ANOTHER visit to the Brazilian consulate and *Miami*

I know I have mentioned our multiple visits to the Brazilian consulate again and again and again because before today I think we took three trips there between December and May. Without these accomplishments, we wouldn't be bound for Brasilia so they were all necessary. Oh yeah, and and it would have been more if we hadn't mailed the application to renew E's passport (versus driving down and dropping it off and picking it up). That's too many. And guess what? We still had to come back (I'm still here) today. But this is it. No more. I promise.


The thing is that I get really nervous before and during our time at the consulate. I worry that I'm missing a document, that something will go wrong (on their end), that even worse, that we'll be told that the consulate won't be able to give us back whatever it is we went there to do and that we'll have to return the following day. We've never had time for that. I live more than three hours north of Miami and I had to miss work twice to go to the consulate. I can't return the next day. Plus, that's a lot of gas, waking up early, missing work, driving, money for food and tolls. It adds up.


Today's visit to the consulate was to have a document legalized. A document that will save us lots of money. E had to complete a form (except I always do everything because I know what needs to be done, and maybe I'm a bit controlling? But he doesn't mind that I take charge) stating that he's lived outside of Brazil for at least one year; this way he - well, we - won't have to pay taxes on his personal belongings when he returns to Brazil. Easy enough. The form is called declaracao de residencia no exterior and it's short and to the point. The Brazilian citizen just needs to write a few examples of the proof that they have of living outside the country and then will need to present these upon arrival. They don't need to be presented to the consulate. For instance, a phone bill (or any other utility bill), a lease agreement, stamp in their passport, and/or proof of paid taxes in the country of residence will prove that the Brazilian has not been in Brazil for at least a year - whether legally or not, it doesn't matter. I thought that the letters/receipts from Homeland Security that are regarding residency and citizenship would do, but the woman who helped us wasn't convinced so we came up with a list of four kinds of "proof" and that's what we'll show. Now we just need to print out the last 13 months of our phone bill since they're in E's name. We've sold our printer so it's not as easy as it sounds, but we'll figure it out. If our phone company mails them to us then they'll charge us $5 a copy. How sweet.


We dropped off our form and were able to pick it up about two hours later. All that needed to be done to the form was to be legalized by the Brazilian consulate. That meant a couple stamps and a sticker. Nothing really. But it still cost us $20. We were also going to "regulate" E's CPF (like the American SSN) and change my surname on mine, but we were told that it'd be faster to do it in Brazil (versus the 3-month wait time here). That was only $5 a piece so I figured it'd be quicker and cheaper to take care of it here, but I was mistaken. I also wanted to do that now so we don't have to take care of it later, but oh well. So we're done with the consulate. At least before we leave. But we're not done with paperwork forever. There is still a lot to do once we arrive in Brasilia, like register with the federal police, register at the America consulate, get E an American passport, make sure our CPFs are in order, get my "work card"...and that's all I can remember off the top of my head.


As we were finished at the consulate at 1:15 p.m., we decided to head to Miami Beach to relax on the warm sand, sunbathe (at least I did), and swim in the salty water. VERY nice. After about two hours there we were ready for dinner and revisited the local Bolivian restaurant for some delicious food. We had to buy a hair brush and wait in the world's longest line at CVS since we somehow forgot mine this morning, and then we drove to the hotel. 


It's been a long day, it'll be a long one tomorrow, and I have a king-sized bed for the night....so...
Boa noite,

Guess where I'm going this weekend?

I swear that our "errands" at the Brazilian consulate are endless. So off we go again to Miami to take care of some (please-God-let-it-be-the-last-time-we-go-there) business.

I know, I know, it's not so shabby.
Plus, it's not like I'm working, right?

And then the following day we need to be in Hollywood, Florida so E can attend the open tryouts hosted by Bellator Fighting Championships. Wish him luck!

Hard Rock Hotel - Hollywood

The Bellator Cage

I love not having a job

Ooooh, not having a job is sweet. S.W.E.E.T. It's relaxing, stressfree, and just plain enjoyable. I have all kinds of free time. I can stay up late. Sleep in. Go swimming. Watch TV. Order take out. I love not working. Love it. 


