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Brazil US Consulate Reviews
Average Rating: 3.8
/ 5
606 Review(s)
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| Sao Paulo, Brazil |  Review #4649 on June 28, 2009: |
Fabian&Regi
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: Other Experience
I came into US with a J1 Visa, my experience on the consulate was satisfactory. Officers were very polite. The interview was conducted in English and was actually 4 simple questions.
| | | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Review #4593 on June 17, 2009: |
Seph
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
My K1 visa journey at Rio:
- I stayed at Hotel Formule 1 (R$ 99 daily, about U$ 50), the room is really small and there is no room service, but it works if you just want a place to sleep, it is like 10 minutes from the consulate in a cab and it costs about R$ 7 (U$ 3.50) to get there. Don't expect too much from this part of the city, it is on the center of the downtown, and it is *dirty*. And at night it is really scary, lots of bums getting food from trash on the streets.
- When you get at the consulate, there will be a huge line, don't go there! Ask the consulate people about immigration visa, there will be a person there helping people, and she will tell you to go upstairs, to the immigration department. If she is not there (she is the one helping upstairs too), you will have to wait in line.
- To get there, you will need to leave all the electronic stuff on the reception, go on the xray, then ask for the immigration room, or just follow the signs.
- Upstairs, she will be helping people with the papers, she will give two sheets to everybody, one is a form to fill your name and contact info and the other one is the document order (the same one on the document list of the website, be aware that the website has a link called "IMPORTANT: Order of the documents" that is outdated, look at the "Documents required for visa", i've made all the forms on both of the links tho, just to be sure)
- ATTENTION!!! Main problems I saw with other applicants:
- Photo not showing ears!
- Missing forms
- Just one copy of DS-156 (you need two)
- Form DS-156 printed from somewhere else. The DS-156 *MUST* be filled online and the result printed, and doing a mistake on this one is a big no, because you can't file it by hand, and your appointment will be rescheduled.
* Besides that, the attendant is very nice and allow people to go out to take new photos, copies or get help from relatives (in case they are not there with you already)
- Then she will call each person to check if everything is filled and in order and helping (actually she will put it in order for you in case you didn't do it correctly).
- After that, each applicant is called in a cabin, but it is not the interview yet, you will get your documents reviewed again by another person, that will take them to prepare for the interview with the consul later.
- And the waiting for the interview starts  ! If you are nervous, it is a nice time to talk to the other applicants, or to help people that don't know vj and are having trouble preparing the forms 
- Then after one hour or two, I was called to the consul's cabin. My interview was really fast, it took less than 10 minutes:
- First I had to swear I was saying the truth and that everything on the documents were true, then sign the sworn statements on the forms (I think there are two, read the forms so you don't sign the ones you have to sign with the consul).
- After the sworn statement, he started with the questions, that in my case, were just a few: he asked how and when I've met my fiancee in person, the dates we've met, when we decided to marry, how much time we've spent together already and when our son was born.
- A hint is to stay calm and answer the questions without thinking too much, i was a bit nervous and answered some dates wrong, but I corrected it later and it was OK. Remember it is normal to make confusion with dates, specially if you are a man (LOL  ), the most important is to stay calm, tell the truth and act naturally.
- Even though he didn't ask for any proof or evidence of my relationship, it is highly recommended to bring proof for the interview, cause the consul usually looks at them.
- Then out of the blue, he said "ok, your visa will be approved"  , gave me a green paper and told me to talk to the girl outside to finish the process.
- With the paper, I just needed to talk to the girl again, go downstairs and pay to get it shipped to my house (it was R$ 39, about U$ 20), I think it depends on where you live, so be sure you have more money with you, because there is no pick up option, you have to pay to get it delivered.
- They said it takes between 3-5 business days to have the visa done, and up to 7 business days to get it after it is shipped, this part was kind of scary, I didn't feel too confident in the person saying that, so I don't know, I am waiting to see when it gets here. So be sure you don't go crazy and buy a ticket for the next day, because you will still need to get the visa in hands!
| | | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Review #4493 on June 1, 2009: |
John & Ana
Rating: 
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
The interview process wasn't too bad. Our interview was scheduled for 7:45 am, and we were finished by 11:30 am. Most of the time was spent waiting.
I was only irritated because we had spent a lot of time doing translations and I had spent about $200 on a certificate stating that she had never been married, also with a translation.
I specifically emailed the embassy asking about the requirement for translations and the marriage status document, and was informed that they were required.
At the interview, they gave this document and the translations back and said they weren't required.
Obviously communication between the people who answer the emails and conduct the interviews is minimal, and it wasted time and money.
Also, it took nearly three months to get the interview from the time I received the NOA 2.
| | | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Review #4473 on May 29, 2009: |
kali2006
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: K1 Visa
It went smooth, officer asked a few questions and approved K1 visa.
| | | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Review #4449 on May 26, 2009: |
bahiadave
Rating:
Click here if you found this review helpful | Review Topic: General Review
We arrived before 7a.m. and came upon a long line. This line is for non-immigrant visa's. Go towards the front of this line and there is a small line for K1 Visa's. We were second in line. There is a little coffee shop across the street for cafe and pao de queso  . Right at 7:30 we were marched upstairs to a small room with about 50 chairs. There was a woman at the desk who handed out two forms. One for the fiance to fill out, short and general. The other, was the order which the forms should be in, written in Portuguese. It is the same list as on this site. She calls each fiance up and goes over each form of the application, all pretty much to see if it is in order. Then in another 20 minutes we were called to a room, where a woman, who appears more official, goes over every form to make sure all is in order. Make sure it is!! The biggest mistakes we saw, were passport photo's not showing both ears. Ladies, pull your hair back for your photo. We had 2 sets of photo's and the one with my fiance's hair down, but clearly showing her ears, was rejected. Don't worry about how it looks, pull your hair back. Another couple did not pay the fee to Citibank before the interview. Big no no. Yet another forgot to bring her passport. Needless to say, she was sent home. About another half hour later we were called in for the interview. A young man, around 30'ish, began to ask my fiance some general questions. Where we met, how many times I'd been to Brasil, nothing too personal. He then asked me about where we were planning to live and could I support my fiance. He asked us both if we planned on having children. Less than 15 minutes later he told us we had been approved. We then went downstairs and arranged for the Visa to be mailed to my fiance's residence. It cost us 68reais. We were out the door and on our way to the Praia by 9a.m. The most important advice I have is to be organized. Bring exactly what they ask for and in the correct order. They kept a copy of my W2's, so make sure you bring that with your affidavit of support. It was a very painless process and I wish everyone the best. Regards, Dave
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