Originally Posted by ILuvParis

Last month, I obtained a five year visa from the Consulate of Brazil in Chicago, for the purpose of going to the Brazilian side of the Iguazu Falls. I even had a reservation at the Hotel das Cataratas in Brazil. Unfortunately, for the two days I was in the area, due to some economic issues Argentina and Brazil are having, Brazilian protestors blocked the bridge between the two countries, and I was unable to get into Brazil.

As I understand it, in order for the visa to be effective, the passport containing the visa has to be stamped within 90 days of it being issued. Since I was unable to get into the country, I couldn't get the passport stamped.

My questions are these: Do I have a valid visa? If I were to go to Brazil again, without getting a new visa, would the authorities in Brazil check to see if the visa had been validated? If I were to say that I went to Iguazu, but they didn't stamp the passport, would that be believable? Alternatively, if I were to go to the Brazilian Consulate in Chicago and told my story, could they (or would they) stamp the passport to make it valid? (Yes, I'm cheap - for reasons I won't get into here, for the second year in a row, I have paid $100 to get a visa that I was not able to use. )