Mr. Carrio is the Immigation Ministerio.. My wife went to school with him.. He said as of 8/9/2011 they will be asking for 5 years of criminal background history from everyone because of the all the money laundering. In addition they are working on raising the fees and mabye ugrading the amount to $1,200 on proof of income and searching for tax invasion from the USA for 2012. They will only approve so many work visa's because of the flood of Colombians and Cubans coming in. They are getting 20,000 inquires a month at the Ecuadorian Embassy from retirees asking about living here.. If you need any additional information email at [email protected]