Had the most amazing experience getting my passport renewed and expedited under two weeks. I was communicating with them daily and they reassured me that I would be able to make my trip on time. While I had a lot of anxiety in the beginning that it wouldn't be back in time because it was around the holidays, it actually got me a couple of days sooner than expected! Thank you for all of your help. read more

These guys are great! Definitely know what they are doing and very professional. Got my passport in less than a week and couldn't have done it without them. They are the "Go to" guys if you need your passport in a hurry. read more

This guy is a miracle worker. I had two weeks before I was supposed to leave for Brazil and two expired passports. No visa needed on my UK passport, but a 2-4 week wait to get a new one. Only a day to get a new US passport, but the Brazilian SF Consulate had a 6-8 week wait for a visa. Hello cancelled trip and $3000 down the drain due to my own stupidity. I contacted a few visa places online who all laughed at me. Al got back to me within a few hours, told me what I needed and said he could have my passport back to me before I had to fly to London a week and a half later. I dropped off the documents with zero hope that he'd actually make it happen. Al didn't just make it happen. He got me a new US passport and the Brazilian visa I needed in three days. Let me repeat that. THREE DAYS. I was and am still blown away. I'd be lying if the thought hadn't crossed my mind that they were fakes...but they were real. He deserved every penny I paid him (and btw, his rates were actually cheaper than most of the others I contacted). If you need a visa you can't go wrong with Al. read more

If you need a Brazilian visa, Al is your man. As background, I had done my homework on Yelp about the Brazilian Consulate in SF and actually obtained my own visa relatively pain-free with them (just follow their specific instructions carefully) My gf had a business trip so I had to process hers a week later. Her visa unfortunately was a total gong show. The day before my appt for her (and around the time of Superstorm Sandy), apparently something catastrophic happened to Brazilian consulates worldwide. No more visas being issued in SF, nor the majority of North American consulates due to "technical difficulties" (I heard later when they were talking to an expeditor that they ran out of paper - really?!?) Only consulates open were in NY, DC, and Houston - and if you've done your homework and read the fine print on their websites - they don't accept visa applications from people outside their jurisdiction or they require appts which aren't available on short notice, etc (apparently this is payback for us making them wait months and months for an American visa) Anyway, faced with the prospect of eating tons of airline change fees and all sorts of unpleasantries unless I got a visa in 8 business days, I got to work calling/emailing around to see what could be done. Lots of "I'm sorry, we can't help you. The Consulate has shut us down" I had one other well-reviewed visa service in SF say "My advice to you - go ahead and change your flights, it's not happening." I even went so far as to look into Brazilian Consulates in Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls (that is an option btw if you have 3 days in BA and make an appt like a wk in advance) Then there was Al. He's got a pretty sparse website and few fanatical reviews like mine - but still - can this guy really navigate this stonewall aka Brazilian consulate disaster? I asked him a ton of questions on the phone and he walked me through the process of how he was going to make it happen (and provided tracking info both Fedex and at embassy so I could follow it each step of the way) I met him on a Friday afternoon (at the UPS like other reviews allude to - hey the man is efficient) and received my visa in 3 business days on Wednesday morning. The Brazilian Consulate in SF website still says technical difficulties - please try again later ... I hope Brazil relaxes their visa requirements for WC and Olympics coming up, but if not, trust Al ... read more

I am fully in Brazil right now because of Al and Brazil Fiesta. Honestly I was a little wary of the process when I was asked on faith to drop a bunch of money off with my crucial travel documents and personal information at a mailbox place. But the lady there was very friendly and vouched for Al so I went ahead. Four days later when I had a 10 year Brazilian visa in my passport, which Al handed to me in person, I was certainly not complaining. Neither was I complaining while I was drinking caipirinhas on a deserted island beach off the coast of Paraty last week with a Samba troupe. Nor was I complaining the day before yesterday while dancing on a packed Ipanema beach at 4 am to some twisted Funk Carioca out of the trunk of this dude's Honda civic in a huge crowd of the sexiest half-naked people I've seen in my entire life. Anyway, you get the picture. The point is, if you want to get to Brazil, and you missed your opportunity because the appointment calendar at the consulate was full, Al will help you. You will make it to Brazil, and when you step off the plane you will immediately be sexier than you were when you left the US. And it will all be because of Al. At least the Visa part anyway. Al is friendly, connected to the right people, clear, patient, very experienced and very professional. He charges reasonable rates, goes out of his way to be helpful and available and will answer any and all of your questions. Highly recommend this service for Brazilian visas. I doubt you will find a better visa service. read more

