It’s official! The ten month Brazilian visa is now stapled and taped into my passport! My mom accompanied me for an adventure into New York City for the day to apply for the visa, and battling the traffic was the hardest part of the process!
Applying as a Fulbright helped to cut down some of the process and fees, which I appreciated, and I arrived to the consulate with my three needed papers in hand. This particular consulate is only open specifically for visas from two to four in the afternoon, and the line had already begun when we got there at one. The hour wait was passed by talking to two families who prepared for their vacations in Brazil. I was so nervous as I waited outside, but I also felt glad for the not bitter winter day.
As we walked into the consulate, we passed through a metal detector and entered another line. I was lucky to only be the fourth family in line, and once we entered the building there seemed to be at least fifty people in line following me. I fidgeted in line, rechecked all of my papers, and waited for the next window to open.
They handed me my ticket, and I was surprised of two things. One- my ticket had the “301” on it. Not 1, 2, 3, etc. Instead, the 300s. Next, she told me that I would need to hold onto my materials until they called me for my interview. I hesitated and repeated back “interview?” I sat back down in my chair and waited thirty minutes to once again be called up again. Unlike what I expected, the interview only lasted five minutes at most. After, I was once again told to have a seat and expect an hour wait as my information was handed off to their supervisor.
I tried to pass the time by talking to families and people around me, and the huge room of empty chairs quickly began to fill. What looked like about 75-100 chairs filled within the hour, and I waited as dozens of number were called to retrieve their visas. Finally, three hours after arriving at the consulate, I walked out with my visa and passport in hand.
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