Immigration Lawyer Blog
The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, along with the U.S. consulates in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Recife, will open on Saturday, June 18, to accommodate Brazilian travelers seeking visas to visit the United States. U.S. consulates in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo will also open on July 23. All appointment openings for visa interviews were rapidly filled.
Trade, commerce, education, and tourism between Brazil and the United States have grown dramatically over the past several years. This has fueled a 230 percent increase in Non-Immigrant visa (NIV) demand in Brazil since 2006. In 2010 alone, the U.S. consulate general in Sao Paulo issued more than 319,000 NIV’s – more than any other post worldwide. This demand is expected to continue and even increase by up to 30 percent over last year.
About 95 percent of all Brazilian visa applicants receive visas, and most visas issued are the new combined B1/B2 for business and tourist travel with ten-year validity.