Consulate General of Brazil

First off disregard everyone’s negative reviews because this place is not bad as they make it sound like! Make sure you arrive on time. Have all the documents they need ready: printed application receipt after completing the online application with an attached photo, a letter to the consulate of Brazil with a detail purpose of your trip as stated on the website, a utility bill so they can verify your address, and a itinerary. The security guard was so nice and helpful. He quickly organized our paperwork and asked me and my fiancé to take a number and wait to be called on. We literally waited no longer than 10 mins! Went to window #2 the gentleman was nice and processed everything in less then 5 mins and said our visas will be ready on Monday! That’s 5 business day from today 04÷18÷16 and he kindly said, «Don’t worry you won’t miss your flight next week» :-D I can’t wait till next week Monday! Just a few days away from being in Rio de Janeiro.
Hint: Just follow their directions given to you on their website along with all the documents they need and you’ll be just fine. They won’t complicate your life if you don’t complicate their job :-)

Everyone is really nice, especially the woman in window #4…BUT BE CAREFUL with the woman at window #1, she is rude and it seems like she hates her job at the consulate.
I went a week ago to process my visa when I ended in window #1. The website was a little confusing and I didn’t know that I needed to upload my employers paperwork into the site. She seemed annoyed and told me to go upstairs to scan them. Because I had made a mistake, and I take full fault on it, I forgave her attitude and figured that she was having a bad day.
After we came down from the 7^th floor (people upstairs are so nice!) the lady at window #4 helped me and was really nice and reassuring. I’m not sure why, but getting a visa to visit another country can be a stressful process.
Today, April 5^th 2016, I went early in the morning to pick up my visa. «Luckily», I got the woman at window #1. Again, she was really rude and threw each passport at me through the little window slot, and just stood there and didn’t say anything. I asked if that was it. She glared at me, and with attitude answered, yes.
At that moment, all I wanted to do was to yell and scream at her for being so rude, but I took a deep breath and smiled. It took a lot of patience and a lot of effort from my part not to be rude as she was to me.
I’m not sure what’s going on in her life, but I hope that she takes care of herself and maybe reconsiders her job at the consulate. I can take rude attitude, but I sure can’t tolerate her rudely throwing the passports at me through the window, it felt degrading and I’m really upset.

After reading some horror stories online about tourist visa processing times, I was prepared for the worst. But my visit to the Consulate was… incredibly quick and painless, and they turn visas around in less than a week. So as long as you follow the instructions on their website, make an appointment, and have all your documents together, you should have no problems at all. You should plan in advance, though, because appointments fill up fast — when I went to make mine, the earliest appointment was about three weeks away. So while the visa turnaround time is one week, it’s one week from the day of your appointment. If you’re planning on visiting Brazil, you’ll probably want to start the whole visa process at least a month and a half before you leave, to ensure you’ll be able to get an appointment in time.
The Consulate is on the third floor of 8484 Wilshire Blvd, which is a large oval-​shaped office building. There’s a man at the front desk who will make sure you have all your paperwork together, and who will then direct you to check-​in and take a number from a machine. It’s like the DMV, there are several different types of numbers depending on what you’re there for (visa applicants will have a VXXX number). Take a seat and wait until your number is called, head over to the window, and present your paperwork. It’s a quick process; they’ll take your documents and your passport and hand you a receipt to present when you pick up your passport/​visa in a week. Anybody can pick up the passport, but they will need the receipt to do so. So, uh, don’t lose the receipt.
Notes:
— You will need a USPS money order for $ 160 made out to the Consulate General of Brazil. You can get this at any post office, but I hear there’s a post office nearby that they’ll direct you to. Yeah, it’s expensive, but it’s what we charge Brazilians to get a U.S. visa, so we can’t really complain.
— If you want to submit paperwork for yourself and family members at the same time, you may, but only if you have appointments scheduled for the same day. They don’t need to be consecutive, but they must be scheduled for the same day. So, if you have an appointment schedule for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and Tuesday at 11:50 a.m., you can submit everything at 10:30 a.m. But if you have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., you will need to come on both days to submit the applications separately.
— Parking is pretty easy. There are several 1-​hour street spots right in front of the building, but these are usually taken. One block away, however, on La Cienega, there are a TON of 3-​hour street spots in front of La Cienega Park. $ 0.75/hour. The building also has a garage and there are several public parking lots, but there’s just a ton of street parking within a couple of blocks’ radius.

