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Well, I talked a little bit about what San Francisco means to me in this post
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In short, I fell in love with the city in 2014, and now, in 2019, I’m moving there.
I never knew (consciously) that I’d end up there. I just trusted myself and gave it my all (right, Aunt Tê?!)!
My process began in October 2017, when I applied for the “Olympian Visa Program” at Avenue Code (the company I work for).
Avenue Code is an American IT (information technology—basically computing) consulting firm, and I work at the Belo Horizonte office. The U.S. office is the one that applies for my visa. This program applies for H-1B visas for company employees. There’s another program called the “Leadership Visa Program” that applies for the L-1 visa.
The company has a series of requirements you must meet to apply, as well as a specific evaluation process to select the employees who will actually have their visas applied for.
In January 2018, I received the result that I had been approved by Avenue Code. Great! 🙂
The H-1B visa application process is open to applicants worldwide; it takes place once a year and runs from April through November (at a minimum), with several stages.
In the year I applied, it worked as described below (the process has changed slightly since then).
It’s important to note that the entire process is very closed off, and we don’t have access to the dates. So here’s an overview of the whole process
Timeline:
– April 1, 2018: Companies begin submitting employee documentation;
– A few days later, the submission period closes (the exact date is not disclosed);
– On May 16, 2018, a letter arrived at Avenue Code in the U.S. stating that I had been selected in the lottery (up until that point, I hadn’t received any information; from this point on, you’re assigned a case number that you can track on the website);
– On October 30, 2018, my status on the website changed to “Visa Approved” (before that, I had no information—the process is completely confidential). Another possible status would have been a request for additional documentation, in which case you’d have to submit more documents proving your academic and professional background; that wasn’t the case for me);
– By the end of November 2018, my official approval letter had arrived at the Avenue Code office in the United States (from that point on, I could have gone to the United States; I’ll explain below in more detail why I didn’t go);
– At the end of January 2019, I received the official approval letter in person (Avenue Code sent it via someone who was traveling from the United States to Brazil; they could have mailed it if necessary);
– On July 19, 2019, I went to the CASV in Belo Horizonte (this is the first visit to have your fingerprints taken and a photo taken for your visa);
– On July 26, 2019, I went to the consulate in Rio de Janeiro for the final interview (I’ll discuss the questions below);
– On August 8, I’ll be traveling to San Francisco (one-way ticket).
Initial Documentation
Avenue Code in the U.S. sent me a list of what needed to be submitted.
I submitted items such as:
– Diploma and academic transcript (scanned originals; I translated them and asked a colleague fluent in English to sign a statement confirming the translation);
– A copy of my passport and the U.S. visa I already had (I had a B1/B2 visa);
– Work permit;
The silence between the lottery results and visa approval
Well, during that time, there really isn’t anything you can do to get more information; I kept checking the website and looking up the visa status, but there were no updates.
Some companies set up websites where people post information about their own visas, which generates data that gives you an idea that something is happening—but nothing official regarding the process.
As I mentioned, they may ask for additional documentation; this is called an RFE (Request for Evidence), and it’s posted on the website, plus a letter is sent to the office of the company handling the visa application. That wasn’t the case for me.
Visa Approved and the Move
When your visa is “approved,” there’s one more step: “issuing the visa.”
For this, you must have the official approval letter.
Additionally, since Avenue Code is a consulting firm, my visa documentation must include the physical address of the client I’ll be working for.
Avenue Code in the U.S. is responsible for placing me with a client, and only after that can I proceed to the “visa issuance” stage.
I have two years to find this client; so I would have two years to move without losing my visa.
I could also go to the United States without a client; however, I would have 90 consecutive days to be assigned to a client and update my documentation; otherwise, I might have to return to Brazil and wait for that assignment.
Employment contracts for employees who are physically at the Avenue Code office in Brazil and those who are physically at the client’s own office in the United States have different terms (the client pays more when the employee is physically at their company’s location), so I need to find a position that requires working physically at the client’s office.
