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Comment by scurvy | Hacker News Reader

Brazil is an odd choice considering that a visa costs Americans $100 (last I checked).

$130

And your air ticket is going to cost a lot more than that. The painful part is that you have to fly to a city with a Brazilian Embassy (LA, DC) inside the USA and stay there for a week while your visa application process happens.

I've read somewhere Brazil visa requirements are based on reciprocity. Can it be the US demands something similar from brazilians?

You are correct

https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visitor.html

However Brazil does not require an interview in person, so you can do it by mail

Yes, though because of the Olympics it has been waived this summer.

Yup. That's the deal. Tried to go back when the relationship was a bit more tense (10 years ago) and got denied AND blacklisted for 5 years sad face

I still think the numbers overwhelmingly benefit the US vs Brazil here, considering the huge numbers of Brazilians that come here to vacation (and buy a dozen iPads).

Also, did they say why you were blacklisted? Was there a time where Brazilians were denied entry to the US on tourist visas?

$160 now actually. There are companies that will expedite the process for you if you don't mind mailing your passport to a third party. Costs about $100 extra which is way less than what you're proposing.

Also if you're from the US you can enter Brazil between June 1 2016 and September 18 2016 and stay for up to 90 days with no visa due to the Olympics - no need for Olympics ticket either.

Airfare is pretty cheap inside South America. If you're already in, say, Medellin (which is on the site's list), the $160 visa is a larger factor. Flying to Argentina is a better option.

BTW there's also a Brazilian embassy in San Francisco.

Until March 24, 2016 there was s $160 fee foe US citizens visiting Argentina. (Just incase not everyone is following Argentine visa policy.)

Why does the past matter to people making trips now (or in the future)?

For one, the abolition of the fee is only temporary (for three months) officially.

Just fly to any country with a border with Brazil and you can get a visa there in a few days, its not cheaper as that's based on your country's reciprocity. My point is that if you are intending to head to SA anyway there is no reason to fly to LA or DC first.

What really makes Brazil a no go for me is how dangerous it seems to be. I wouldn't even dare going there for vacation let alone live there for an extended period.

Only the major cities have rampant crime. Get out to the countryside, and it's a wonderful place. Even Florianopolis has much lower crime rates than places like Sao Paulo. As a tourist, you can skip Sao Paulo and not miss much. My wife is a Paulista and we fly in, see some aunties, and then GTFO for Rio or Bahia.

SP is where most of the fiber landings are, so if you're in the networking business, you're probably stuck there.

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