Thanks for the reply...

Can anyone answer this as well...
The information I have (from searching on the web) is:

1. No visa required if there is a confirmed onward flight leaving within 24hrs AND
2. Visa REQUIRED if staying overnight...

Also, I talked to the TAM guys and they say, I'll have to checkin my luggage at GRU for the TAM flight. They also say that there is a baggage claim area in the international transit area (so I'll not need to pass through immigration).(can anyone confirm this) Hearing of my itinerary, they suggested that I take the flight leaving on 15th morning instead of 14th night as 2 hours is not enough for checkin. According to TAM, the second rule listed above is not present, and only the first rule applies.

Now, I'm in an awkward situation:

1. If I decide to leave for GRU -> ASU on 14th 9:30 pm, there's only a two hour gap between the two flights and I'll probably not have enough time to get my baggage checked in. Also there's the possibility of missing flights.
2. If I leave on 15th morning, I might be violating their transit without visa rules (of staying overnight)

I'll ring up the embassy again to get a more definitive answer :/

If you allow me to answer I have never heard about or seen this, since you will have to go through immigration before you get to your luggage. Sounds very strange (and wrong) to me......

That's why I put it in bold. Your reply makes me even more nervous about the whole thing...

To make matters worse, there are two separate travel itineraries (DEL->DXB->GRU) and (GRU->ASU). TAM tells me that baggage wouldn't be a problem if had everything on a single ticket (itinerary).

It really depends on whether they'll check your luggage through.
If they do, no need for a visa and no problem. I've also never seen a baggage claim area in the international zone.

The exact flight time doesn't matter here. If you can check the luggage through, you don't have to worry if you'll have enough time. If you can't, you WILL need a visa, regardless of the time you stay.

If you cannot get a definite answer, best to get a visa to be safe.

A number of us may be traveling through GRU on that great CO fare (which I think is gone now). I have several questions:

1) What international airside lounges are there for *G in GRU?

2) What's the procedure for getting a Brazil visa? Must it be in person? Where are Brazil's consulates located?

3) If we have about 12 hours between flights (9am arrival, 9pm departure) and have never been to Brazil, are there some worthwhile sightseeing recommendations in a circuit from GRU?

Here are a few excerpts from the NY consulate's web page:

In reciprocity for a similar fee charged of Brazilian citizens by the U.S. consulates in Brazil, the Consulate General of Brazil in New York announces that, effective on June 4th, 2010, the consular fee for tourist visas (VITUR), business visas (VITEM II), student visas (VITEM IV), VITEM VI visas and permanent visas will be USD 140.00 for citizens of the United States.

All visa applications must be filled out online. Fill it out, print the receipt, sign it and glue a 2x2 inch picture (frontal, with white background) in the appropriate box.

The visa fee must be paid with U.S. Post Office Money Order only, to the order of the Brazilian Consulate (bring the money order to the Consulate with your other documents). Cash, cards and non-USPS money orders are not accepted.

Visas are not issued on the same day the application is received.

Plan your visa application in advance, as it may take the Consulate up to a week (or more) to issue your visa.

No visa will be processed by any kind of mail including USPS, Federal Express, DHL, etc. The Consulate cannot be held responsible for mailed visa applications and will not mail applications or visas back.

Visa applications are received at the Consulate every business day from 10 a.m. to noon, on a first-come, first-served basis. The Consulate reserves the right to limit the number of visa applications received daily. The consular agent will tell you when your passport will be returned.

A visa shall be denied to any foreign citizen who, when submitting his/her application, behaves in an aggressive, insulting or disrespectful way.

On the whole, the procedures sound onerous for anyone who does not live in one of the cities - or maybe they are designed to support the visa agencies.

http://novayork.itamaraty.gov.br/en-...conditions.xml

you can apply via mail if you are in the chicago consulate's jursidiction.... (bordering states)

San Francisco doesn't allow mail. Either get an appointment and come in person, or use a visa service. It's hard to get a price on the visa services, but it looks like $80-100 (in addition to $160 Brazil consulate fee.)

Ill reply to (1) There is a TAM lounge ansd a UA lounge (there may be others) The UA lounge is much much better

You might find some useful information in this thread for #2
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brazi...questions.html

Does anyone have a link to an official looking website that talks about not need a visa for a transit situation? I want to make sure I'm armed with proper documentation for my trip in case there are any issues.

The industry standard is IATA's Timatic, searchable here on the Star Alliance site: http://www.staralliance.com/en/servi...sa-and-health/

David

That's a useful resource. Thanks for pointing it out.

We are leaving on SEA-GRU-EWR MR on UA metal tomorrow. For U.S. passport holders, OLCI requires entry of information on a BRA visa in order to complete check-in. My guess is that the same computer logic will cause a ticket counter agent to ask for a visa, too. Even though it's a through ticket, the computer is seeing it as a trip to GRU (in fact it checked us in through to GRU but not beyond.) So if you try to do it without a visa, I expect you will have to convince an agent that you can do that, and expect some argument or scrutiny, and perhaps variability based on which agent you get.

I suppose you could make up a visa # to fool the chicken, but they'll ask to see it at some point (and it only issued an International Card showing the check-in but not full boarding passes). Our visa # is 6 digits followed by "MD" and is good for 10 years. E.g. 123456MD.

AA does even allow OCLI for Brazil. You must check in with the agent. If the trip is one part of the same ticket and you are transiting in GRU (GIG) there should not be an issue. But if its a separate ticket I'd say there is a good chance that an agent may deny you boarding without a Visa. Like to hear anyone's experience with a particular airline.