Now before I get too carried away; I'm not technically unemployed. Well, I guess. I mean, I have "retired" from the Orange County Public Schools and have turned in my letter of resignation stating that I will not be returning for work in the fall (the 2011-12 school year). So they're not expecting me back. On a side note, I'm grateful that I still have insurance through the county until August. That is a relief. I also have a job waiting for me in Brazil so I do have a job, I just haven't started yet, so I do feel like I don't have a job. Fun. Fun. Fun.


Speaking of work, I just found out that I'll be teaching 9th, 11th, and 12th grade next school year. At first it can seem overwhelming to have three preps (different grade levels to all of the nonteachers out there), but what it does give me is a challenge. And I am always up for a challenge. Anyway, I won't have to teach as many periods per week as I have had to do in the U.S. so even with the extra preps, and various novels that I'll be teaching, I shouldn't have more work to do in Brazil than I've had here. I mean, isn't that the point of switching jobs? I also enjoy teaching older students so teaching upperclassmen is something that I've been interested in for awhile. I am appreciative of the opportunity to teach 11th and 12th graders. Oh yeah, and I get to teach To Kill a Mockingbird again. What a powerful book!

Ok, enough with the digression.

Now back to my summer vacation.....I'd say one of the best parts of not having to work is that I can sleep in. No more 5:45 a.m. alarm clocks. I'm also not as exhausted as I was previously this month (or last month) and my eye doesn't twitch from lack of sleep and stress like it did before. I can stay up at late as I want (oh Lord, I sound like a teenager). I can also spend quality time with friends, like I did today (hopefully pictures will be posted later on) and can travel without worrying about taking days off of working (or how many sick/personal days I have left) or having to get back to town in order to work. We don't need to drive back and forth to Miami in one day; we can stay down south and stay in a hotel near the beach (like we're doing this weekend) and relax. And of course, we can visit my family and friends in New York any day of the week, for as long as we want (within reason of course).


I also have free time to read. On my Kindle for sure. I finished a (not so interesting) book yesterday and then read My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler in fewer than 24 hours. It was a great book! I couldn't put it down. AND it was on sale for only $1.99. So even if it wasn't as good as I thought, it was still a fabulous deal. (The price has since gone up). I wouldn't have time to read a book, especially that quickly, if I were working. I'm now the (proud?) owner of the book (on the Kindle) Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert - it's the sequel to Eat Pray Love. You can't be surprised that I'd want to find out exactly what happens to the American woman and her Brazilian lover, correct?


All of this is funny to me because I used to have such a strong work ethic. I started work as soon as I could - at the age of 15. I worked nonstop unless I was abroad. I've worked two jobs, and probably three if I worked hard to remember. I've worked summers even though I was still getting paid by the public school. Then again, maybe I haven't changed that much because I'm taking books and resources with me just in case I decide to give private English language classes.


But for now, I'll gleefully enjoy my month long (or is it six-week? :) summer vacation, relaxing by the pool, hanging out with friends and family, and taking pictures of botanical gardens, Miami beaches, and Times Square in New York City.

What's on my mind?

As I have less than a month before my departure, I've been thinking about...

• My crown breaking and although I had planned to have it fixed in Brazil (at a much cheaper price), looks like I may have to have at least a temporary crown put on by my dentist =(
• Needing to sell textbooks from graduate school because I don't have room to take them
• Glad I earned some money from selling my textbooks. Maybe I'll use it to pay the dentist.
• How I have an excuse to go shopping =)
• My new clothes
• Sales at the malls and shopping centers
• Donating clothes and household items to Goodwill
• Packing four more suitcases 
• What I'm going to do with my box full of books. Do I buy a duffle bag to put it in?
• Laundry
• Upcoming trip to Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. The consulate again? YES
• Our imminent trip to New York state and seeing friends and family!
• How I'll miss my friends in Orlando and where our goodbye should be because people keep asking me
• Paying the rest of our bills, cancelling our utilities, cleaning up the apartment, and selling our bed and TV
• How I'm glad I'm no longer working

My permanent residency visa is in my passport

I have been granted a permanent residency visa (which will become legal residency once I register with the federal police in the city where I'll be residing - Brasilia) and now have this visa stamped into my passport. As of yesterday.