First of all pay for a visa service and avoid hassles. The issues I had is the consulate is located in a very congested part of Beverly Hills and street closures and diversions are common. Getting there from downtown LA took 1-​hour at 10:00am so allow plenty of time for your appointment. The staff is friendly but forgot to tell me that the visa can only be picked up between 9:00 — 12:00 on the day it is ready so of course I went there at lunch and it was closed. Once again, live a little and pay for a visa service. I have friends who thought I was crazy to go to the consulate as they all used a visa service and it was reasonable, easy and fairly fast.

Pretty simple process if you follow the online instructions. The wait time was 5mins. Make sure and upload your picture and signature correctly. If it doesn’t upload, they’ll send you to the 7^th floor. They’ll upload both for $ 10…
I found metered parking on a side street. Only cost me $ 1.50. The whole process only took 5mins tops, so don’t pay more than few bucks for parking.
I would give them 5 stars but the price ($ 160) for a visa seems like a scam. No other country pays over $ 50. Plus, Brazil is waving the fee from June-​September for the Olympics. Obviously, it most not be that serious to have a visa. If they can pick and choose when it’s necessary

Easy breezy process. Follow the instructions online and you’ll have your visa in no time, well five days after your appointment date. Tip– upload your photo and signature at home. If you don’t they will direct you to an office to have it done for $ 10.

Service is a service. But their personalties could make others believe they’re not so friendly. You would think that you were worthless the way they talk to you. And another Brazilian said that in her experience maybe they were having a bad day. But thats no excuse.

I’m torn about how to rate this but giving five stars ONLY for the woman at window #4.
I work in Glendale, so I carved out plenty of time to drive here with time to park. EXCEPT there wasn’t street parking available and construction increased the traffic tenfold. It was so insane and I ended up being 10 minutes late for my appointment. I parked in a shopping center two blocks down Wilshire and bought something from the liquor store in case someone threatened to tow me. (I figured it was probably cheaper than paying Beverly Hills parking fees.)
When I got there, the security guard said I was late and I told him that I spent 20 minutes looking for parking, which I also told the front desk attendant. Unfortunately, I made an appointment for noon and the kiosk won’t issue numbers after noon, so that was a problem. TIP: if you make an appointment and have an option, try to avoid picking noon, since you’re almost SOL if you’re late. But he suggested that I ask one of the people behind the windows if they’d process my application. If not, I’d have to come back. I went straight to window #4 and explained what happened and asked if there was any way she could help me out. She smiled as she took my paperwork and issued me the instructions about pickup.
Thanks to Unilocalers for the tips about window 1 vs. 4 and about uploading the photos and signature. I made sure to do that right before I left the office.

Relative to other countries’ visa processes, this is pretty sub-​par.
Confirmed appointments are required to submit applications but the online calendar shows no appointments are available until two months out (except occasionally same day at the very last minute). Appointment availability is only a two hour daily block so capacity is highly restricted.
Full one week turnaround timing for visa issuance after submission — way too long. No meaningful exception process like other countries’ consulates. No one to talk to live. ‘Emergency’ email box generates stock response to different questions or no response at all.
Website cautions you to not make travel arrangement before finalizing visa. However, most countries require you to CONFIRM travel arrangements before submitting visa request so why would anyone think Brazil would be different?
Strict rules are in place against traveling to other Brazil Consulates in the US for visas all of which appear to have different rules.
Posted signs all over the office warning against ‘disrespectful’ behavior which I’m guessing they define liberally. (I was polite.)
And by the way, I too had Window 1. Suffice it to say she was not ‘personality plus’. Others there were much friendlier but not empowered to take any action.
DMV is more ‘customer’-oriented than this place. All in — just too slow and difficult.
No choice but to cancel business trip for me and three colleagues while I continue to wait.

