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I am going through the process of obtaining a visa to travel out of the country. How does this process work?

phynsatr

Try going here:

http://www.brasilemb.org/consulado/consular_visa_tourism.shtml

Sometimes countries offer the ability to apply for 'e-visas'. Go to the State Department website and it should list the instructions to apply for visas for whatever country in which you're interested or at least point you in the right direction. Or when everything else fails google '<insert desired name of country here> tourist visa application' and it should lead you to a site that will help.

Oh--not all foreign countries require travel visas at all & many don't require them if you're visiting for less than 30 days--it all just depends. Cambodia, for example, allows an e-visa for which you apply via the internet and you'll get a response within a few days (or hours as in our case) and it worked really well. South Korea doesn't require a tourist visa for visits less than 30 days, China requires a 2-week lead time through their Embassy and $40 per person, Thailand (US citizens don't need one for stays of less than 30 days or layovers at the Bangkok airport) will grant you one at the airport for a mere $20 for the visa plus a $1 processing fee PLUS $20 to depart the country. Vietnam required $75 per person--so you just never know...

Enjoy your trip!

daelphinus

Quote

China requires a 2-week lead time through their Embassy and $40 per person

Except for Hong Kong. No VISA required if staying less than 30 days. :)

It is Brazil and I have begun the 'paper' work but I do not understand the processing of it. I mean I know how to fill the forms out but from there I do not know what they do; afterall they ask for my passport and documents.

phynstar

If they require your passport you'll likely have to mail it in (depending on where you are located). For China, we had to take ours to the Chinese Embassy/Consulate (we applied while in Seoul, Korea) and they had it for about 10 days (scary situation because we were applying for that visa while already in a foreign country where it was required to have our passports on us at every moment in the event something 'politically dangerous' happened). Othertimes they may only require you to photocopy the photo & personal info page--it all depends on the country. Is there a number to call somebody that could help you out with the specifics on it? You could try the US State Department and they could point you in the right direction. I'm sure they get these types of questions all the time and they could direct you to the right office that deals with this stuff on a daily basis. Hope some of this info helps...

Looks like the US mailing address for their consulate is at this site:

http://www.brasilemb.org/consulado/consular_payment_2004.shtml

daelphinus