No More Chances for Polygamy



Consulado-Geral do Brasil
Consulate General of Brazil



We finally made it to Miami and registered our marriage. 3 years and 8 months after the fact. Our marriage has now been authenticated by the Brazilian consul and will later be legalized at a notary office in Brazil once we arrive there. Because it had not be recognized by the Brazilian consul before today, E was still considered single in Brazil even though he married me in 2007. Now he's married in both countries so there are no more opportunities for him to be a polygamist. Sorry E.

Today's process was relatively quick and painless. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. (that was the painful part), drove 3.5 hours to Miami (and later had to make the trip back), found the consulate AND cheap parking easily, and were attended to without problem once we arrived on the 26th floor where the consulate is located.

I was fully prepared with any document and photocopy that was required and this helped us waste no time. We paid our registration fee and handed in our application and attachments to the consul. After about an hour of waiting, we were asked to look over the information that the consul printed out to register our marriage and I verified that everything was correct. It was - mostly. E's birth date was written as 4/29 instead of the Brazilian (international) way, 29/4 (day/month). I pointed this out to the consul and she made a quick correction and then we waited for our authenticated copy to be written up.

Finally, after about an hour and a half of being at the consulate, we were given our official marriage certificate. Minutes later, however, while in the elevator, E asked to see it and I realized at that time that his birth date had not been corrected. It was still printed as 4/29, even though mine was correct. We went back and pointed out the discrepancy to the consul. Apparently we weren't the only couple that this had happened to so we waited in line (again) for the error to be corrected. Once E's birth date was written in the "correct" manner, we left with our official document and a copy that E made before we left the building.

Overall it was a productive day in Miami. I feel a sense of accomplishment and more confidence as I move forward with the immigration process. I was nervous that we'd be missing something or that we'd be asked to return the following day to pick up our authenticated marriage certificate, but fortunately this was not the case. So.... our next step: E's passport renewal.



Downtown Miami