I was in a bit of a bind. Had to leave for Brazil in about two weeks, no visa, and the consulate visa appointments were all filled up (Darn you World Cup!). Although, I must say that I was a bit hesitant with leaving all of my important documents in a UPS box for someone I've never met, but all these reviews persuaded me otherwise, and I'm very glad they did! I decided to call Brazil Fiesta to get more information about the process. Al was very helpful (and charismatic!), and made sure I had all the information available to get my documents together. It was about $400 (including the consulate fees) to get it done in a week. I went ahead and left all the necessary documents in the UPS box. And within a week, I met up with Al at the UPS store and picked up my passport & visa and was ready to head on my trip! I'd definitely recommend Al if you're ever in a tight situation like this. read more

I needed to get a visa for Brazil quickly and at short notice. I applied for an apppointment on the Brazil Consulates website, but still wasn't sure of my ability to pull off a fast turnaround on my own. Roberto at Brazil Fiesta delivered my visa faster than I expected, with great service and responsiveness to my questions. I will recommend them to everyone I know. I think, for best results, you should have booked an appoint on the Consulate's website as early as possible. read more

I bought a plane ticket to Brazil on a whim. Then after the funds had been deducted from my account, I remembered I needed a brazilian visa. I called Brazilian Fiesta, spoke with Al. Monday I mailed off all my documents, and by thursday I had my Brazilian Visa and passport back in my hands. It was scary mailing my passport away, but next week I will be on the flight to Brazil! read more

Communication has been nonexistent. Email responses have taken upwards of three weeks, wherein BF asks one-off questions, receives answers, and then never responds. I give up. I'll go wait in line at the consulate. If business is great, fine, maybe I believe you. But you should scale your business to keep up with demand. I'd be totally fine with a response here and there, every two or three days, but every week or three? read more

We realized at the last minute that we needed a Visa. Going to the consulate, it would be 45 days minimum. We only had 2 weeks to travel time. Called a few "expedite visa" places and all said, 3-4 weeks. Found Al and he saved the day. Got us a Visa in a week. He knows Brazil! He even has a desk at the consulate when you come to pick-up your Visa from him. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! read more

Servico otimo! Eu precisava do visto brasileiro para duas amigas americanas em um prazo curto. O Al me ajudou em tudo que eu precisava fazer e eu consegui os vistos a tempo da minha viagem! Super recomendo! Amazing service! If you need a brazilian visa, this is the place. They were super helpful. I highly recommend it! read more

Everyone who travels to Brazil on vacation or business needs a Visa. It is recommended that you go thru a Visa agency to apply for a Visa. Two reasons - processing time is 5 days lesser and they know what 'words' that are considered bad that shouldn't be used on the application. Brazil consulates are very picky. I had traveled to Brazil several times on business in the past and needed a new Visa this time. I checked out Brazil Fiesta Tours and Visa Service webpage and decided to go with them. 'About us' section is what made me to go them. Whatever it says there is true. You will get things done one way or other -if you know what I mean. Al Monteiro, who runs the business, helped me out this time. I had some complications with my application and came to a point where I wouldn't be able to travel on business to Brazil ever. But, Al suggested an alternate solution to get the Visa and delivered it 100 times better than I expected. I expected xx 'days' Visa, but got xx 'years 'multiple entry Visa. Alternate solution costed me couple of hundred bucks more which I agreed for. But, the thing is, he didn't ask for the payment until I got the passport in hand - what a gentlemen and the trust he had with a stranger. And, the process is nothing out of 'line' and he followed the books, which gave me even more comfort. I strongly recommend Al Monteiro, Brazil Fiesta Tours and Visa for Brazilian Visa service. read more

I was quite worried in the beginning because you literally had to trust your documents to some company that you don't know anything about, although we had done extensive researches on other travel agencies. There were 2 passports and about $500 in money order and check in the envelope that was heading SF. Needless to say, USPS scared the crap of us, saying that the package was misrouted.....but it eventually got delivered. Mr. Al Monteiro was reachable during the entire event, so that helped a lot. I got my passports and visas back on the promised dates. I am SO glad that everything worked out well and without any hiccups, in a way. Brasil, here I come! read more

Everything went as planned and Al was great to work with. I needed a visa to Brazil (as do most people) but the closest consular appointment was more than three weeks off. This wasn't going to work. I looked through Yelp and found this one and it worked great. One strange thing is that you will have to mail in your passport and paperwork. Brazil Fiesta only has a PO box so a little difficult to drop off (but not impossible). read more