Friendly, helpful staff on the 3^rd floor of the building in general (esp girl at window 4 like another reviewer wrote), but security guard was giving people somewhat of a runaround or has an under the table deal with the law firm upstairs.
When I first arrived, he stopped me before allowing me to take a ticket and wanted to look over all my paperwork. Then he asked, ‘did you upload the application?’, to which I said yes, I uploaded the photo and the signature online. He said ‘are you sure? This whole page as is?’ I said ‘well this exact page, no, bc there was no direction to do that online’. He said, go to office 745 upstairs and they’ll help you do that. They know exactly what to do. There was no one else in line at the time for me to confirm this new info, so I just went. To be fair, the ppl in the office at 745 (some small law firm) were talking about visiting Brazil and the lady knew exactly what to do as soon as I said ‘I need to upload this’. There was a fee of $ 10 and I was on my way back down.
The security guard was then making small talk w another newcomer so I decided to just skip him and take a # and sit down to wait. I was called in 10 minutes time and everything I already had checked out. She did ask whether I had uploaded the page at the end, but I wonder if whatever I had uploaded at home would’ve sufficed. But bc I was on my lunch break (from DTLA) and I didn’t want to ask for clarification to complicate things, I just said ‘yes’ and was on my way out again.
I hope that security guard was being honest as I did see 2 other dudes coming out of 745 who also ended up in line downstairs. I want to believe that he was as otherwise, this probably was the best visit I’ve had to a consulate for a visa.
Lastly, can’t comment on parking situation but the 720 Rapid goes all the way to downtown along Wilshire and eventually 6^th St after the 110.

Pick up was extremely quick!
Go to kiosk, select visa pick up, get number, and have a seat.

I won’t give 5 because parking sucks, but nice improvements! Fast and helpful service!
In the other hand… phone services are the worst!!! Don’t even try… impossible to reach anyone other than a machine ready to disconnect your call… all the «leave a message» spots are always full and returning an email is not a possibility.

Best Consulate visit ever.
Easy, breezy, fast.
We made an appointment online and walked in with all documents as noted on the Consulate’s website. Take a number, sit down and wait to be called. We were called within 10 minutes and spent less than 5 minutes at the counter, then given a date to return to pick up our Visas. The staff was curt, but polite enough, no complaints.
Pick up is between 9 – 12 p.m. only. I made it in within the last 15 minutes, sweating that they might turn me away. I took a number and was called within 3 minutes, picked up my Visa, double checked for accuracy, the end. Done and done. Super fast, very efficient, and polite staff.
Note: There are some inconsistencies on the Brazil Visa requirement websites; you DO NOT need a notarized bank statement for a Tourist Visa.
Parking: I recommend street parking. La Cienega has many meters and we didn’t have a problem finding a space (on a weekday). It’ll save you quite a bit of cash compared to parking in the structure; the neighborhood is bustling and safe.

They are very helpful and patient. Wait time is fair. Most of the negative reviews are from people who did not know that they needed visa to visit Brazil or they did not have an appointment and just showed up.
I also saw an old couple who came to the LA consulate but had their appointment in Houston consulate.

Very fast service. Beautiful facility. No complaints. They have even TV Globo playing in the waiting area.
Parking in the buildings parking lot is expensive. I suggest parking on the metered parking on la cienega. It’s only 75 cents per hour.

As long as you get all of your paperwork in order and follow all directions prior to your appointment, your visit will be a breeze. For a visa, dont forget to bring a money order fron the USPS, and if you forget, there is a post office nearby which is mentioned on the website. That post office must do millions of brazilian visa orders because as soon as I asked for a money order, the woman said «Brazil?»
Park on the street at a meter, check in at one of the machines at the front to grab a number, and wait to be called. Both times that I went, it took less than 5 minutes for my turn, super efficient.