We took the trip to Miami to pick up the visa since it had been almost a month since my request for residency was approved and my visa was sent to the States. We drove down to Ft. Lauderdale, I dropped E off at a gym to train, and then I headed to the consulate. The public can only pick up their visas between 3-4 p.m., regardless of the type of visa you're given. I arrived a bit after 2 p.m., but was seated inside the "visa room" in less than 30 minutes. Since I was one of the first to arrive, I had my visa in my hand (in my passport) only minutes after 3 p.m. and I was on my way....to pick up E, have dinner with one of my college roommates who lives in West Palm, and we were on our way home.

I have to say that it is a relief to have the visa stamped into my passport, and know that not only do I not have to ever pay for another tourist visa to Brazil again, but I have permission to live and work in the country. Yeah. Now we can travel back and forth between the U.S. and Brazil with little trouble (just have to keep our passports current).

As I said, the number of entries is not restricted. The duration of stay is indeterminate.

What I didn't expect was for the chamante (or petitioner) to have his name printed on the visa; I think that's interesting because it doesn't seem necessary. Then again, it is a "family reunion" visa. That is, a visa that was created to keep families together. So E's full name is printed at the bottome.

Along with my visa (and picture) stamped into my passport, I was given the original visa application form that I had filled out, along with the information that I completed when I made my request back in February. This also has my picture on it and all of my information - address, place of employment, my contact in Brazil, information about my trips to Brazil, etc. That was stapled into my passport because I'll need to present these two pages to the federal police when I register.

Now I'm ready (at least as far as my documents are concerned) to settle down in Brazil.

Paixão de Cristo

I just thought I'd put it out there that the Miami consulate is closed for holidays - even on days that you may not expect because YOU have to work. This I found out two days ago. We had planned to take a trip to Miami today to pick up my visa (finally), and after speaking with a friend, I had the idea to check out whether or not the consulate was open to business on Good Friday (Paixão de Cristo). And, it wasn't.

I'm glad I figured this out BEFORE I took off the day off from work to travel a few hours (there and back). I had to "reschedule" which was not a problem; I'm just nervously anxious to have the visa in my passport. I mean, the school can get my ticket once I have the visa. Once I have the plane ticket I can make arrangements for my cat as well as shipping my personal belongings.

So, here are the dates that the Consulate-General of Brazil in Miami are closed during the year (2011):


01/17/11                - Monday - Martin Luther King Jr.

02/21/11                 - Monday - Washington's Birthday

04/22/11                 - Friday - Good Friday

05/30/11                 - Monday - Memorial Day 

07/04/11                 - Monday - Independence Day 

09/05/11                 - Monday - Labor Day

09/07/11                 - Wednesday - Independence of Brazil

10/10/11                 - Monday - Columbus Day 

11/11/11                 - Friday - Veterans Day 

11/24 -25/11           - Thursday/Friday - Thanksgiving

12/26/11                 - Monday - Christmas

01/02/12                 - Monday - New Year


I hope that no one makes the mistake of "visiting" the consulate on a date or time that they are closed from business.

I was approved!

A woman from the Brazilian consulate in Miami called me this afternoon, to my surprise, to notify me that my permanent visa has been approved and is back from Brasilia, ready for pick up. I know that I had just made a comment about how it'd only been a month since I applied and I was prepared to wait, but my visa is here - and it only took 37 days from when I dropped it off until it was ready for pick up. Record time, I'd say.

Even after all that mess I had to go through to even apply for the permanent visa, it all worked out quickly in the end. I can't say painlessly, but it was fast. It almost seems pointless that they would send my paperwork from Miami to Brasilia for it to come back so quickly. Why not just do it here? Had we been married for a year longer, it would have been approved here anyway.

Not only do I now feel a sense of relief (vs. having to worry that my visa won't be here before it's time to leave), I think that the school can now purchase our plane tickets. That's exciting! I was sure to send them an e-mail immediately so we can take the next step towards us moving to Brasilia.

