I posted exactly one week ago today that out Visa had been approved in Brazil and that Michael and I were hoping to have it in hand and be on our way in 10-14 days.  Then, a few days later, we were thrown a major curve ball.

Basically, obtaining a work Visa for Brazil is a huge PROCESS but here is the short version:
Step 1: Get a job there (check — as of October 2011 when Michael’s firm confirmed his transfer to the Sao Paulo office)
Step 2: That company has to file a work Visa application on your behalf with the Brazilian government (check — as of November 2011)
Step 3: Visa application gets approved in Brazil and is ready to be processed at your local consulate, which for us is in San Francisco (check — as of last week and should be ready tomorrow or Thursday in SF)
Step 4: Preparation of all sorts of documents to present to the consulate in your jurisdiction when the Visa is ready
Step 5: The consulate processes the Visa along with the documents and grants the actual Visa that sends you on your way.

Basically, we are in the midst of Step 4 and have everything ready EXCEPT for one document that threw us for a MAJOR loop.  For some reason our marriage license needs to get “legalized” (aka signed off on) by the consulate in Atlanta since we were married in South Carolina and that falls within the jurisdiction of the Atlanta consulate.  Not only this, but the Atlanta consulate only accepts documents through the mail and their website says it can take up to 20 business days to legalize, with no way to expedite the process nor gauge how long it will actually last.  WHAT????  20 business days??  THEN we will have to get it mailed back to San Francisco, take it to the consulate here with all of our other documents, and wait another couple of days for the actual Visa.   AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!  (PS – check out how NOT user-friendly the Atlanta Consulate website is)

It’s a long story as to why we didn’t know this sooner, but suffice it to say that Michael and I were DEVASTATED when we realized that we may not be as close to getting there as we thought.  As of right now, the Atlanta consulate has our marriage license and we are PRAYING that the approval is VERY SWIFT!  (Theoretically it could happen in a matter of days and then we would be right back on track but there is no way to know.)  Separately, we had already been scheduled to come back to San Francisco today to legalize some documents at the consulate here (which, in San Francisco, takes only a couple of days and is easily done in person) and pick up the Visa, so we went ahead and flew to SF today, but now we’re not sure how long we’ll be here waiting.  We do know, however, that we will not be leaving here until we have Visas in hand and are boarding a flight to Brazil.

The move has already been an emotional process (and we’re not even there yet!) but we are trying to keep in perspective that this is not something bad, it is just the delay of something great.  We are just SO ready to get there and had no idea that there would be so many issues and delays that would come up, but I have faith that we are CLOSE and that we will get there soon, in God’s perfect timing.  So, on that note, if you want to pray for us, please join us in praying that the approval from the consulate in Atlanta would be very quick and that no other issues would come up.  In the meantime we are back in SF as we continue living out of suitcases, working, studying Portuguese, etc.

Please picture us walking through the airport today with alllll these bags... Thankfully they all made the trip. Now we're ready to take them to BRAZIL!

PS — We have actually done a ton of awesome stuff recently including a trip to the Grand Canyon, a visit home to SC (me), a half marathon (Michael)…and I’ll write more about that soon.  Just wanted to share the news…

…from Jeans & A T-Shirt!!!

This morning Michael and I received the AMAZING news that our

VISA is APPROVED!!!!

It is such a relief for us to get this news as we have been unable to plan ANYthing without the approval, and you never know if there are going to be issues, delays…  Now that we are approved, I think this means that we will likely head South to BRAZIL in 10-14 days.  WOOOHOOOOO!!!!!  Thank you God!

So grab a drink – it’s time to Celebrate!

Cheers!

Some of you may be wondering, “What are they waiting for?  Why aren’t they in Brazil already?  What’s going on?”  Well, to help answer these questions that are no doubt keeping you up at night, here is a little update on the status of the move…

  TIMING:
We are all ready to make the move and are just waiting on one final detail…our VISAS.  Such a process but the short story is that the expected timeline is for them to be approved late January (at the latest) so we are hoping that we’re in Sao Paulo by Feb. 1.  However, because the approval could literally come any day now, we made the decision to go ahead and leave our apartment in SF when our lease ended Jan. 7 and we’re now staying with Michael’s parents in Phoenix as we wait.  (Thanks Sharon and Ollie!!)

  PACKING:
We separated our belongings into 3 groups
1) Stuff that we are packing on our person = 4 checked bags, 2 carry on bags and 2 backpacks — mostly clothes, computers, necessities
2) Stuff that will be air-shipped to us and will probably arrive a few weeks after we arrive in Brazil = 11 boxes — more clothes, shoes, and random other items we may want/need as we wait for…
3) EVERYTHING else that will travel on an ocean freight.  Average wait-time on receiving these items is around 3 MONTHS due to Brazilian customs — c-r-a-z-y.  (I just heard of someone who waited 8 months on their shipment so crossing my fingers for just 3.)
(As we wait for the visas to be approved, the air and sea shipment is being held by our movers and they will send it out as soon as we are approved.)

  HOUSING:
A lot of people ask if we know where we’ll live once we arrive in Sao Paulo.  The answer is yes and no.  When we arrive, we will start out in furnished, corporate housing.  In fact, I think we will be staying at the George V Hotel in Itaim.  What do you think of it???  I think it looks kind of cool.  During this time we will look for an apartment into which we’ll move once our stuff gets there!  (Again, est. time 3 months)

So…it’s all a little up in the air at this point but we’re making the best of it.  Michael is able to work remotely and I am working full time on studying Portuguese.  🙂  We are enjoying spending time with his family and I will actually get to make one more quick trip home next week too.  That being said, if you have any good books to recommend…now is a great time!  🙂

OK friends – thanks for caring about us!  xoxoxo