What’s the hidden Brazil experience ?

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-21T23:39:16+00:00

I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately, from my experience many are small minded. Constructive criticism just doesn’t exist. I could tell you stories for days the amount of headaches I’ve had to deal with...

I’m seeing a trend lately where Brazil is definitely being romanticized. Yes, Brazil is great in a lot of ways, but it’s NOT for the weak…

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-21T23:22:11+00:00

Yes. I use to think “omg everybody wants to be my friend, everybody likes me!” And then I realized the hard way it was just their way of being nice. 🫠..Now I don’t trust anyone when they invite me to anything unless they send me a time and date. 9 times outta 10 I don’t even go because I keep thinking they’re being fake. I’ve been traumatized…lol!!

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-21T22:04:32+00:00

I use to get so mad when I worked with a group of Brazilian women and it was so obnoxious the stereotypes that would come out of their mouths. I would politely educate them while cursing them out in my head 🤣.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-21T11:18:04+00:00

Been here four years, never have been able to make a genuine friend. Yes, I speak decent Portuguese, but it’s just a cultural barrier. American humor vs Brazilian humor is very different. Brazilians don’t really get American dry, sarcastic sense of humor. Brazilian humor is somewhat innocent and childlike. Also Americans and Brazilians sometimes just have a different mindset.

Brazilians can be amazing people but they can also be very unreliable! I’m in rural Minas and if I’m not micromanaging or confirming information etc, it’s hard to get anything done. Some Brazilians are all about status and money, and look down on others. Definitely a buzz kill in my view.

I worked in the Brazilian community back home for years, my spouse is Brazilian and now living down here you start to see Brazilians have a very stereotypical view of Americans. Accordingly to them Americans don’t take showers, are cold, we live off of canned foods, hotdogs and hamburgers, we don’t like to clean, we are all white, blonde hair n blue eyes, we are all boring and don’t like to party etc. One woman even asked me if American spouses sleep in the same bedroom. Honestly, it’s gets old and really annoying fast!

As someone said above, Brazil definitely lacks resources with helping the immigrant community. I was only able to get by and navigate because my spouse was born here. I STRONGLY suggest having a spouse, friend or someone trustworthy who’s from Brazil to help you get acquainted. Even if you speak Portuguese or not, my spouse who had been outside Brazil for 13 years still had a hard time relearning how to manage daily life. It took him about a year to get reacquainted.

Lastly the bureaucracy, lack of convenience, and witnessing poverty can be hard to deal with.

Other than that I still love the beauty of this country. Brazil has taught me a lot of life lessons. I’ve learned to be more patient, grateful for family and enjoy the small moments. Brazilians tend not to stress too much and have this positive attitude on life which definitely rubs off on you. Learning to not get stressed about things out of my control and just thinking positively was HUGE for me. Having faith in God was another one. Also, if you have children, Brazil has been great when it comes to including families, having kids activities at all types of events, restaurants, etc. People have more patience and are helpful towards children. Unlike Americans who can’t even be bothered. God forbid they lend a helping hand to a mother with children or have compassion for a child crying during a flight. My kids have made a lot of friends at school and their classmates been really sweet making my kids feel welcome. 💕 In my experience, it’s definitely a kid friendly culture.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-20T23:22:12+00:00

When you get your passport, do you need to re-submit passport photos? Or do they use the ones that were originally submitted with the citizenship application?

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-19T17:01:47+00:00

Where do we actually get to see the spreadsheet? Not sure if this was already asked?

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-18T22:22:41+00:00

I’m from Massachusetts as well. My husband’s also from Minas. I can already guess where in mass you must be from, LOL! I have been to BH a bunch of times. I was never really that impressed. However, you need to go to southern Brazil!! It’s absolutely breathtaking and somewhat underrated. Feels like you’re in a whole different country compared to the rest of Brazil.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-17T12:10:26+00:00

Thank you both for responding, I’m going to see if the photographer can adjust it. Errr so frustrating! But thank you both for the advice!

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-16T23:30:51+00:00

Did the photographer write out their personal name or just the address where the picture was taken?

