Job Discussion Forums

[hd9]

oi, i have found myself in a very annoying predicament. i am currently on a tourist visa for brasil but would like to change it to a student visa. i understand i need to go back to my country (u.s.) to get this. however, i've been reading on the consulate website that you need proof of residency (some kind of bill, ect.) but i haven't lived in the u.s. for five years. i was previously living in ireland, where i got my tourist visa, but my student visa for ireland expired in sept. therefore, i don't actually have a 'residence'. as you know, consulates take ages to get back to you so i'm waiting around for them. in the meantime i'm trying to get info elsewhere. does anybody have any advice? or must i cross the border every three months?

[icehockey23]

My understanding of your situation is that you need to get a letter from Brazilian Educational Institution saying that you have been accepted into a program ( I assume you are studying Portuguese). You then take this letter to a Brazilian consulate (in the US in your case) with the other documents they need for processing.

When i did this (a while ago) it took about a month for me to get the letter so in that time I think you could be in the US - and get signed up with a local utility or something in time to get a bill.

Its a frustrating situation - I think (but I am not sure) you need to be outside of Brazil for at least a month in order to complete the process. You dont need to go back to the US necessarily - you could return to Ireland - but you would need similar documents in Ireland - proof of residency, criminal record check etc . Im Canadian but got my Brazilian student visa while living in Japan.