American visa: see, step by step, how to get it – 03/06/2024 – Tourism

Before having fun in Orlando’s theme parks, taking photos in Times Square or enjoying the Californian summer, every Brazilian needs to obtain an American visa — a process that, despite being quite organized, is still bureaucratic and full of details that raise doubts. in many people.

Therefore, see a guide with valuable tips for the reader to obtain the document, avoiding wasted trips and unnecessary expenses.

Complete the DS-160

The first step to obtaining any type of visa is to fill out the DS-160 form on the US Department of State website. Unless you are applying for permanent residency in the US, choose the “non-immigrant” option.

The form appears in English, but at the top of the page there is a menu called “select tooltip language” in which you can choose the Portuguese language. The website will not be translated, but with this option you can hover the mouse over any phrase on the page and view its translation.

Filling in takes at least an hour and a half, and each applicant must fill out their own, generating, at the same time,
Finally, your own “application ID” — children and the elderly, of course, can count on their family’s help in filling it out.

Be prepared to provide, in addition to personal data, your travel plans (when you intend to travel, where you will stay, amount of money you will take, if you will travel with other people and who they are, etc.), the contact details of who will receive you in the United States (if any) and information about your education and work.

On the first page of the form, the system generates an “application ID” and will ask you to choose a security question and its answer.

Write down your registration number and save this answer — if you want to stop filling it out and resume it later, you will need this information. Before proceeding to the following pages, don’t forget to save the information you have already completed by clicking “save” at the bottom of the page.

Once completed, you can review all the information before finally submitting the form. Do this carefully, as this is the last chance to correct any errors. After sending, save and print the confirmation page, as it is mandatory to present it in the following steps.

Pay the fee and make appointments

In this step, you must access a second website, the Visa Appointment Service. There you will pay the visa application fee (US$185, approximately R$920) and make two appointments: one to take a photo and collect your fingerprints, at the Visa Applicant Service Center, Casv, and another for the interview, which takes place at the American consulate.

This second website is already entirely in Portuguese and shows, first, a red page that gives you the feeling that something is wrong. It is not. They’re just highlighting the “fine print” that no one usually reads. Scroll and you will access the site itself. Click on “start your request”, register again and then pay the fee by credit card or bank slip.

If your visa application includes people other than yourself (husband or wife, children, relatives in general), everyone can do the interview together. To do this, simply have one person in the group register with the Visa Appointment Service and then add the others to the same registration using the “add applicant” option.

You also need to choose how you want to receive your passport back, if it is approved: in person and free of charge on a second visit to Casv or through the premium delivery service, by mail, for an extra fee of R$62. It is possible to hire the service up to 24 hours before your interview at the consulate.

When scheduling, you must first select the date of the visit to Casv and then schedule the interview at the consulate. Because these fields appear in reverse order, it may seem confusing. At the end of the process, save and print the appointment confirmation page — unlike the DS-160, it has two barcodes.

If you are in a hurry, you can request an emergency interview. To do this, schedule your interview for the first available date and then select the “request emergency” option.

Currently, the waiting time to get an interview for a tourist visa varies between 15 days, in Recife, and 212 days, in Rio de Janeiro. In São Paulo, there are 168 days. Check updated wait times here.

Anyone who already has a valid visa or one that has expired for less than four years may be exempt from the interview at the consulate — which can also happen to children under 14 and over 79 years old. If you are eligible for exemption, you will find out at this stage, on the website itself. In this case, the waiting time to get an appointment is a few days.

Attend the fingerprint and photo collection

In São Paulo, Casv is located in Vila Mariana and only receives applicants 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Those who arrive early must wait outside the building, where there is no protection against the sun, rain or extreme temperatures.

To enter, you must turn off your cell phone and show it to security, who also inspects bags and backpacks. It is not permitted to bring an umbrella, for example.

Inside, you have to wait in line for about an hour and, to be served, you only need your passport (current and old, if available) and the printed DS-160 confirmation page. Anyone who forgets to print in advance can do so at a kombi-printing station across the street. The price, however, is steep: R$20 per page.

The parking lots, which cost R$40, also have printers, but the cost of the service is the same. And there’s no point haggling, since signs with phrases like “the ticket and visa are also just a piece of paper” and “we don’t sell papers, just the solution to your problems” set the tone for the type of service.

Attend the interview

At the consulate, which is located in Santo Amaro, you also need to plan so as not to spend anything for nothing. There, access to the building is also only released 15 minutes before the scheduled time — and restrictions are stricter. Luggage (only small bags and briefcases) or electronic devices, including cell phones, notebooks and smart watches, are not permitted. The consulate does not offer lockers.

Those who go by car can store everything inside it (parking also costs R$40), and those who go by public transport can use lockers offered by businesses on the street — which, the embassy emphasizes, “are not sanctioned or affiliated with the US government , which is not responsible for devices
left in your care.”

The price of the cabinets varies depending on the size, ranging from R$5 to R$40. Here, the tip is the Feijão de Corda restaurant, which in addition to great northeastern food, offers cabinets of all sizes for the single price of R$ $5.

To be seen at the consulate, you must bring your passports and the appointment confirmation page (the one with two barcodes), in addition to all documents that can help with visa approval, such as proof of ties in Brazil (residence, work, studies, etc.).

Between waiting and service, the visit can take more than two hours. There are several queues, full of security and document checking checkpoints. The interview itself takes just a few minutes and includes questions about employment in Brazil and travel plans. At the end, the employee tells you whether the visa was approved or not. If so, the passport will be retained. Anyone who has not contracted delivery by mail must schedule a new visit to Casv to return their passport.