All of this is perfect timing because E just passed his citizenship test and will have his naturalization oath ceremony tomorrow. Two of the obstacles in our ways to move to Brazil without a "legal headache" have been surpassed. Obviously E didn't need U.S. citizenship to move home, but it makes me feel better knowing that my husband has the same citizenship as me. I'm sure it's a relief to my mother, too, who expresssed concern years ago that she didn't want my husband to not be able to enter into the U.S. She has heard too many horror stories, so I knew that with U.S. citizenship, her mind should be at ease, as is ours. Plus, now we don't have to worry about him having to travel back and forth to the U.S. repeatedly just to maintain his residency AND citizenship is less expensive in the long run. 

We can now move to Brasilia knowing that I already have permission to live and work there while E will be able to easily travel back and forth between countries without a hassle. I guess he's got one up on me because I do not have Brazilian citizenship.

I know that my transition into Brazilian society will be smoother because I will enter the country as a resident (vs. a tourist). It should be easier for me to settle down, update/renew my CPF, open a bank account, and do anything else that any resident in any country will need to do. One of the best parts about having a permanent visa is that I won't need any more tourist visas. That'll save me money (especially since the school paid for my residency).

I also think, though maybe only on a superficial kind of way, that I will feel more like a Brazilian (-American) much like E must have once he obtained his residency in the U.S. It feels good to be "legal".

I just have to go to Miami (with my passport) to pick up my visa; but as I was told, there's no real rush. With that being said, E is able to get my visa for me (since he makes more trips to Miami than me) as long as he has my passport and the receipt. Just a tip for anyone going through the same process.

What a freakin' headache!

.....AKA the Brazilian consulate of Miami.

I mentioned just the other day that I felt like something wasn't right with what the consulate was telling me vs what I was reading about the permanent visa. Turns out I was right. Big surprise. Big headache.

I felt nervous when I first arrived at the consulate today, but I always do since we have to drive all the way there and I want everything to go like it should so I don't feel like our trip was in vain. Unlike our last visit to the consulate though, there was a huge line for people wanting a visa (probably due to Carnaval), but we did eventually make it to the window to be waited on. That's when my fear was confirmed. I was told that I needed to fill out an application and have my husband complete an affidavit of support for me in order to get my permanent visa. I was told that everything that I believed about getting my visa was wrong. That made me nervous and pissed because I don't have time to take off of work and drive to Miami to be told that I'm missing a lot of paperwork. I stress out about these things and that's why I got mad.

Now that I look back on this morning I do realize that I probably overreacted a bit. But that's not the point. The issue is that the website AND the consulate's confusing e-mails were wrong. I had been told that we only needed to take a few documents to request the visa (the first step), and then complete the second step, listed on the consulate's website, once the authorization came back from Brazil. It's at that time, the second step, that we pay and complete the application. Of course this was wrong. I tried to tell the girl that, too, but she wouldn't have any of it. Of course the consulate's website was not wrong. Imagine that! And then the e-mails. No way. Ooooh, I was so mad. And of course you can't call. There is no way to contact the visa department by phone.

The thing is that I have to take off of work to drive to Miami to take care of this stuff and it stresses me out. I don't need some chic telling me something else, especially when I can tell that she doesn't know how to do her job right. And the affidavit? Not mentioned at all on the website. Now completing that form was a piece of cake, but that's not the point, is it?

In the end, what we had to do was complete the affidavit of support, which I filled out while E went downstairs to the ATM to get cash to pay for the visa + legalization fees. He signed it later. I then had to complete the visa application on the computer, print out my protocol number, AND get a passport picture taken. Luckily for me, a girl who was at the consulate to get her visa gave me a business card of a Brazilian company only 6 floors below us who'd take instant pictures.

This didn't take us too long to get, but I was still mad and then worried because it was almost noon and the visa department is only open 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. So we were rushing around to get everything done and even though we finished after noon, we were allowed to finish our process since we started at 10:30 a.m. But I didn't know that when the girl told me that all the information that I had was wrong and that I was missing a lot. I also didn't know that I could get my picture taken in that building and that the affidavit was easy to complete. I freaked out because she was telling me all that we needed to complete and I didn't imagine that we could get it all done that day.