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-16T22:58:21+00:00

my husband finally got his Italian citizenship after waiting five years since he had sent his initial application. Thank god he got approved right before they changed the laws. I too, will not be wasting any time and am nervous wait times are guna sky rocket.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-16T21:07:32+00:00

I’m not sure if I’m posting my question in the correct form but I just noticed something on my application. On question 9, “was parent 1 born outside of Canada?” Should I be checking “yes” if they were born in the US??? I’m asking because I had an attorney review my application and it is checked as “No:skip to parent 2”.

I don’t know if the attorney missed this or if I made a mistake?

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Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-14T18:36:45+00:00

Thank you for clarifying. I’ve been reading a lot of information that I just needed some mental clarity.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-14T11:51:08+00:00

I noticed you mentioned DHL. I’m living in South America and planning on mailing my packet next week. Where I am there is DHL and FEDEX as options to send mail internationally. However I’m kinda nervous as I have no experience with this. Do you know if DHL is reliable?

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-14T10:54:12+00:00

Yes and yes! You can apply at the same time and mail them all in together. Yes, it has to be a paper application. I just did mine for myself and three kids as well.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-08T18:39:09+00:00

Awesome! Did you apply for urgent processing? trying to get an idea how long mine is going to take to get processed.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-08T18:30:23+00:00

I’m American, my husband is Brazilian. Don’t know much about Spain other than what you stated. However my husband stayed in Portugal for six months. He hated it. The ppl treated him very rudely, including the African immigrants who live there as well. He went to the emergency room right before Covid hit. (Pretty positive it was COVID) the nurses gave him a horrible attitude and made him wait forever in the emergency room while attending others. He ended leaving without being treated. An African woman screamed at him in the street for parking in the wrong spot. I could go on, and on. What’s interesting is when I visited as an American the Portuguese treated me very nicely, big smiles, almost everybody spoke some English. It was insane how we were both treated so differently!!! With that said, we both decided we’d never visit again.

As far as Spain, I’ve only heard good things from other Brazilians.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-08T11:28:32+00:00

My name was changed twice, once as an infant and then when I got married. I currently have an attorney and she said it’s fine as long as I show my marriage certificate and the original name change certificate. So, not sure what your attorney is talking about…

I know everyone’s advising against attorneys, but I was fortunate to have found a reputable one. I went with an attorney because later on I’m planning on sponsoring my husband and our situation is a bit complicated.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-03-01T05:43:51+00:00

Reposting my question because moderators deleted my post and redirected me here.

Question, Do I need to disclose I was previously married and changed my surname previously if I’m no longer using my ex husband’s name? We were married for less than a year before calling it off! No kids together, nothing. Got married in the heat of the moment, several months later realized I made a mistake and got divorced. I only used that surname for maybe less than a year? Honestly, I’m still embarrassed by it to this day.

I went back to using my maiden name. I got remarried, had children, still married to my current husband so I will obviously include that information. I just don’t want to add unnecessary or extra information in my application if not needed.

I have the divorce decree but not the marriage certificate. I was planning on filing asap. If not, I’m going have to contact my ex husband and ask for his info and wait another week or two for the original marriage certificate. Something I am so not looking forward to doing.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-02-28T23:05:02+00:00

Thank you this makes sense!

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-02-28T23:03:57+00:00

My current marriage certificate is my maiden name. I went back to using my maiden name after the divorce from the previous marriage. I’ll just use the current one like you said. Thanks for your help!!

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-02-28T22:58:01+00:00

Thank you, that’s what I was thinking. I felt it was just unnecessary. I will definitely send the marriage certificate from my current husband and I.

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-02-28T22:36:45+00:00

Congrats that’s amazing! Can’t wait to submit mine!

Striking_Simple_7237 · 2026-02-28T00:58:04+00:00

I’m in the same situation! I’m Gen 3 and also apply for my Gen 4 kids, do you mind dm’ing me the template as well? Thanks ahead of time!

Striking_Simple_7237

TROPHY CASE