The Red Tape

Long time no blog! Oops! It's Super Bowl Sunday and to many in America this means football (or in Brazil: futball Americano) food, and parties. I normally watch it for the commercials, but in the last few years they have been so lack luster, that this year I am going to avoid all of the pomp and circumstance. The Brazil front has been kind of quiet lately. Im trying to START my work visa process.

Back in early January, I began working on getting all the papers together. Basically, at that time, all I needed was:
1. A college transcript: ya know, proving I graduated.
2. A letter from my current job stating that I was actually an employee.

Brazil seems to love a good Notary. So after I got the documents they had to be notarized, then they had to be sent to Atlanta, where the Brazilian Consulate legalized each one, for the low, low, price of $5.00 a document. just to put this sticker on it.



I was trying to be so effecient. Trying to not be my usual procrastinator-self. My deadline was March 1st to get everything back to Brasilia. I figured, the sooner the better. However, I still haven't received my Brazilian contract. I've signed a contract, I really have. It is just that I have to sign one in Portuguese as well. As soon as I receive it, I will send it back to Brazil where they in tern, submit it to the Brazilian Ministry of Labor. From there, they will decide if I am the best person for the job, in the eyes of the government, I'm taking away a job from a Brazilian. No one in the US likes American jobs taken away and people in Brazil don't want their jobs taken away from their citizens either. So, that is why they make you jump through all the red tape.

The Red Tape is no where near done, Sophie has red tape to jump through as well. I just want everything submitted and processed. I will be one more thing I don't have to worry about.