Consulate General of Brazil

So easy. I had everything that was listed out on the website and was in and out of the office in about 4 minutes. They told me I could come back in 5 days to pick up my passport but told me to check the status online. It was ready in 3 days. Came back and was also in and out.
*People that work there are very friendly. If you have your paperwork in order you will be just fine.
**Online it says you must now upload all of your documents prior to your appointment. I couldn’t upload my photo but it was not an issue. I did upload everything else.

My experience here was very positive. Just make sure you go to the website first:
Anyhow, here are some pointers that would have saved me a lot of time and stress. Once you log onto the site, fill out the electronic form online. Next, make sure you do the following things:
Have a passport-​sized picture
Print out your itinerary
Have some sort of bank statement
Have 2 blank pages in your passport
Get a money order from USPS of $ 160
Bring a self-​addressed return envelope from USPS
I may have missed something so make sure you go over the site in full detail. Once you have everything, you can make an appointment. I was able to book mine for the next morning.
Parking costs $ 3 for the first hour and $ 1 for every 15 minute afterwards. However, you won’t have to worry about paying too much for parking because you will be in and out of the office before you know it.
As long as you have all the required documents, you’re not going to have a bad time.

A seriously effortless process. The website has all these rules like proving jurisdiction and bringing a money order and showing that you already bought a ticket, that I was worried I was going to fail at some step. I made an appointment to drop my stuff off, and then realized that I had forgotten to get something notarized, so I had to cancel my appointment. Except it was already too late to cancel online, and the embassy does not pick up the phone! (Seriously, what is the point of having a phone number if all it is is a message saying they don’t answer the phone?) So I just didn’t show up and scheduled a different appointment.
On the day of the actual appointment, I got to Buckhead. You have to pay for parking ($ 3). I got their before my appointment time and was seen right away. I actually got out of the consulate before my appointment was even supposed to start! You can track the progress of your order online on their website. And then you can track the package as it courses its way through usps. I had the passport with visa in my hand in three days! Cannot get better than that.

An absolutely painless process. I arrived for my visa appointment at 11:50 and was back in my car by 11:57. I got my visa in the mail the next day. You can’t ask for better service.

The website is more intimidating than the office. It was such an easy process once I went. I showed up early and was able to be seen right away. Make sure you bring everything they ask. She had a glue stick and I did not fill out my money order. She stamped it and I wrote my name on it. Very easy process and nice staff.

These folks are AWESOME! I had a rather urgent need to get a VISA due to an upcoming trip and had dropped the ball on my end. They allowed me to use their printer and correct a document that I had wrong. Within 45 minutes I was done and on my way home.
Do:
Have the required documents ready. (make sure the addresses are correct on bank statements)
Have US post office money order.
Have prepaid envelope to send back to you.
Dont:
Bring an attitude. (remember you’re not entitled to visit Brazil) They’re very nice people.
My appointment time was screwed up and I explained to them that I drove a long way. They figured out a way to get me in and out without disrupting the other appt times. I wish every Gov agency was as accommodating. Five stars

This is a VERY easy process, despite all the fear put into you by their directions where they say if you make a mistake they will keep your money and you have to apply again. Just be sure to bring the paperwork they require. The lady who helped us was extremely nice and friendly.
TIP: 2 places on their website state a tourist visa requires a notarized copy of a drivers license, utility bill, or bank statement. Notaries will not notarize those docs because they are not legal docs signed in their presence. We just took our driver’s license and a copy of it, and that was fine. We really fretted about this and it was not even required. Not sure why it is listed as a requirement.

This is my 2^nd experience at a Brazilian consulate. I went 8 years ago and got my visa from the NYC location. This location, I was in and out in 15 minutes or less! It was absolutely astonishing how quickly I was done and I had my visa in the mail the NEXT DAY. And this was during World Cup time… I am still amazed at how quickly everything was done. No appointment, even! Good stuff, very impressed.

Pros: Booking the appointment through the online portal was simple and thanks to the new World Cup visa, the cost was free with a World Cup game ticket. Instructions on the website are pretty clear and the application process was extremely simple and fast.
Note: Bring all your materials printed (self address envelope with tracking number, application forms, flight itinerary, hotel bookings, etc.). If you don’t have it then they won’t process your visa.
Cons: The consulate isn’t very responsive to emails or phone calls. The cost of a regular visa is $ 160+ for US Citizens. The web portal application was completely in Portuguese, thank goodness for Google translate.

I read the procedure online and had everything ready by the time I went to the Consulate to process my visa. Except, that I went on the wrong date. However, they were able to fit me in within 30 minutes and I was able to get out of there in a timely manner. I was able to pick up my visa later that afternoon.

Start the process online and you’ll be fine. Be sure to re-​read the instructions on the website since the confirmation email after scheduling your appointment will not have all the information for your situation. For my tourist visa ($ 140) I almost forget to bring my plane itinerary and bank statement. I didn’t get the sense that there were flexible in any way, it’s all down to business. So follow the rules.
$ 140 is pricey but it’s the same thing Brazilians pay to come to the US and they have to go through a lot more trouble than we do to (you can read about it in the visa waiting room).
Parking is $ 1 per 20 mins ($ 8 max per day), but if it’s under 20 mins (like picking up your visa) it’s free. You pick up you visa from 3 – 4 pm the same day (or another day).

I stopped in today to turn in all my paperwork for my visa application, and everything went surprisingly well– I stopped in at 11AM, was promptly directed to the proper room for visa applications, and within 10 minutes after a few questions about my purpose/​whereabouts of my trip, I was told that my visa would be ready by 3PM in the afternoon.
The only downsides to coming out here was that I still had to pay $ 2 bucks for parking… for literally 15 minutes. :-p, and the extra trip to Buckhead (where I hardly ever go). When I picked up my visa, I just parked in the Phipps plaza deck and walked 2 blocks across the street to the consulate.
But in light of getting same-​day visa approval? That’s awesome! Especially because my flight is this Thursday. :)
Make sure you have all the paperwork that you need!
p. s. Make sure you make an appointment via the website!