Once we had everything completed and paid our visa fees, we handed in everything to a different woman (thank God). She seemed very competent and organized. She was polite, too. She went over all of our documents and was very thorough (and gawked in confusion at E's birth certificate, even showing it to her co-worker, since she'd never seen one like his before), she made copies, and then returned all of the originals to us. That didn't take anymore than 10 minutes, tops.

Finally, I was told that the permanent visa could take up to 6 months to be approved (which I was aware of), but once it is, the consulate will call me and I can pick it up. They have to collect all of the paperwork from us - copies of our passports, our marriage certificate, the marriage registration from the consulate, proof of my residency in Florida, E's passport, the application, the affidavit, and of course the money - and then send it to Brasilia to be approved (or denied). The weird thing is that if we had been married 14 months longer than we have been, my permanent visa would be approved in 5 business days right there at the consulate.  

Now all I can do is wait....and hope that it is approved in much less time (which I think it will be). I was told it can take a little as 4 weeks. Let's hope that's the case.

------------

On the bright side, I have successfully applied for my permanent visa and there is nothing else I need to do, legally, about moving to Brazil. In addition, since we're in Miami we decided to take a trip to the beach, relax, eat at a Bolivian restaurant, and now E is training at a jiu jitsu academy while I write and study. All in all, it was a worthwhile trip, even with the headache.

Biscayne Bay

Bolivian Food - Pique Macho

In Little Havanna

Passports, and Visas, and the Consulate...oh my!

I'm frustrated because I think I was given false information by the consulate. Before we registered our marriage back in December, I had sent the consulate a number of e-mails asking about marriage registration and the permanent visa. I wanted to know if my husband needed to renew his passport before I could apply for MY visa since he has to prove his nationality (even though he has his birth certificate?). I was told "YES". That is what I think was misleading/false information.

I've recently been over obsessing about my visa and the more I REread, again and again and again, the more I'm convinced that the people who respond to e-mails at the Miami consulate just don't know English well. Even the website doesn't explain well the steps to getting the permanent visa; it lists what we need but not how to go about doing it. On top of that, the consulate won't accept visa-related phone calls. You have to send e-mails (to people who have not quite mastered the English language).

All of this is confusing and a bit frustrating. So, after conversing back and forth with the consulate, via e-mail of course, I have come to the conclusion that I don't need to wait any longer to apply for the visa. And frankly, should not have waited this long. But, just in case they were right about needing to renew my husband's passport.....it came in the mail today....

Now we both have blue passports

I have decided then to take a trip to Miami this week to apply for my visa. I will take everything, and more, that they require and hope for the best. We have probably 4 1/2 months before we move so I don't want to wait any longer (although the visa shouldn't *crosses fingers* take that long). I'm also taking my husband along because I don't want any issues about applying on the basis of marriage and then not being with my husband when I apply in person (because you can't do it in the mail - go figure).

Apparently if you've been married for 5+ years to a Brazilian then you only need to wait 5 business days to get the permanent visa; otherwise they have to wait on authorization from Brazil. The person who responded to my last e-mail told me that and their English was the best. I'd read this on a forum recently as well so it was nice to hear it from the consulate.

Maybe I'm just overwhelmed with work and graduate school and years of the U.S. immigration process as my husband went through it all here. I know I'm nervous about doing everything right and making sure we follow the steps and all that this entails....I guess it's just taking it's toll on me. I'm tired and can't wait until this is over. On a good note, however, I must have done a stellar job when I sent off for my husband's new passport because it took less than 2 weeks to get it back.

I just hope that my visa process goes as smoothly. I only have so many personal days that I can use at work so I can't miss a day unless it's for something productive that cannot be done via the phone, the Internet, or through the mail.

Would you put your passport in the mail?

Oh, a tricky question. One to which I want to scream the answer "No!" to, but can't. I actually have mailed my passport before. Twice. The first time was when my passport got so full that I needed to request for more pages (yes! every travellers dream) since it was not going to expire for a couple of years but I had nowhere to put another visa. This service was free (to my delight) and provided by the government, but I had to mail it for the additional pages. There was no place, no agency, for me to visit. That made me nervous, especially because it was not too long after Hurricane Katrina and I believe I had to send it to New Orleans. But, all went well and I, rather quickly, received my new-and-improved passport. Well, not really improved because they did not put the pages in straight so the middle section always stuck out a little at the bottom. That was always annoying.

