Selling Your Car in Argentina

We lived in Buenos Aires for two years before we felt the need to purchase a car. The bus system in the city is fantastic, and if you live near the subway you have even more public transportation options. One of the greatest factors in deciding to buy a car was our daughter; it is tough to get a baby - plus the necessary accessories – onto public transportation easily. Knowing that we were planning for a second child, the car made life much easier when we eventually needed to travel with our two, and it gave us freedom to explore outside of the city on our own schedule. This being said, I still believe you can comfortably live in Buenos Aires with no car, though I am thankful that we decided to bite the bullet and buy one when we did.

Now that it is time to leave, we need to sell the car. And as we have come to find out, this is a prime example of inefficient Argentinean process. Of course you cannot just sign over the title and call it a day – that makes far too much sense. You need to go through a variety of steps, none of which are easily identified, and all of which take time. I started with a blog post from The Last Tango in 2011 which let me to a guia de tramites on the Presidencia de la Nacion website, which was helpful in identifying the documents needed to sell the car. It was not as helpful in figuring out how to complete the documents or where to take them. So, here are a few more details - here is what we did:

Before you have a buyer: 

1. Find your closest Police station that performs validation checks for a Verificacion Policia (referred to as a Formula "12"): http://www.pfa.gov.ar/default.asp?p=verificacion. No appointment needed, just bring your cedula verde (the green card that has your name and details about the car), DNI and the vehicle to the police station. Park outside, wait in line, pay AR$95, wait in another line, pay another AR$10.50, bring the car inside the station and have the police verify that the engine and chassis are original. Once verified, you go to yet another window, get stamped and you have clearance to sell you car. This check expires after 90 days.
2. Verify that you have no outstanding traffic violations/tickets associated with the car Libre Infracciones. You can perform this check online, though to make it official, you must print the verification letter, take it to a Rapipago location and pay AR$58. This expires after 90 days.
3. Visit the DMV that your car is registered with, it should coincide with your address in Capital. The DMV location number will also be listed on the top of your title, Registro Seccional. They will give you a Formula 08 which needs to be signed by each person who's name is on the title (and their spouse if the spouse is not a title holder), in front of a DMV employee who will stamp and certify the signature(s). This also has a cost associated, it's somewhere around AR$100 per time they need to certify the form. Bring the DNI of each title holder along with a copy. Note that ALL DMV locations are open from 8:30am - 12:30pm every day. That's right, you have a FOUR HOUR window to get this done - or nos vemos mañana.
4. As a buyer, they will want to see your Libre Deuda patentes, which is just proof that you have paid your yearly taxes/fees on the vehicle. 

Once you have a buyer:

1. Visit the AFIP website and fill out a CETA. In order to complete this form online, you must have a CUIL and a Clave Fiscal with at least a Nivel 2. I had a tough time with this one, even with all of the log in information, and the step by step instructions - finally I went to an AFIP to ask for assistance, they have public computers available so that you can complete the form right there. I still had to ask for help. Twice. To complete the form, you need the full name, CUIL, DNI of all persons that will be on the new title, and the selling price of the car.
2. Figure out how they are going to pay you, in what currency and how to get the money in your hand or bank account. Sometimes this includes wearing a big jacket with lots of pockets and looking like a Columbian drug lord. I think this is what happens most times.

After all of the paperwork is done, buyer and seller are ready to go, you give the buyer the following completed forms:

• Verificacion Policia aka: Formula "12"
• Libre Infracciones complete with paid receipt
• Completed Formula 08
• Printed CETA
• The car's official title
• The cedula verde, which is the little green card that functions as a mini-title. 

The buyer then goes to the DMV associated with your car with this folder full of papers, completes their portion of the Formula 08 (completing it in front of a DMV employee to get the official stamp), and the Certificado de la transferencia to have the title reprinted with the buyer's name(s). The new title takes a few days to complete, they buyer returns to the DMV to pick it up, then they drive away with your car. 

**NOTE TO BUYERS: You now need to go with your new title to the DMV that corresponds to your home address and register the car - but that is where my knowledge of this step ends. We never did this. Oops.

Simple, right? Ha! All in all, it takes time, patience and perseverance to sell your car. Don't let it wait until you're a week away from leaving Argentina, between power outages, computer system fails, rain, closed offices, strikes, etc, etc, this can be a VERY lengthy process. It took us two weeks and after asking around, we were extremely lucky.

Suerte!

Have Passport, Will Travel

Someone was looking out for us because today something magical happened... Gretchen's Argentine passport arrived!  We are now safe to travel outside of the country.

This officially ends the Legalizing Your Baby series.  It has been a crazy road, and considering that Gretchen will be 3 months old tomorrow, I truly believe that we accomplished this in the least amount of time possible. 



Look at how excited our little princess is!  We cannot wait for her to meet the rest of her family, and now we are finally able to take a breath and just be excited for our trip. 

I dare you to say this isn't the cutest photo ever

Legalizing Your Baby: Permiso a Viajar

The next step of our process doesn't actually legalize your baby, but it does allow you to travel legally with your child. I have heard this document called a number of different things, for the purpose of this post I will refer to it as the "permiso".