I needed to renew my Brazilian Tourist Visa quickly on the back of renewing my American Passport. Timing was super tight and I was under tremendous pressure from my family to secure my visa in time to travel for the holidays. Brazil Fiesta promised me that they could return my passport with a new visa in five days and did so. read more

these guys know how to get it done! very responsive to phone and texts :) read more

Brazil Fiesta is THE best! I have to admit that I'm not the best planner/organizer, so I lucked out big time when I decided to go with Brazil Fiesta. I required a visa in order to attend the World Cup and Al was super responsive, helpful and nice - which greatly simplified the entire process. He even got me my visa ahead of schedule and for a price that was much more reasonable than what my friends paid for theirs! read more

I contacted other visa services and they werent able to fulfill my urgent visa request in time. The team at Brazil Fiesta works magic!! they were super courteous, speedy, and most of all they got the job done. thank you! read more

We contacted Brazil Fiesta for last minute visa processing. They said it would be no problem so we sent our documents and payment. No response. A week later we called and they said they wouldn't be able to process it in time. Why would a business simply not respond in that sort of scenario? They suggested we fly to Houston, TX where they could help get our visas in person, which we ended up doing at much added cost. It worked (2 stars, not 1). The real problem was in the lack of communication. I have since sent multiple emails requesting a receipt for our costs and received absolutely no response for what would take at most 3 minutes of their time. I would have been much more lenient given the circumstances of our last minute need if we had at least had some communication throughout the process. I'm really surprised at all of the rave reviews in light of this. read more

I got my visa within 3 weeks. It would take more than 1 month to get the appointment with the embassy. However, there was a separate appointment for agents only. After checking agency appointment availability everyday, I managed to find one and informed Al to book it. Communication is a disaster. Though they get the job done (getting the visa for you), communication was a complete disaster. You might not receive any response from them for a few days, and no one picked up the phone. Besides, you have to drop all the documents (Including your passport!) in a UPS mailbox (268 Bush St is not their office) . And you won't hear from them for a few days to confirm passport and visa collection. But you will get your visa eventually. Basically, you are paying them for getting the agency appointment only (which is usually slightly quicker). But again, it depends on appointment availability and if anyone cancels his. her appointment last minute. Apart from that, you are doing everything on your own, including application form submission, uploading documents, buying money order from the post office. read more

Have used Brazil Fiesta twice, once for a large group and once for personal visas. They are fantastic, service oriented, personal, and fast.

Just had my Brazil visa renewed. It is my 3rd time with this process. Al was professional, prompt, courteous and informed. Brazilian consulates world-wide were having some sort of problems just at this time - - 'a shortage of supplies?' All visa issuance was temporarily stopped. (Yes, crazy.) Al stayed in communication with the consulate, on top of everything and gave me options and his advice. The consulate started visa issuance up again about a week later, and everything turned out fine. Will definitely go to Al next time & would definitely recommend. read more

This review is also very past due, I'm terrible at remembering to do these but I made a point to do this one because Al is a lifesaver. My dear, dear mother put off getting her paperwork in order until well after my brother spend $3000 arranging for her to spend two months visiting him and family down in Brazil. She got her passport two weeks before she was leaving, and then, 10 days before her fly out date-7 business days may I add, proceeded to ask me to get her a visa. Because apparently, I am Jesus Christ and can do miracles. After spending an entire, very frustrating day with literally every single visa location in Northern California, and have them quite literally laugh and hang up the phone on me, after being told numerous times it was IMPOSSIBLE to get a visa in that time frame, because they could only do their part so fast and were at the mercy of the Brazilian Consulate, after getting quite depressed about my mom missing out on her first chance to see her son in over ten years, Al got back to me. If you call and can't reach him, don't give up! I must have called 15 times, left two messages, and emailed him. He's a busy man but he took the time out of his day to call AND email me back. He must of had a queue of 25 people, but he heard the desperation in my voice and told me he could help me. Honestly, the man is a gift to the world. If you can be smart and get your visa promptly, do it, he's not cheap. But hot damn is he good. I think it cost something like $536. Now, the other visa places were charging around $300, so I figured, $300 plus the $80 something visa fee he charges (his is a little more but I imagine it has something to do with 'greasing the wheels') leaves about 150-160. He was overnighting these packages to New York and back, that doesn't come cheap. All in all, considering the services he was able to provide, that was a reasonable fee. The man is the reason my mom was able to spend Christmas with her son and grandchild, he deserved every penny and more. It is scary dropping your important documents off, but Yelp convinced me to do it, and I'm so glad we did. 1000 stars. 10/10 would recommend. -I forgot! He got the visa to us in 5 days. Including the time spent to drop it off and pick it up. Honestly, he does magic or something. read more

