary of State in Tallahassee.  Ed and I debated if it would be returned quickly enough for us to get it to the Ecuadorian Consulate in Washington D.C.  We both felt it had to be done quickly.  So, the following morning (yesterday the 12th) Ed drove the 9 hours round trip up to Tallahassee. 

When he arrived at the Secretary of State's office, he learned they do NOT take cash or credit cards, small detail we over looked on their web site.  The girl at the desk was helpful and told him where to purchase a money order.  Ed runs out to get that little detail done.  He returns with money order of $20 ($10 for each of our Social Security Letters).  It take a few minutes before the documents are returned with their new apostille.  A quick bite of food and a stop for gas and he's on the road again.

Now the final step for this document is to be certified by an Ecuadorian Consulate.  They must see this Letter with it's signature, notarization, apostille, translation and notarization!  This is the part the Miami Consulate was giving us a hard time with.  So, Ed and I are by passing Miami all together now.  It is on the suggestion from other Expats in Ecuador to take our 'new' documents directly to the Washington D.C Ecuadorian Consulate.  We were given the name of Mr. Marco Farfan at the D.C consulate and talked with him this morning.  Ed was able to make an appointment with him on Monday (Sept. 17th) at 9:00AM.  He said it would only take minutes to have our documents certified - IF they are properly completed!

So, on Sunday (the 16th) Ed is catching an afternoon flight from Tampa directly into Washington National Airport.  Ed will have his Monday morning meeting with Marco and will return to the airport in time (we hope) to catch his 5:30PM.

Will Monday bring an end to this long story of the one very need Social Security Verification of Benefits Letter .....?  Stayed tuned....

Peggy

The Car is Sold.... OOPS... NOT Sold Yet!

When Ed and I started making our plans to move to Ecuador, everything has gone very smoothly.  We sold our home in days, had a very successful Estate Sale, we moved into a friends condo that she only uses part of the year, and we found a new home for our two mini schnauzers.  I should had known there would be one or two speed bumps along the way.  Here is our first....

It was back in June when a friend of Ed's (lets call him Guy) said he would be very interested in buying our 2005 XC90 Volvo.  The SUV is in excellent condition and has less than 82,000 miles.  Guy did some research on the car and he and Ed talked about the price.  Ed did not have a hard ball price set on the car but suggested where he would like to be.  The end of July, Ed went back to Guy to see if he still wanted the car and Guy told Ed is did.  But, that he would take it just before we left for Ecuador.

Ed spent the month of August in Montana to visit his 6 sisters and one brother.  For the last 20 years, their whole family meets up at Seeley Lake and has a week long reunion.  This trip had been planned long before our plans developed for moving to Ecuador.  This year even our two children and their families would be joining the reunion.

The month of August I focused on getting documents completed for our residency for Ecuador.  I found great duffel bags and started packing up items that we needed in Cuenca.  I didn't have to deal with the car, because we knew it was sold and Guy was just waiting for us to be done with the use of it.

When Ed got back from Montana, he and Guy meet.  Guy wanted to look over the car again and see again what all the options it had on it.  They were just down to taking final sales amount.  Ed told Guy that he really wanted to make it a "win win" situation.  Guy said he would get back with Ed on his price.

The day before Labor Day, Guy wrote Ed an email and informed him that he would not be buying the car.  Well, that sure us in a pickle.  The following day we were driving down to Miami to get some of documents completed by the Ecuadorian Consulate.  We were down to less than two weeks before our departure and that really didn't give us time to sell the car.

Ed drove the car over to the Tampa Volvo dealership because they had shown interest in buying it.  He took a half day doing that and was only offered half of the going sales price of the car.  He drove it back home.

I contacted the our friend who owns the condo where we are staying.  I asked permission to store the car in her garage here until we come back the end of February.  She said that would be fine.  It is not a perfect solution but we don't feel like giving the car away.  We will take some time to sell it then.

Our second speed bump came down in Miami and dealing with the Ecuadorian Consulate.... but that is another story.  It is titled 'The Ecuadorian Consulate Story'.

Peggy 

The Miami Ecuadorian Consulate Story....

September 3rd, Monday, Labor Day.......

Ed and I drove down to Miami to have our papers approved by the Ecuadorian Consulate.  We thought by driving down on Monday afternoon, we could be at the Consulate when their doors opened at 9:00am on Tuesday.  We had been told by a person who had used the Miami Consul that it took only an hour to get approval and $95.  We were all set.

