Social Security Benefits Letter
How to obtain and prepare your Social Security awards letter for the Jubilado visa.
US applicants for the Jubilado (pensioner) visa need their Social Security awards letter — also called the benefits letter or award letter — as proof of monthly pension income.
How to Get It
You can download your Social Security benefits letter online from the Social Security Administration's website. Log in to your my Social Security account and select "Request a Benefit Letter" or "Get a Benefit Verification Letter."
Apostille
The Social Security letter must be apostilled. Ideally, this is done at the federal level through the US Department of State. However, some applicants have difficulty with the federal apostille process.
Workaround: Get the letter notarized in the state it originated in (the state where you receive your benefits), then apostilled in that state. This has been accepted by Ecuador's Ministry in practice.
Translation
After apostille, the letter must be certified translated into Spanish by a translator licensed by Ecuador's judiciary (e.g., EcuadorTranslations.com), and the translation must be notarized by an Ecuadorian notary.