Need a visa-fast!

[asdsrfr]

Hi Guy's-

 

I spent too much time reading about the fun I am going to have in Brazil while failing to note the visa requirement.

 

Tomorrow (Monday) I'll drive up to LA from San Diego and try to get one from the consulate in time for my Friday departure. Has anyone had any experience getting one on short notice? I hate to postpone my trip and I feel like a real heel for overlooking this.

 

Thanks.

[Guest Tomcal_]

You might be in Luck! In the past you drop your application off in the morning and pick it up two days later in the afternoon. Mornings are for applying and afternoons are for picking up. The Brazilian consulate in L.A. is in the Hustler/Larry Flint building on Whilshire and La Cienega in Beverly Hills.

[Mikeyz7]

> The Brazilian consulate in L.A. is in the

>Hustler/Larry Flint building on Whilshire and La Cienega in

>Beverly Hills.

 

What a great place to have their consulate -- must have done research on their visitors "interests". On a serious note -- it sounds like that the LA consulate is more co-operative than the one in Toronto. 10 business days -- no ifs and or buts! Fortunately I have not been in a situation to need a rush. But I get the impression it would have cost me extra$$$.

[Guest Valleyman]

The Los Angeles consulate used to require one week to issue visas. However it didn’t take that long when I applied last year – I think my visa was ready in four days.

 

The consulate opens at 9 AM; visa applications are accepted only until 1 PM. If you go to the consulate’s website at http://www.brazilian-consulate.org you can download the application form. You will also need a passport-size photo and $100. I have always paid in cash, but the website now states that only cashier’s checks or money orders will be accepted. (There is a bank – I can’t remember which one – on the ground floor of the Flint Building.)

 

Good luck.

[jakobsen]

Alternatively if you have a good friend who's Brazilian and who lives in LA, have this person call the consulate (better yet call the consul him/herself). They can expedite the visa while you wait.

 

Bring a lot of cash with you since the visa involves paying the application fee and then a processing fee. Also just state in your application that you are visiting Brazil for tourism not business purposes or they will ask for a lot of papers. And of course don't forget to bring a copy of your itinerary or air ticket and make sure your passport is valid for more than six months.

[trilingual]

All good suggestions. Also, be charmingly embarassed, smile, use please and thank you a lot, apologize for not having understood the visa requirement and ask if there isn't any way of expediting an application, like a special fee the way the U.S. does it for last minute passport applications.

 

You'll definitely need your plane ticket or itinerary, either from the travel agent or from your airline's website (if you booked yourself). Two passport photos and money to buy the cashier's check or money order (a bank money order works fine) made out to "Consulate General of Brazil." Plus the application form, of course.

 

Get there in the morning, as soon as they open, and tell them you drove all the way up from San Diego, and that you can wait to pick up the visa in the afternoon if there's any way they can help you out.

 

Good luck!

[jackhammer91406]

Banking in a hurry

 

The lobby bank is a Washington Mutual I believe. This building was the headquarters for Great Western Bank with the statue of John Wayne out front. When that bank was absorbed by Washington Mutual, the branch changed to the new bank. The lines moved pretty fast the two times I was there last year.

[asdsrfr]

Well I made the trip to the LA Consulate and it was a waste of time. They refused to do anything to expedite a visa. Earliest available is Oct 7th.

 

In all my years of travelling I've never run into someone as rude as the Brazillian woman working the counter--I hope this does not reflect the country as a whole and I'm sure it doesn't.

 

She flat out refused to help in any way and then walked away from the counter!

 

I made contact with a visa service in San Francisco that says the consulate up there is much more speedy and helpful and so I Fed-Ex'd everything up there to the visa service and hope they can come through.

 

Lesson learned--apply well in advance for your Brazilian visa!

[paulsf]

I got my visa at the San Francisco office last month. I went on Monday morning and picked it up Wednesday afternoon. So here's hoping they come thru for you.

[asdsrfr]

Well the San Francisco Consulate came through at 4:00pm today--just in time for it to be Fed-ex'd to me before my departure tomorrow.

 

I can't say enough for the Zierer Visa Service in San Francisco. They really tried to make this happen for me and I would recommend them for any visa needs. Their website is http://www.zvs.com

 

I'll be at the Atlantico until the 7th--I hope to run into some of you!

[Ignoto]

>In all my years of travelling I've never run into someone as

>rude as the Brazillian woman working the counter--I hope this

>does not reflect the country as a whole and I'm sure it

>doesn't.

 

 

If American consular officials were not so unreasonable with Brazilians, the shoe might not hurt so much when it is on the other foot.

 

My friend (U.S. citizen) whose wife is Brazilian (with green card) can't even get a tourist visa for his mother-in-law to visit. She lives in the condo he owns in Rio, so it isn't as if she's not going back.