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.

Status of your Brazilian visa

Today I discovered that you can check the status of your Brazilian visa on-line. I was pleased to read this. I did post the other day that it's been over 4 weeks since I applied for my permanent visa and that I'm not expecting it to be approved quite yet, but eventually it will be, and I'll have a heads up now.

If you have applied for a Brazilian visa and want to check the status of your process, just visit Sistema de Controle e Emissão de Documentos de Viagem and under the VISA section, click CHECK VISA. You'll then be directed to a page VISA SEARCH AND UPDATED - LOCATE VISA; the best part is that you don't even need your application number. You can enter your complete full name and birthdate and your status will appear (just remember to scroll down).

I was thrilled to see my name and be ensured that my case is processing.

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.

Permanent Visa for Brazil

UPDATED: The information provided here is to inform those persons interested in obtaining the permanent visa (permanent residency) to live in Brazil.

I will be applying for the visa based on my marriage to a Brazilian citizen, but I do have a job offer as well.

KEEP in mind that although most of the information provided here is correct, it is NOT written in a logical, clear way, nor does it explain what you will really need the day you go to the consulate to apply for the visa. It is also from Miami and answers may vary depending on which consulate you visit.

TO REQUEST THE AUTHORIZATION FOR A PERMANENT VISA THE APPLICANT MUST COME IN PERSON.

 This visa may be issued to: 

• those who have previous authorization from the Ministry of External Relations, requested by the employer, presenting contract of work approved by the Ministry of Labor in Brazil;
   
• Those who are professors, scientists, high level researchers who intend to work in public or private entities related to high studies, scientific and technological research. This visa is issued for those who intend to stay longer than 2 years. If you are not staying in Brazil for more than 2 years, you may qualify for a Temporary Visa V. Attention: Your Company must apply for your visa directly with the Ministry of Labor in Brazil. As soon as we receive the formal letter from Brazil, you will have to come in person to get your visa;
   
• Those who have had Permanent residency in Brazil but stayed abroad for a period of 2 or more years uninterruptedly for the following reasons: complete studies of graduation or higher, professional training or research activities accredited by the Ministry of Science and Technology. You may submit your petition directly to the Consulate;
• 
  Those who are traveling to Brazil as investor, administrator or Director of a Company located in the Zona de Processamento de Exportação – ZPE. This visa must be requested by the Company directly with the Ministry of Labor in Brazil. As soon as we receive the formal letter from the Brazilian Government, you will have to come in person to get your visa;
   
• Those who show proof of financial means to promote a direct investment in Brazil for an approximately amount of R$ 150.000,00 – Brazilian Reais. The exact amount is determined by the Ministry of Labor/National Immigration Council. The petition must be submitted by the Brazilian Company directly to the Ministry of Labor in Brazil;
   
• Those who are retired persons whose pension (minimum of US $2,000.00 per month for the principal applicant and two dependants) can be regularly transferred to Brazil. In case of more than two dependants, it is mandatory to transfer to Brazil the extra amount of US$ 1,000.00 per person;
   
• Those who are members of the clergy and belong to a religious order or congregation established in Brazil;
   
• Those who are  relatives of a Brazilian citizen or alien permanent resident in Brazil;
   
• Those who are married to a Brazilian citizen or a Permanent Resident;
   
• Those who voluntarily intend to travel to Brazil to held position as director, manager or administrator of religious, social assistance or non governmental organizations. This visa may be issued for a period up to 5 years.

If the information above matches the purpose of your trip to Brazil, you may qualify for a Permanent Visa. Please continue for more information.

INTERNATIONAL VACCINATION

 Yellow fever vaccination is recommended if applicant intends to visit one of the following regions in Brazil: Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Federal District, Goiás, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Tocantins. 

PROCESSING TIME

             In person only: 5 business days after approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS 

      FIRST STEP: 
1)      Proof of residence (income tax, utility bill, Driver’s License etc).  
2)      Original passport; 
3)      Certificate of birth.  
4)      Certificate of marriage (if applicable).  
5)     Police certificate of no criminal record issued within 90 days, for applicants over 16 years old.  
6)      There will be Legalization fees which will be determined at the interview with the Consular Authority.  
In case of petition based on family reunion, the Brazilian party or resident of Brazil must submit: 
1)      “Carteira de Identidade”, passport or RNE if resident; 
2)      Affidavit of financial support (available at the Consulate); 
3)      Judicial authorization and proof of custody (in case of minor son or daughter of divorced parents) 
Petition based on management of religious, social assistance or non governmental organizations must be submitted with: 
1)      Letter of invitation from the Brazilian entity inviting applicant to perform volunteer work in the country; 
2)      Letter from the entity specifying the place and condition of the volunteer work to be performed by the applicant; 
3)      Letter from the Brazilian entity assuming responsibility for all maintenance expenses associated with applicant's stay in Brazil as well as his repatriation to his/her country of origin upon the termination of his work/mission in Brazil; 
4)      Letter from the Brazilian entity assuming full responsibility for all expenses associated with applicant's medical treatment and/or hospitalization in Brazil;
5)      Recent non-criminal record certificate issued by applicant’s local Police Department;
6)      An official document from sponsoring entity in Brazil (such as statute, founding charter, etc.) as well as proof of the entity’s registration with the competent regulatory body (Conselho de Assistência Social Nacional, Estadual, do Distrito Federal ou Municipal); 
7)      Proof that the inviting entity in Brazil is in business and functioning (CNPJ); 
8)      Curriculum Vitae and others documents which proves applicant’s qualification for the position offered; 
9)      Constitutive Act or Social Statute dully registered with the competent regulatory body; 
10)  Prove of registration with the Conselho de Assistência Social, whenever possible, or certificate issued by the Ministry of Justice attesting that the entity qualifies as civil society organization for public service (Organização de Sociedade Civil de Interesse Público). 
Petition based on retirement:
 1)      Certificate issued by official institution attesting to applicant's retirement;  
2)      Documented proof issued by pension provider of monthly pension income of at least US $2,000.00. In case of a third dependent and over, an additional US $1,000.00 per dependent must be accounted for;  
3)      Statement issued by an official organization certifying that pension funds can be transferred to Brazil on a monthly basis.
 SECOND STEP: 
After authorization is received, applicant must present the following documentation: 
1)      Original passport (valid for at least 6 (six) months prior to its expiration date). The passport must have at least 2 (two) blank visa pages; 
2)      One recent individual passport photo, full-frontal, white background; 
3)      One electronic visa application form - click here. Please, make sure to provide full information, even those supposedly not required. If you leave any field blank, we may request you to provide that information what could cause your application to be delayed or even refused. Glue your picture (DO NOT STAPLE IT!) and sign on the appropriate field.