The second time I mailed my passport was to the Brazilian consulate (in Miami) because I needed a new Brazilian tourist visa. I was less worried/nervous that time since I had previously sent off my passport into never-ever-land (AKA Louisiana) for the additional pages. My passport was again returned safe and sound to me in the SASE I had sent my passport with - visa and all. I again sighed in relief.

Now it's E's turn. Yes, we have still not renewed his Brazilian passport; but this is not because of me. I am a bit OCD with paperwork and if it had been just my responsibility, it would have been sent off already. But it's not. I guess he's not in a hurry since our trip is not until July; it must seem long off to him. However, I cannot apply for residency until he has his passport because we have to present valid passports at the time I apply. So, let's get on it!

Now we thought the visiting consulate would be in central Florida last weekend since that's what we were told in Miami when we were there last month. But this is not the case. Thanks a lot to whoever told me that lie. 

As a result, I've been reading about our options on passport renewal - do so personally in the consulate, do so by mail, or visit a "travelling" consulate when they are in your area. The quickest and safest way is go to the consulate and renew in person (because if you make a mistake there is someone to give you immediate feedback for you to correct it OR photocopy/sign anything missing). But the next best option is by mail. It's only supposed to take an additional 10 days for you to get the new passport and you don't have to pay for gas, drive back and forth to Miami, or miss work to make the visit. So it's easy. BUT, if you are missing something (which would delay process) or (God forbid) something is lost in the mail, then well, you can pretty much say you are sh*t out of luck. Forget the "travelling" consulates option, their time for passport renewal is 2 months. Who has time for that? Not me, I'm moving to Brazil.

So of course it makes me nervous to mail E's passport (and other important documents), but I guess that's the best option now. It'll save us time and money and once it's sent off we won't have to do anything more, just wait. We just have to make sure that we send it express mail - both there and back.

Do I cross my fingers or hold my breath?

And on to the Brazilian passport

Check out that new fancy schmancy Brazilian passport! I like to tease E that Brazil wants to be more like the U.S. because their passport used to be green and now it's blue?? Weird. Anyway, E's passport expires in two months (since it's only valid for 5 years), and he needs to renew it in order for me to apply for my permanent visa. Apparently we both need to have valid passports at the time I apply for my visa. Even if we didn't need to renew it for my immigration paperwork, we'd still have to get him a new passport before we move to Brazil. The process to renew the Brazilian passport for an adult (vs a child) is relatively similar to to that of renewing an American passport. In fact, I remember only waiting about a week when I renewed/applied for a name change to my passport back in '08. I'd imagine that it's an easier process to renew a passport then to apply for one in any country. At least, I'd hope so.

Since we live in Florida, E is supposed to request for his passport at the consulate in Miami. However, the beauty of living in a city inundated with Brazilians is that the consulate makes frequent trips up north and visits a Brazilian church in Orlando for one day every other month (at least I think that is there plan) to assist those citizens living in central Florida. Since I was aware of this, I asked the consular last month when we were in Miami when the next trip to Orlando would be. We were told that it would be the final weekend of January. Good. Neither one of us has much time or energy to make another quick trip to Miami, especially when we have to go there to get my visa within the next few months. Unlike applying for a permanent visa, renewing your passport can be done at the consulate visit in central Florida.

In order for a Brazilian citizen to renew his or her passport, the requesting person must present the following documents:

1. the complete application (which can be found on-line or at the consulate). If this is not done at the consulate, the signature must be notarized. [of course, Brazilians LOVE notaries!]

2. a passport style picture taken within the last 6 months

3. the original passport (and a copy), including the page with the citizen's signature and picture

4. the original (and a copy of the) military document for men ages 18-45. This proves that the man has registered with the Brazilian military.

5. a money order for $80. If the Brazilian renews his/her passport at the consulate, this person can pay at the Banco do Brasil machine and can just present the receipt as proof of payment.

