Besides all the usual hassle they are already put through, Brazilians willing to travel to the United States right now will have to wait up to 148 days just to get an interview appointment. This for a tourist visa. Non-tourist visas will require 155 days.
These waiting times are for people applying for a visa in the American consulate in Rio. In São Paulo, the situation is better, but still time consuming. The tourist visa hopeful from São Paulo will have to wait 76 days for an interview plus 5 business days to get the visa stamped on his passport.
According to employees from the Rio consulate, the delay for that coveted interview has increased recently due to a heavier than usual demand for visas in recent weeks coupled with a reduction of staff.
Foreign candidates to a US Visa are told on the State Department webpage that people should plan everything in advance "since visa applications are subject to a greater degree of scrutiny than in the past."
The State Department site has even a page where people can estimate how long it will take for them to get an interview appointment to apply for a visa.
Candidates are also told to review all information on the specific Embassy’s Consular Section website to find out what to do: "Some visa applications require additional special clearances or administrative processing, which requires some additional time. Most special clearances are resolved within 30 days of application."
Brazilians applying for a visa outside of Rio and São Paulo are a little luckier. Those who use the American consulate in the northeastern city of Recife will have to wait 65 days for the visa interview. In Brazilian capital Brasília the appointment takes a mere 24 days.
There is good news though for those who are able to get their visa on time for the American summer: to compensate for Varig’s demise, United Airlines and Delta will offer extra flights to the US during the vacation season.
