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U.S. Foreign Service Officer headed to Wuhan, China

The mission of a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the U.S. abroad. The work that diplomats do has an impact on the world as they serve at one of any of the more than 270 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

The duties of a Consular Officer include to provide emergency and non-emergency services to American citizens and protect our borders through the proper adjudication of visas to foreign nationals and passports to American citizens. We adjudicate immigrant and non-immigrant visas, facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, combat fraud, and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people’s lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis. They face many situations which require quick thinking under stress and develop and use a wide range of skills, from managing resources and conducting public outreach to assisting Americans in distress.

Brazilian Bureaucracy

Before I came to Brazil I had heard that one of the country’s biggest problems was its maze of bureaucracy, paperwork and hoop jumping that many simple tasks require.  Both Loni and I dealt with a bit of the bureaucratic nightmare right at the beginning of our grant when we had to register as foreigners at the Federal Police.  We had a window of 30 days to do this and we barely made it as time and time again we were denied because of nit-picky details (pictures are too small/big, not the right/enough signatures or stamps, lack of certain documents etc.).  Other times we went there the Federal Police was on strike or they were busy with particular emergencies.  After about 6 tries, we both were finally able to register and crossed our fingers that we would never have to deal with such an experience again.

Unfortunately, I knew that this would not be the case for me because of an initial error on my original visa.  Last year, when I applied for a 12-month visa to Brazil, the Chicago consulate inexplicably gave me (and several other grantees) a visa for only 9 months.  While I was able to enter the country without any problem, I wouldn’t be able to legally stay for the entire length of my grant.  Knowing that an extension would involve a similar amount of paperwork and bureaucracy, I started the process in September since it had to be completed by October 18 (30 days before my visa expired on November 18).

About every week Sean and I have been going to the Federal Police trying to get my visa extension and, like before, each time I have been denied for various similar reasons.  Finally, I was able to obtain a comprehensive list of what I would need and set to work on getting an absurd amount of notarized paperwork.  Fortunately, I received a lot of help from the Fulbright commission, some university student mentors and the department chair, all of whom gave much time and energy to helping me extend my visa (a problem which shouldn’t have occurred and wasn’t even my fault in the first place).  I attempted to repay them by baking and frosting cupcakes but they definitely deserve more than that for the hassles they went through for my sake.

Last week I went back to the Federal Police for my last chance to get my extension.  I had low expectations and at this point was already planning on having to come home early on November 17 when my original visa ran out.  I carried a heavy amount of documentation (translated resume, forms, pictures, statement of support and insurance from Fulbright, my airline ticket, copies of my diplomas, a letter from UESC, proof that I haven’t had any problems with the law in Brazil, proof that UESC is in need of foreign English teachers and proof that I am a qualified English teacher, proof that the head of department is who he says he is and is qualified to supervise my activities at UESC . . . it went on and on.)  After about two and a half hours of waiting, I was granted a temporary permission slip to stay in the country.  The truth is that the actual visa extension process takes place in the country’s capitol and probably won’t even be started by the time I leave Brazil (December 10).

When I explain all of this to my students here they just laugh because they are all too familiar with the many challenges of getting things done.  “Bem vindo ao Brasil” they say knowingly.  “Welcome to Brasil.”
Read More 2 comments | Posted by Sarah Sanderson edit post

2 comments

  1. Shelly on October 22, 2013 at 3:46 PM

    I learned the hard way that my Brazilian visa extension was NOT valid to leave & re-enter the country - only to stay. Obtaining the visa was shockingly a piece of cake, but I should have known that it was too good to be true! Getting turned away at the border in the middle of the night halfway into a 24-hour bus trip was no fun at all.

     
  2. Kate on October 23, 2013 at 8:30 AM

    That is a lot of bureaucratic BS!

     


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    Sarah Sanderson
    I am currently in Mandarin language training as a new diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. Sean and I depart for Wuhan, China in November 2019 for my first tour in consular affairs.
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