In addition to the above listed items, if the passport is expired [which is our case], the Brazilian citizen can also present his/her national identification, work identification, Brazilian driver's license, a professional identification, birth certificate, or a marriage certificate (as long as it was a Brazilian marriage certificate).

From when the application and supporting documents are given to the consulate, it should take about 20 days (about 3 weeks) for the person to receive his/her new passport.

Luckily we have everything required to renew the passport except for the passport picture (but that takes 5-10 minutes at your local Walgreen's drugstore). And so it seems that we are on the right path to taking care of all of the legalities of emigrating to Brazil.

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



200 days

So we have about 200 days before we move to Brazil. Even though our departure is months away, I'm trying to feel the excitement of the new opportunities for BOTH of us, of upcoming travel to a city we've never been to, and at the same time, return to a country that we both love.

In short, I have fewer than 200 days to sort, discard, donate, sell, and pack. In a nutshell.

Sounds like a lot of work, but I don't mind any of it, even driving back and forth to Miami in one day so we can finally register our marriage.

Consulate, we're ready for ya....

Phew. I am finally done with compiling our (small) stack of documents and photocopies that we need to take the consulate in order to register our marriage. Of course it was not without help that we were able to do this. Thank you, again, to Zack and Glaucia (and her kids!!!) for taking time out of their day to help us out out by being our witnesses (attesting to the fact that E and I were both single before we got married).

After an enjoyable meetup with Glaucia (the second "witness") and her children this afternoon, we went to my bank (which will remain unnamed since I didn't have an issue with the branch closest to my house when I went to see the notary only two days before) to get Glaucia's signature notarized. The notary we met today refused to notarize her signature since she is not a member of the bank even though I am and I was with her. Really? I explained to him that it was for me (the customer) and that just two days before another notary at another branch of the same bank had just "put it on my account" and not bothered my friend about whether or not he was a customer. The guy told told me that it is not the bank's procedure to notarize the signature of a non-member and sorry he wouldn't do it. Ugh. We then went to my friend's (nearby) bank thinking we would have luck there; however, her bank also refused since the document is in Portuguese and the notary didn't understand what it was she was notarizing. She said the bank would be liable should anything go wrong. Finally, we ended up at a small store around the corner from the bank and there the owner gladly notarized her signature for only $10. Now I have everything that I needed notarized done, so I guess, all well that ends well, right?

E signed his part (which did not have to be notarized, go figure) and I made copies of each document, our passports, our birth certificates, and our marriage certificate.

All done. We're just waiting on E to get his work schedule for next week so we know which day we can make our trip down south. I love progress.

Registering our Marriage

I am working on the paperwork to register our marriage with the Brazilian Consulate in Miami. This is the first step to me getting permanent residency in Brazil, so it has to be done now. It's very inexpensive, but it takes some time because we need notarized "testimonies" from Brazilians stating that E was single before he met me, as well as a simple letter written by me that attests to never being married to a Brazilian before. We also need to collect some documents (which we already have) and complete a simple form. As far as the country of Brazil is concerned, E is still single and as a result, we have to register our marriage at the nearest consulate since we were married in the U.S.  It's not too much, just a bit time consuming since we need to count on other people to help us through this stage. I will feel relieved when this is completed and we can then renew E's passport and apply for my residency.

We will probably take a quick trip to Miami sometime next week (after Christmas) to take care of this business.

Destination: Miami

"Welcome to Miami. Bienvenido a Miami." or even better, and as the husband  (E) would appreciate...."I'm in Miami b*&^%."

In order for me to move on with the immigration process of moving to Brazil, we have to register our marriage first (something that I've been meaning to do for years) and then we can proceed with the spousal visa for me. None of this is new to us since we've been through the immigration process with the husband (E) here in the U.S., but now it's my turn. Soooooo, we have to make a visit to the Brazilian consulate in Miami for that.

In addition to registering our marriage, the husband (E) needs to renew his Brazilian passport since it's going to expire in March 2011. Once our marriage is registered with the consulate and the husband's (E's) passport is renewed, we can request the spousal visa.

I feel good about starting all of this as soon as possible because it would make me nervous otherwise. Plus, who wouldn't want to go to Miami during the winter?

Not me. Especially after the col weather we've had in Florida during the month of December.