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| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |  Review on March 6, 2008: |
mrsaright
Rating:  | Review Topic: Direct Consular Filing
First time for both of us in Rio; we stayed in Lapa, which is more of a party area than a place for rest and relaxation. When we arrived at the Consulate we were directed by the guards to walk around to the back of the building where there were two lines stretching out in two different directions from one door on the corner (where there were more guards). We asked the guards which line we should stand in and they told us to stand in the [much] smaller line. We were 1 hour early, which was completely unnecessary because the line was so short it didn't really make a difference.
Around 8 a.m. a man came around in our line with a clipboard to check to see if my husband's name was written down on his list. Then the guard asked all of us to show our medical exam file so he could check it for any security threats. Then, one by one, we were allowed to pass through the security inside the building (no cell phones, or cameras allowed) and then directed up to the second floor. All of the guards were very nice and helpful. When we got to the second floor, the man who had the clipboard from earlier was sitting at a table next to the door, and when we entered he gave us two pieces of paper: one with a list of the documents they wanted to see (and the order in which they wanted them) and the second was a form for my husband to sign. When we had everything in order we brought the forms to the man at the table to look at and he checked to make sure they were all there and then he told my husband to sit in the front row of chairs facing the smaller interview rooms.
There were 4 interview rooms, if I'm not mistaken. 3 are set up so that you walk into a little cubicle and there's a window that allows people on the outside to look right in. The "interview" that took place in that room was with a lady who spoke directly to my husband in Portuguese and asked him to hand over his documents. She gave him a number and a Protocolo (bill) with two items checked on them and told him to go to the first floor Cashier to pay the amount ($355 for IV Application fee and $45 for security processing fee). We went down to the first floor, paid by credit card, and then went back upstairs and gave the lady the receipt of payment.
By this time it became apparent that there was only one other couple applying for a marriage-based visa at the same time. We didn't talk to them because we had a little incident that we had to attend to instead of chit-chatting:
At this moment the lady asked my husband for his Military I.D. card, because it was missing from the pile of papers. My husband came back to me and asked, "Hey, where's my Military ID? She's asking for it." And I said, "I didn't bring it, because I didn't know you had one" Apparently, we had failed to bring this document with us. The confusion came from the wording on the forms we received from the Consulate asking for "Military Service Record (if applicable)" and in Portuguese something very similar "Servico Militar (se aplicavel)". We had looked at that item, and every time my husband read or every time I asked him about it he said, "But I never served in the Military, so I don't have one." But at the moment the lady had asked him at the interview, and he said, "I don't have a military record" she responded "Your Military ID card" and it finally became clear to him what they wanted.
My husband informed the lady that he didn't have the document with him and she told him to wait for his number to be called. We waited another 30 minutes and then my husband was called into the main interview room. After about 2 minutes he opened the door again and motioned for me to come inside with him [he told me later that the Interviewing official asked him "So where does your wife live? In the U.S. or in Brazil?" and he said, "Actually, she's right outside, do you want to talk to her?" and the official said "Really? Well, yeah, ask her to come in here!"]
When I entered the official appeared to be in quite a good mood. She asked us what language we spoke together and I answered, "In English" and then she asked us, "Would you like to do the interview in English or Portuguese" and my husband said, "I prefer to do it in English" and I agreed. (We heard that people who opted to do the interview in Portuguese were often rejected, so we went ahead and did the interview in English... My husband's english is actually really good and we do speak to each other in English, but my husband thinks the question is a bit unfair... he thinks that most people would opt to do an interview under stressful conditions in their native language because it's easier to express oneself, but who really knows the reason behind what they do... I'm also told that people applying for student or tourist visas are not given a choice--they are spoken to directly in English without the option of Portuguese)
So we were asked to raise our right hands and swear to tell the truth and that all the information in our papers was all true as well. The first question the official asked was to my husband, "So where were you born?" And he said, "I was born in a hospital in Porto Alegre, but it was registered in Alvorada." The official picked up his passport and said, "Because your passport says you were born in "Porto Alegre" but all your other documents say Alvorada... so which is it?" She showed us the passport and the two of us read "Porto Alegre"--which had been on my husband's passport for YEARS (he used the passport to travel back and forth to New Zealand). He said, "I don't know why it says that. When I made the passport I had to submit my birth certificate, and this is how I got my passport back." The official said, "Ok, well I've seen this before. Let me go see what we're going to do about it." Then after a few minutes the official came back with the first lady that my husband had talked to (who had accepted his pile of documents and asked for his military ID) and she said (in Portuguese), "Explain to me why it says Porto Alegre on your passport as your city of birth" and my husband told her the same thing as before (born in Porto Alegre, but registered in Alvorada, a neighboring city) and she took out his birth certificate and said, "Well, it's very clear on your birth certificate that you were born in Alvorada, and were registered in Alvorada. There is no mention of Porto Alegre on your birth certificate. You will have to make a new passport with the correct city on it." And then she handed the documents back over to the interviewing official. She said (jokingly), "She's much stricter than I am... No, but really it's important that all of the information matches, because on all of your forms you have written that you were born in Alvorada, and when you go to your POE they will ask you to explain why your passport has something different written and that will just cause problems. So, what you need to do is ask for a new passport." Then she filled out a green form requesting for the two "missing" documents.
Then she proceeded to ask us questions about us as a couple. She asked us:
-How long have you been married? [Since June of 2007]
-Where were you married? [in Alvorada]
-And you two met in New Zealand? [In a Brasilian dance class]
-(To me): How long have you been in Brasil? [More than one year]
-(To me): I assume you're on a tourist visa? [I've applied for BR residency, but I was told it will take up to 3 years for it to be approved, and I can't work until then]
-(To me): So it's time to go back to the US then? [Yes, my parents will be opening a business, and with my father recently disabled we decided it will be best if we go back and help with the new business]
-(To me): And I assume you don't make enough money? [Right, without being able to work for the last year, I am not in much position to help financially]
-(To me): So your sponsor is who? How is she related to you? [My mother]
-(To me): And she is a Registered Nurse? [Yes]
-(To me): And how many people will you have in your house? (looking at I-864 documents) Mother, father, brother, and a grandmother? That's going to be a full house. [Yes, well, when the business is opened we may have other options available to us in terms of where we live]
-(To us): And who are you living with now in Brasil? [In Alvorada, with husband's mother]
--And that was the end of the questions. She went back to explain how we will deal with the "missing" corrected passport and Military ID card--she said we can send it by courier mail, and that it will take 4-5 days to process when it gets there and then after that it will be sent back to us with the visa stamped into passport and a sealed envelope that must remain sealed and that we must bring with us when we travel to the US.
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #2566