Made an online appointment for a last minute Visa application appointment (required …no drop ins) opening today, the next available one was 2 weeks from now. Then scrambled to get the USPS money order (the only form of payment accepted) and hauled down to the Wilshire corridor mid day to get this done.
Apparently you need a printed bar code copy confirmation page of your on line application. I didn’t know that. Once I arrived the process was simple had I had that paper. There’s an hour free street parking at the park down the street from the building. The security guard at the entrance desk is basically useless for any sort of complex info beyond checking in.
I was impressed however that even though I pulled a numbered ticket 3x (you need one to get called to one of 8 or so agent staffed windows) and was called to the window 3 x times with my incomplete application, the staff was being patient with me. They asked me to print out the bar coded confirmation and return with a new ticket. There are 2 computers at your disposal with 2 printers in the waiting area but you can only access the consulate website which is not intuitive. Finally with minutes to spare I was able to print out the form and get the application completed (application accepted from 10 am to 12 pm with appointment).
Once again… You need an online appointment, and only a USPS money order (which costs less then $ 2 at your post office), then a copy of your flight itinerary, a Passport photo, and your Passport. You also need the address and info for where youo will be staying in Brasil. The numbers get called pretty quickly so be ready. Turn around time for pick up of my Visa was about 5 business days. If you chose a Visa service, the mandatory turn around time is about 12 business days according to their website. So do it in person !
Picking up my Visa with the receipt was even easier. Once you get your number at the door and specify you’re there for a pick up the turn around time is minutes. I was out of a full waiting room in less then 5 minutes.

Lísia e Caroline! Thank uuuuuuu– uma loucura e correria pra fazer toda essa papelada and you guys were soooo super Nice! atendimento nota milllll !

I’ve been here twice…
My first visit was very pleasant, the gentleman taking care of us was at window 5 I believe. He was very nice, and professional, and appointed us to return May 19, 2014 to pick up our visas. Today my boyfriend and I showed up and the woman at window 1 had to give us our visas. This woman was extremely rude, not even a hello or an acknowledgement. She then threw our documents to us, as if we were playing air hockey or something because that is what it felt like. She was such a bitch! I will refuse to have her «help» me because I was treated like shit. She was a miserable dumb bitch!

Em menos de 10 minutos eu peguei a minha senha, fui atendida, dei entrada no pedido da renovação do meu passaporte e ainda ficou pronto 30 minutos depois. Inacreditável a rapidez e eficiência do Consulado Brasileiro aqui de Los Angeles!!! Todos estão de parabéns!

i went here to renew my passport.
The traffic may be horrible in the morning around 9:30 — 10:00am (local)
Once u get there, Its a bit hard to find street parking, even they hv meters (no parking 7−10am).so if u want to save trouble, just park at their underground garage. its about $ 8 for an hr.
You go to 3^rd floor, take a ticket and wait to be called.
Wow, this place is pretty! Colors are very representative. The environment is neat and new. Licia helped me today and she was very helpful.
For my renewal, she told me that i need to fill out a form on the computer on the side and print it out. Then, provide her my pic (2X2 is fine coz they will scan it). As for payment, they only accept money order. I didnt hv one so she told me to go to 7^th floor, #745, to get one. You pay $ 85, $ 80 for renewal fee and $ 5 for process fee. Once she process it, she will ask u to come back at 12:30PM to pick up ur passport. When I went back to pick up, she also asked me to confirm all the info, to see if everything was correct.
I think the customer service is AWESOME!!! a lot of times when u go to embassy, u pay for the printing paper, the line is long, u pay extra money to renew ur passport on the same day and bad attitude. i was totally satisfied w the service!
Additional Info:
mon to fri 09:00am –01:00 pm
visa pick up 09:00am –12:00 pm

Consulate is located at the Corner of LA Cienega and Wilshire Blvd. Very efficient process and no headaches. Honestly the drive there was more painful and longer than actual visit inside the consulate. I had an appointment set up online for 10:10 am. Got there around 10:08 and I was out of there by 10:20.
Upon arrival, I signed in and got my ticket and didn’t even have a chance to sit down that my number was called!
I gave them the docs and they gave me a receipt and I am going back next week to pick up my visa, that simple!!. For obtaining the visa all parties traveling must be present but for picking up the Visa only one person can pick up for all as long as you have the receipt.
Lady at window #4 was super helpful and friendly.
I suggest meter parking around the corner since you will be in and out so quick.
Now I can wait eagerly for my trip in November