I just applied for my Brazilian visa in Washington DC. I filled out the form online. The message for the new SCEDV (Sistema de Emissăo e Controle de Documentos de Viagem) system notes that the visas are 'digitally issued'.

Does this mean that there is not going to be a physical stamp or paper insert into my passport?

Thanks

I'm in New York. It's Thursday. I need to fly to Rio Tuesday afternoon.

1) I read in another thread that NYC's consulate used to do one-day turnarounds. Anyone know if they are still doing it?

2) I am a grad student in school in New York so don't have a New York driver's license or utility bill. Can I use my out of state license? Or, can I submit other documents showing residency here, such as tax forms or bank statements?

Many thanks for your insights.

Just for general information, last year it was mutually agreed that the US would increase the VISA validity period for Brazilians from 5 to 10 years. Based on reciprocity, Brazil agreed to increase VISA validity for US citizens from 5 to 10 years.

The Brazilians Congress has just approved at the Senate the increase in VISA validity for US citizens to 10 years. The bill was sent for Presidential sanction, after which it will be implemented. The US is just waiting for Brazil Presidential sanction to apply the reciprocity and also implement 10 year VISA period.

It is expected that from late March or April 2010 VISA for Brazilians citizens going to the US and US citizens traveling to Brazil will therefore be extended to 10 year validity.

Rgs,

I don't believe that you need to be a NY resident to use the NYC consulate. The only thing that you need to bring with you is your passport. Also, a postal money order (only) for $130. The consulate will start to accept applications around 930AM. Download the forms and fill out exactly as requested.

All things normal, you should have the Visa Friday or Monday.

By now, I hope you have filled out the application online, obtained the passport photo and postal money order required, and waited in a long, slow line to drop off your application at the consulate on 6th Ave.

You don't need to provide proof of residency if you show up in person. They do require proof of travel (a printed itinerary is sufficient).

They might not promise to return your visa in 1 day, but it still might be ready the next day: Check the status of your application online at the same Web site where you submitted it. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone above for the replies. Indeed, I headed down there this morning, and things are looking good.

As stated on their website, they initially refused and insisted they needed 5 days. Once I showed them my itinerary - so not just that I wanted my visa early, but that I needed it - and politely apologized to them several times they acquiesced and promised to return it Monday.

Not a wonderful experience - would've rather done something else with my time - but overall efficient and successful.

This is all subject to edit, of course, depending on if the thing is actually there waiting for me Monday.

I realize the OP's travel has come and gone, but for future reference:

The Consulate General of Brazil in New York serves the residents of the following states:
Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Bermuda Islands.


Fwiw the Houston Consulate requires proof of residence within its juridisction as part of the visa application process.


Edited to add:
I was surprised to see how much the process has changed in just a little more than a year. Last February, the Houston Consulate refused to expedite visas and was quite reluctant to take in-person applications. Documents had to be submitted by mail or travel agent.

While helping a friend prepare for a trip in May, I learned that now all applications must be submitted in person or by an approved agent. Nothing by mail will be accepted.

When it comes to applying for tourist visas at the Brazilian consulate in NYC, the consulate has never asked me (nor anyone else I know personally) for proof of residence in "Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Bermuda Islands".

A few tips for success regarding the Brasilian Consulate General, as it has been mentioned in this thread quite a bit ; I've been dealing with the L.A. Consulate on business matters for years.

1. These are very good people, and very professional. Respect that fact, and that word, if you need to obtain a tourist visa or other legal items, all of which takes time.

2. In Brasil, you cannot do business at any Federal Agency dressed for the beach. It is considered tacky and disrespectful. No shorts, bikinis, or thongs. period. Slacks, and shirt are required.

This psychology continues up in North America, so dress appropriately when visiting the Consulate General, as you are speaking with Federal employees. You can change into your speedos and tie-dyes later when you hit Santos, Bahia, Copacabana, Leme, or Ipanema. Dress for success.

3. You will be in the office a few hours, and parking is very limited to a few coin meters on La Cienega and Wilshire. If this is your first time going to the consulate, it might be wise to utilise the pay parking lots nearby, or the underground parking service for the building. Parking on the residential streets in Beverly Hills requires a permit, and the citations are quick and expensive. Save your money for an accessory up the street on Rodeo Drive.