We left Sun City at 1:30 and Ed drove the first couple of hours.  I took over the driving at the half way point.  I got stuck driving through some really nasty thunderstorms.  But, the drive was mainly boring driving down alligator alley.  I had arranged for us to spend the night at the Best Western near the Miami International Airport. The hotel is located about 1 block from the Consulate & within walking distance.  We arrived at the hotel near dinner time and neither of us wanted to get back in the car and go 'find' a restaurant.  So, we opted to just eat in the hotel's restaurant.  It turned out to be a nice meal in a quiet setting and we both enjoyed a good glass of wine.

September 4th, Tuesday........

I was up early this morning because I still had some travel agent business to complete (still have clients).  We were in the Consulate's office by 9:15 and there were just a couple of people waiting.  The 'receptionist' (Gate Keeper #1) was behind a glass wall with only a small hole in the glass to talk to her through.  She is seated low at desk and you really have to bend to talk to her.  Ed explained to the receptionist that we had come to have our Social Security Verification Letter certified by the Consulate.  We would also be apply for a Pension Residency when we arrived in Ecuador.  She asked if we had all our papers and asked to see them. 

We had learned from other expats living in Ecuador what papers were needed, and we had everything below ready! 

1.  We each had to have a new certified & notarized birth certificate and they had to apostilled from the state that had issued it (New Hampshire & Montana) - done! 
 
2.  A new certificate & notarized marriage certificate and it also had to be apostilled from the state which issued it (Virginia) - done! 

3.  A Florida State Police Background check for each of us and it needed to be notarized and apostilled in Florida - done!

4.  We needed a notarized bank statement of our good standing with them (our bank is USAA in Texas) - done!

5.  Ed needed a Verification Letter from Social Security of the amount of his monthly benefits.  Ed was able to get it notarized and apostilled in Montana while he was up there.  Then, we knew this had to be translated into Spanish and notarized in the state of Florida - done!

6.  Current Passports with extra pages for Visa stamps and they don't expire for many years - yup, got them!

7.  We each needed 2 recent passport pictures in color with white background - completed!

So, we handed this whole packet to the receptionist at the front desk.  She tells us to take and seat and wait until someone can help us.  We waited about 15 minutes before we were called back to meet with a lady (Gate Keeper #2) in an office.   She never introduced herself to us and there was no name plate on her desk, so we have no idea who we were talking to.  She then tells us our packet is NOT correct!  They only can take documents from Florida.  If the document is from another state is has to be translated into Spanish and then notarized by a Florida Notary!  She explains to us that if we had taken our documents as they were to Ecuador and had them translated over there the Ecuadorian Government would not have accepted them as properly completed.  That would mean our residency would have been delayed for months. 

Both Ed and I tried to ask her a question and she was very mad that we questioned her knowledge.  She printed off some paper in Spanish about a Visa that we were not applying for and had no idea what she was talking about.  She then asked (really booted) us to leave her office.  At this point Ed and I have NO idea what we did to piss her off but she was sure upset with us.

Oh, crap... that means we have to get a bunch of our documents translated and notarized ASAP! 

Now, the receptionist was ready... she told us there was an office that could help us just at the end of their building.  The receptionist told us she would keep the Social Security Verification Letter and when the other documents were in order, they would verify that document.  Ed then paid her $45 cash for that and she held onto it. 

So, we walked down to the end of the building and talked to them.  We spoke to a very nice lady, Ms. Nelly Lashman.  Yes, they could translate all our papers and notarize them just the way the Consulate needed them and the necessary copies.  Their price was $25 per document, I had paid $60 in Tampa.  BUT, it will take them 24 hours.  So, our simple 1 hour visit was turning into a full day's task.

Ed and I talked it over and decided it was just as easy to stay over night in Miami and pick up our papers in the morning and know that we would be correct and accepted by the Consulate.  That means we can get this completed by tomorrow, we hope.  OK, the hotel for two nights was unexpected but seemed the quickest and most efficient way to get it all done.  We left Nelly feeling good and went to find a restaurant for a nice lunch.

So, we had some unexpected time on our hands but there were things on our list that we could do from the hotel.  We needed to do a bank wire transfer for our Cuenca condo deposit.  Ed got that completed in minutes.  I needed to make hotel reservations in Guayaquil the night we arrive and in Cuenca until our condo is ready.  I found a really nice hotel in Cuenca for $350 per night - in Cuenca?  That is a price I would expect in NY City not in a small town in Ecuador.  I will keep looking.

September 5th, Wednesday.....

