I thought I sent my money order, passport, letter of intention, and bank statements into a bureacratic black hole in downtown Boston. My plan of attack was to storm down to the consulate and demand to speak with someone about this outrage…then again they hold the power to let me into Brazil. Alas, bright and early Saturday morning the two-page 90 day visa arrived on my porch.

If anyone out there has to deal with the Boston Consulate of Brazil my advice is patience. I called the visa department about 30 times over 2 months, sent 4 emails, left phone messages in English and Portuguese and received exactly zero responses.

For advice I called the consulates in Houston, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York. Each had a slightly different answer about applying for a visa with a one-way ticket with New York advising to not worry about it and Miami saying it was “impossible.” I followed the Atlanta office’s advice and wrote the letter etc.

At the end of the day I am psyched to get my visa in one attempt! I wonder how difficult it will be to get back home…