Running downstairs to add more quarters to the meters might also mean you lose your number in line, which you receive when you enter the visa and legal affairs office. Plan in advance for this.

4. Over a decade or so, I have seen the tired faces of those having driven in from Nevada for a visa, and heard more than a few irate tirades in the office and out in the hall. This will not help your case at all.

Smile, be patient and polite, have all your documents and two photos neatly ready, and ensure that your flight itinerary is printed on letterhead from an airline or travel agency. The same mentality applies when you arrive in Brasil and are processed by Federal Immigration officers.

There is a bank across the street on Wilshire for the money order requirement. If this is beginning to sound difficult at this point, then consider the option of using one of the visa services mentioned above.

5. Expedited last-minute tourist visas are very rare. For the first time traveller to Brasil, a minimum of one month to five weeks is required: One day to deliver your documents and apply, and two to three weeks to return as scheduled, to recover your passport and visa. Be patient; It is well worth it.

When you finally arrive in Brasil, and later discover you enjoy the music, history, geography, food, and certainly the people, you may also decide to purchase a bit of property, or a condo by the beach of your dreams as many do. Buying and owning property in Brasil is perfectly legal for foreigners, and as recent economic conditions have proven a very good investment in the past 12 years.

Remember then if this is the case, that you will be returning again to the same consulate and employees you met the first time for a visa extension, business, or perhaps even a permanent residency visa.

Just like an upgrade to First Class; It pays to be, and have been curteous.

Fwiw until recently (to my knowledge), neither did the Houston Consulate.

One of the differences I note, between the websites of the two consulates, is the the NYC site only mentions the area of jurisdiction, while the Houston site specifically mentions that proof of residence within the jurisdiction may be required.

First, I must thank you for a very helpful, articulate description of the visa process.

I do have one question, though. Please forgive me if it is silly. Since every consulate I have checked has some version of the following, "The processing fee or visa fee... must be paid by an US Postal Money Order only..." can a US Postal Money Order be purchased at a bank?

Again, fwiw (and if memory serves), the requirement of payment by US Postal Orders only was not in place last year. I know for sure that 6-7 years ago, we sent personal checks by mail when applying for a Brazilian visa.

When I got my visa in 2008 a postal money order only was accepted as payment. I doubt that a postal money order can be gotten from a bank.

USPS money orders are purchased via USPS facilities. Unless someone here knows of a bank that is a USPS franchise location or which is leasing space to a USPS, you have to get them at a USPS facility.

For years now -- last year too -- Brazil's NYC consulate has required USPS money orders.

I have come to learn (the hard way, unfortunately) that

(1) Each consulate makes its own rules as to how, and from whom, it accepts visa applications; and

(2) these rules can change any time!

It's a good idea to check the rules at the consulate within your jurisdiction and allow plenty of time to work through the process.

Apparently my memory of when the requirement for USPD money orders was implemented is incorrect.

I also doubt that banks sell USPS money orders. I asked, though, because the post I responded to was otherwise very helpful and accurate. Enough so that I thought I should double-check whether or not it is possible to get USPS money orders elsewhere.

In response to OkLAAhoma:

" can a US Postal Money Order be purchased at a bank ? "

No, and Yes. No, a US Postal Money Order cannot be purchased from an Bank in North America. That is the jurisdiction of the USPS, correctly mentioned above.

As explained to me a few years ago, this requirement was made to ensure that visas processed by mail had a common source of funds secured by a known institution.

Following that logic, the bank across the street at Wilshire Blvd. and La Cienega is also a known institution, specifically to to the Consulate General of Brasil in Los Angeles. I found this out one morning when along with my other documents, I had taken along an associate's passport package to obtain a visa for processing. I went to pay with cash, forgetting the rules.

With a smile, the consulate officer asked politely if I wouldn't mind going to the bank across the street and obtaining a cashier's cheque for the processing fee. I believe it took me 20 minutes total, which included a single expresso on the corner ( Probably the least expensive purchase one can make today in Beverly Hills ).

My associate (now a friend) had her visa issued that week, and then headed South with her sparkling new Rimowa 4-wheeler, as we saw her off at LAX. Years later she still retains her Rimowa, and now owns ( and enjoys ) her new condo in Porto Das Dunas, a beach community in Fortaleza, Brasil.