We were really in a fix - my American husband needed a visa for Brazil and we couldn't get an appointment for the embassy until December 6th 2012. We sail out of SF on Dec 5th! So, we searched Yelp and tried another agent, who was quite rude, telling us that the documents and passport had to go to New York and it would be at least 20-30 days. That, of course, was no use to us! Enter Brazil Fiesta. To be honest, we were doubtful that they could get the visa so quickly - we paid the expedited fee for a 5-7 day turnaround. We knew the application had to go to New York, because all other embassies couldn't process them. Well, we have been extremely impressed with Al Monteiro, who was able to obtain a visa for my husband, despite Hurricane Sandy bringing down all computers in the Brazilian Consulates throughout the US, which was very frustrating for us (and many others). With just over one week to go before we go on the cruise, Fedex arrived with the passport and the visa. Well done Al and the team at Brazil Fiesta - you deserve the five stars! read more

Brazil Fiesta delivered exactly what they promised. I knew exactly when I would get my passport back, and the whole process was smooth. I would use them again. read more

Al is AMAZING! If we hadn't been doing business with him, we wouldn't have been able to see half of Iguazu Falls on our Argentina work/fun trip (HALF of the Falls are in Brazil). As others mention, there is usually a 4-6 week wait for a Visa appointment at the consulate, as it was when I started investigating this. We also needed our Passports BACK for a trip to Vancouver two weeks before the Argentina trip, so most places were like "HAHA, good luck!" Al listened to me carefully, paused and then said "OK, I can do it!" Al met me at the Brazilian Consulate and let me watch him in action. These expediters seem to have weekly appointment blocks booked there, and that's probably why it's so hard for normal people to get time, but I digress... also, once they are done with you at the window- it's on to the next person - - -no effing way they'll let you come back and say "Hey, wait...." if you see something wrong with what they gave you. Al, however, seems to know all these folks by name, so when he came back to sit at a table with me and sort through all his passports, Visas etc., AND we discovered that they'd pasted my freaking BOYFRIEND'S picture into MY passport (and vice versa), only Al could trot right back to the window, show them their mistake, and insist they fix it on the spot, which he did with great speed and friendliness! Brazil Fiesta gets my highest recommendation and thanks! We had a wonderful trip! read more

We were very limited in time - 5 weeks to our travel date. After gathering passport, etc, etc, we tired to get an appointment at the SF Consulate (5 hrs drive from home). The only one available was 7 days before our flight. They book out over one month! Then take a week to process. Virtually no walk in's. I tried multiple visa expediters including those that popped up in the Brazil Consulate website. They all talk a good story but DO NOT HAVE PRE-BOOKED APPOINTMENT SPACE!!!!! They are generalists that work with many nations' visas. Not Brazil specifically, hence they are relegated to the same time frame you are for making your own appointment and going there in person. We are very capable of doing the difficult paperwork Brazil requires, but could not conquer the scheduling problem. Brazil Fiesta however is capable. They have space prebooked at the consulate, They told me they would have an appointment to present our application in 2 1/2 weeks and the Visa in my hands in 3 1/2 weeks. They actually had it done and to us in just over 2 weeks. The other services could not handle our schedule at all. We were in a position of spending many hundreds of $ to reschedule our flight and mess up our Brazil appointments. My conclusion: 1) Go to specialists if you need help due to scheduling; 2) Do it yourself at the consulate if you are very good at following instructions and have the time for a 4-6 week-out appointment; 4) Do it yourself IF YOU CAN slide your schedule out if you make a mistake on the paperwork; or 5) Use Brazil Fiesta (not a generalist Visa expediter) who specialize in Brazil Visas when you cannot afford the schedule and $ risks. Yes it costs money but we could not afford the schedule slip and the larger costs of driving to SF twice, probably get a room, not know if we would succeed, and possibly have to rebook the flight. read more

This review is extremely past due, but it's better late than never! I was set to go to Brazil a few weeks before the World Cup, and silly me thought 2 months was more than enough time to get my visa for Brazil. Boy was I wrong! The appointments at the SF Consulate were all booked up well past June, and I called Brazil Fiesta on a Sunday afternoon in a completely panicked state. Surprisingly, Al picked up and was calm, friendly, and very patient with my questions. He explained the process and told me he had an open appointment with the consulate that Friday, and would be able to process it for me as long as I could gather all the necessary documents and drop it into a UPS box by Tuesday. He said I would have my visa 10 days after that! The process was extremely smooth, and I got everything as scheduled. I did have to pay an extra $50 on top of the price I would have paid if I were able to go through the SF Consulate myself, but considering the circumstances, it was well worth it! read more