FEE 

• The fee has to be paid by US Postal Money Order OR receipt provided by the ATM machine located at the Consulate's main lobby. The ATM only accepts cash and charges US$ 1.00 for the service.
   
• We do not accept cash, personal check or any other form of payment not listed above.
   

COUNTRY	IN PERSON ONLY
USA	US$ 340.00
All others	US$ 200.00

 Attention: The application must be submitted in person. The US$ 80.00 for legalization of the required documents is not included in the processing visa fee indicated above.

VISA INQUIRIES/INFORMATION

 Email: visa@brazilmiami.org
 We do not provide assistance by phone. 

ADDRESS

 Send your application to: 

                        CONSULATE-GENERAL OF BRAZIL
                        VISA DEPARTMENT
                        80 SW 8^TH STREET, SUITE 2600
                        MIAMI – FL - 33130

Source: Consulate General of Brazil - Miami

The Waiting Game

I don't like waiting because I'm a relatively impatient person, yet here I am playing the waiting game. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world, but it's no fun either.

I feel like I'm waiting for a lot right now. I'm waiting for the Brazilian consulate to send my husband's new passport so that I can apply for my permanent visa. In other words, I'm also waiting to apply for my visa.

I'm waiting to take my comprehensive exams at the university so that I can graduate. Then again, this is not a bad wait because I don't want to take them now. 

I'm waiting for this school year to come to an end. I don't mean because I dislike my job, but because school + work = exhaustion and so I'd be happy if the school year was in the end of February vs the beginning of June. This would also give me more time to focus just on packing and moving.

And more than anything, I'm waiting for July to come so I can move to Brazil and start off on my adventure.

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.

Phew. I am not a criminal.

In order for me to apply for the the permanent visa to live in Brazil, I am required (as an applicant over 16 years old) to obtain a "police certificate of no criminal record issued within 90 days". So, as long as I apply for the visa within 3 months after getting this document (which I have to do if I want my visa in time to move to Brazil), then I can ask my local police station for my police record now. Therefore, that is exactly what I did. I am so responsible.

I went to the Orange County Sheriff Department yesterday after work and got my "non-criminal police record".  It was extremely fast and easy to get. More so than I expected.  All I had to do was visit (any) police station in the county,  pay $10, and show my driver's license to prove my identity. It took the clerk  less than 5 minutes to give me the report. Maybe that's because I don't have a record.

What I am hoping now is that it is acceptable that this background check is only for one county - the one I live and work in. They cannot provide information from any other county, or state. This is, after all, not the FBI. Well,  I got what was asked of me and it seemed I was only one of few to walk out of the Sheriff's Office satisfied.

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.

Dreams do come true

All I can say is that dreams do come true. Of course you have to work hard to make it happen, but if you do it will pay off. Like Paulo Coelho said (and he's Brazilian), "Quando você quer alguma coisa, todo o universo conspira para que você realize o seu desejo" [When you want something, the entire universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.] Well in my case, my dream has been to teach English at an American school in Brazil. I will now be able to do just that.


I am excited to announce publicly that I was offered a teaching position as a 9th grade English teacher at a bilingual international school in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. I have accepted. I will be teaching. We will be departing in July 2011 and will stay for at least 2 years, if not forever....Even if we decide not to stay in Brasilia long term, we may still remain in Brazil.

Cathedral Nossa Senhora Aparecida (Brasilia)

Besides the fact that I am ecstatic about returning to Brazil to live, the school looks absolutely fabulous and I believe that I will be a perfect fit. The director agrees with me. That's why she hired me even though I'm going with the hubby (E) and he is not a teacher (apparently that complicates things in the eyes of American schools in Brazil). Anyway, the school has students from about 30 nations (the city of Brasilia is home to 113 embassies from all over the world) and offers students the opportunity to receive a Brazilian diploma as well as an American one. I will be the only 9th grade English teacher and will be teaching all of the Brazilian and International students.

The school's administration has decided that the quickest and cheapest way for me to legally move to Brazil is by obtaining the permanent (spousal) visa. So this is what I am beginning to work on now. I will update periodically as I move along with the immigration process and make my move down south.