It wasn’t until July that a position opened up at one of the clients, and that’s when the visa application process began. That’s why there was no urgency to plan the trip earlier or to send the approval letter more quickly.
Scheduling Appointments at the CASV and the Consulate
On July 11, I scheduled my visa appointment.
The first step is to go to the CASV, where you must have your fingerprints taken and a photo taken for the visa.
The first available date was the 19th (at the CASV in Belo Horizonte).
Next, you need to schedule an interview at one of the official consulates (Rio, São Paulo, Brasília, and another one I can’t recall). I scheduled mine for the 26th at the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro (Avenue Code recommended I go there since I was already familiar with the process).
When scheduling the appointment, you must pay a fee of approximately R$780.00 (paid online by credit card).
Since my trip was urgent, I paid for Premium Delivery, R$31.00 (paid online by credit card), which delivers the passport to an address of your choice (I entered Avenue Code’s address in Brazil because they have staff available 24 hours a day to receive it; it seems to be faster than the other option).
The other option would be to have it delivered to the CASV in Belo Horizonte, and I’d receive an email to go there and pick it up.
I was at the CASV for about 5 minutes; it’s really just a matter of getting your fingerprints taken and having your photo taken. You need to bring your passport and the DS-160 form—that’s it.
You can bring electronic devices and cell phones, but they ask you to turn them off and check them all.
At the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, I took a flight that lasted about 7 hours and arrived around 8:15 a.m. (there was a slight delay in landing).
I walked to the consulate (a very cute and pleasant walk), which takes about 15 minutes.
You can’t bring any electronic devices inside (cell phones, smartwatches, gate remotes, etc.), and there’s a security check to get in (just like at an airport); I left my cell phone with the attendants at the consulate entrance. It cost R$10.00 per electronic device, regardless of how long you’re there (in my case, it was just my cell phone, and I didn’t check the price beforehand; you pay in cash at the end).
My interview was scheduled for 10:15 a.m., but they let me in without asking any questions (even though I told them) and everything was handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Oh, and there wasn’t a line outside the consulate.
For the consulate, you basically need to bring your current passport, the DS-160 form, and the official approval letter. I also brought my academic transcript and diploma (original and translation) and my work permit.
Inside the consulate, there’s a separate line for H-1B visa applicants and everyone else. So I went to a shorter line just for H-1Bs. But there were about 8 people in front of me.
The consulate is very well organized. I was greeted by Brazilians speaking Portuguese; the interview was conducted by an American, who greeted me with “Good morning, how are you?” and then asked if I spoke English. He conducted the interview in English.
My interview was very quick (about 5 minutes). He basically asked:
– If this was my first time applying for an H1B visa;
– What the company I work for does;
– Which city I’ll be working in;
– What my job will entail;
– What my highest level of education is and where I graduated from;
– How much I’ll be earning;
– as far as I can remember.
As soon as he finished asking questions, he gave me a slip of paper regarding a reciprocity fee that I had to pay at another window and return to him with the receipt.
I paid in cash—it was $100.00 (one hundred dollars).
I went back to him, and he told me my visa had been approved and gave me a slip to track the delivery.
I left the consulate around 10:15 a.m. (the other people’s interviews took much longer than mine).
I went for a walk around the neighborhood, had lunch, and sat near the airport until it was time for my return flight, which was at 1:10 p.m.
Next Steps
There’s still no update on the visa delivery process[atualizo aqui assim que tiver]
.
As soon as the visa arrives, I’ll need to buy a ticket for the following days. I’ve even packed my suitcase already 🙂
[Update August 2, 2019]
I received the tracking number for my passport on Tuesday, July 30.
It was actually mailed on the 31st and delivered on August 1 (I paid for the premium delivery service to have it delivered to the company’s office).
On August 2, I bought my ticket o/
My trip will be on August 8, and I’ll arrive in San Francisco on August 9.
Kisses and see you soon 🙂