Nelly had suggested that we meet at her office at 8:45 to pick up our translated and Florida Notarized documents.  Her office does not open until 9:00 but she would get there early so we could be the first at the Consulate's office.  Because of some very heavy rains the night before, Nelly's was running a little late but had everything in order.  We paid her $120 in cash for our new packet of documents.  Yes, things were looking up for us!

So, we were at the Consulate's office at 9:05 and were the first ones in line.  We were feeling good.  We handed the Receptionist our complete new packet and was told to sit.  We were kept waiting about 45 minutes this time and then called back into Gate Keeper #2 office.  This time she informs us the Social Security Letter was illegal because our translator had a signature on it from the Social Security Office on it.  She was really up-set about this and told us it had to be redone.  She kicked us out of her office again.

The receptionist returned our $45 cash and we took the document down to visit Nelly again.  Nelly really wanted to help us out, so she suggested that if we used her computer and typed the document she would then Notarize it.  Nelly read the translated letter from our Tampa translator and said it was good and just type that.  She got us onto her computer and Ed typed the letter exactly as our original translator had done.  When Ed was done, Nelly came back and corrected a couple of items and added a statement at the bottom of the letter.  The newly translated letter was printed out, Nelly told Ed to sign it and she Notarized his signature.  The time was 11:30am and we had to be out of the hotel by 1:00.

Off we went to the Consulate's Office.  Ed and I checked in with the Receptionist and told to wait.  We waited a long time and it was getting to be 12:30 so Ed told me to return to the hotel and pack up our room and check out.  He would meet me there as soon as he got the SS letter certified.  I was not with Ed when the next part happened:

Ed was called to the door by Gate Keeper #2.  She asked him in Spanish if he spoke Spanish.  He said he did and had his college degree in Spanish but was rusty in speaking.  She then rapidly fired questions at him in Spanish and there was no way he would reply - she never shut up!  She then told him to come into his office.  She then light into Ed that he had plagiarized this translated paper and that was illegal - there was NO way Ed understood the document or what was said in Spanish.  She informed Ed that she was going to take copies of all our documents and report him to the immigration authorities in Ecuador and this would prevent us from become residents.  At this time, her supervisor joined them in Gate Keeper's #2 office, and he was much more helpful and told Ed all he had to do was get the proper paper work done this letter and he would certify it.

Ed then asked for all his documents to be returned so he could get them "properly completed".  Gate Keeper #2 told him to go sit in the waiting room that they would be returned when SHE was finished with what she was doing.  Ed waited about 30 minutes and the documents were returned to Ed by someone else.  Ed then returned to the hotel very upset.  His integrity had been questioned and this was what Ed couldn't stand. 

Now, it 1:30 and we have the long drive back to Tampa.  But, we both were hungry because we had skipped breakfast.  We just went into Subway for a quick sandwich.  There is something on the schedule that we had been looking forward to but now our mood was down.  Ed had bought tickets to a home game for a Tampa Rays baseball game against the NY Yankees.  The game started at 7:00 and we just drove directly to the Tropicana Field.

On the drive back to Tampa, Ed called Jason, the guy who had originally translated our SS letter. We told him the problem and he said he would correct it. I promised to scan and send him the document the way Nelly had done it to when I got home from the ball game.

The game was good but Tampa had lost by 4 to 6 and that kinda of matched our spirits.  We got home at 11:00 and it had been a long day and I still had to deal with this Social Security Letter.  Before bed, I scanned the SS letter to Jason.

September 6th, Thursday.....

Jason was quick to repsond and had his corrected translated letter to us via email to look over by 9:15.  Ed and I both looked over the letter to make sure it was exactly the way Nelly had done.  I then printed off 3 copies.  Ed had also written a letter directly to Mr. Eduardo Rivadeneira, the Consul General to apologize for any misunderstanding or upsets we caused.  Jason also translated this letter for us. 

We met Jason at 1:00 in a Tampa Kinko Office and was able to get the document Notarized and Expressed mailed back to the Miami Consulate's office, along with Ed's apology letter.  We also enclosed a prepaid Express mail envelop back to us and a money order for $50.  We did paid extra for a 10:00 am delivery to the Consulate.  Now, we just have to sit back and pray that Gate Keeper #2 doesn't hide this document on her desk for days or it doesn't get accidentally bumped into the trash can from her desk.

We still have worries that IF this Social Security letter is verified by the Ecuadorian Consulate's office and arrives to us before our departure this coming Thursday (Sept. 13th) will Gate Keeper #2 have any power over our residency and continue to make our life a series of problems.....

So, this isn't really the end of the story.....