The permiso is a legal authorization signed by both parents and notarized (by an Argentine notary public or escribano) that states that the minor child can leave the country. This document can be obtained for each individual trip, or as a universal permission for all future trips for the child. The permiso is designed to prevent child abduction - by making it more difficult for a single parent to take a minor child out of the country without the consent of the other parent. In theory the only time you would need this document is if you were traveling alone with your minor child, however, as with most things in Argentina, it is smart to be over prepared. Depending on the immigrations agent that you have, you may be asked to produce this document even if both parents are traveling together, be prepared. Also, if you have a minor child, this is something you want to get taken care of as soon as possible just in case some sort of emergency arises and you need to travel solo.

Anyways, as far as obtaining a permiso is concerned, I am a little fuzzy on the details, but I'll tell you what I know. An escribano can prepare and authorize this document for you, and we went to Escribania Maschwitz - Tucuman 715. Here are the documents we needed to complete the permiso:

1. Original passports of both parents
2. Original DNIs of both parents
3. Original DNI of the baby

We verified that all of the information was complete and correct in the document and then both Jon and I signed the page. Three days later we had the completed permiso in hand, complete with notarized legalization. This will now be one of the documents that is always in our travel portfolio when Gretchen is with us. I have looked for more thorough information to share about obtaining this document, and the best information I have found is on the US Embassy website and the Ministerio del Interior site, but these resources aren't really that thorough (my apologies).

Now that we have this, we are just missing one last piece of the puzzle. The Argentine passport. Let us hope it arrives sometime within the next 6 days... Or someone is going to be a not-so-happy camper.

Legalizing Your Baby: Obtaining a Social Security Number

Who could deny this face??

At the advice of my friend Kelly and the Anonymous comment left on my Baby Passport Received post, I decided to try my luck at the Embassy and apply for Gretchen's Social Security number. The package containing her new passport gave nice, clear instructions on how to accomplish this very task, my only hesitation was not knowing if the Embassy would keep the documents needed to complete the request.  Good news!  You only need to show the documents.  Even Better News!  The whole thing took less than 30 minutes. 

The funny thing about applying for a Social Security number is that the window is only open from 8:00am - 11:30am Monday - Friday, except Wednesdays.  For some reason, they are closed every Wednesday.  So today I packed up my good little sleeper and we arrived at the Embassy around 11:15am.  As with the other times I have been to the Embassy (to renew a passport and to apply for a passport) it was no necessary as a US citizen to wait in line to get in, I approached the shaded window to the left of the entrance door, showed my passport and gained immediate entry.

I followed the instructions I was given and approached Window 16, which is actually a fingerprint window, so I waited for my number to be called and approached the correct Window, #17.  To apply for my daughter's Social Security number I needed:

1. My US passport
2. My daughter's US passport (and the instructions specify that the passport needs to be signed by a parent with the child's printed name in the signature line, who knew?)
3. My daughter's original birth certificate, the Certificado de Nacimiento

It is also helpful to know both parents (aka - my and my husband's) Social Security numbers.  I don't have his memorized, but they were able to look it up in some sort of database.  I was asked for a mailing address for where I wanted the card to be sent, and that was it.  If you choose to have the SS card sent to a local (Argentine) address, the waiting period is ~2 months, if you choose to have it sent to a US address, the waiting period is 2 weeks.  We have not had good luck receiving mail in a timely fashion so I opted for the US address option. 

If there is Social Security money left when she retires, I'll be smiling too.

So far, this has been the easiest part of the Legalization process.  Thanks to Kelly and Anonymous commenter for your help! 

Legalizing Your Baby: Argentina Passport & Permenant DNI

Waiting Area #1

Another step in legalizing our Argentine-born baby process is to apply for Gretchen's Argentine passport, without which she is not able to leave the country.  This process changed recently (May 9, 2011 to be exact), the biggest change for us is that you now need an appointment with the Registro Nacional whereas before it was only necessary to go to the building and wait in line. 

Here are the steps that we took in this new process to apply for our newborn's Argentine passport:

1. Get a DNI for your baby.  You need the DNI number to make an appointment.
2. Go to the Registro Nacional de las Personas website to make an appointment.  Print the appointment confirmation.
3. On the day of your appointment bring the following items to the Registro Nacional de Las Personas, located at - Humberto Primo 243 in Centro:
1. The appointment confirmation, 
2. Both parent's original DNIs and (US) passports,
3. Original DNI of the baby,
4. The baby's birth certificate (Certificado de Nacimiento),
5. $130 pesos,
6. The baby and at least one parent.

After we were inside the Registro, things progressed very smoothly.  It is very similar to the DMV in the US.  We waited in a preliminary line and received a numbered ticket.  We moved to the first waiting area until our number was called, where we approached a window, presented our documents and paid the processing fee.  We progressed to the next waiting area and waited for our number to be called a second time - this is where the passport processing truly began.

At this final step we were asked for all of our original documents again so that the agent could input all of Gretchen's details into the computer.  I was then fingerprinted and asked to sign on my daughter's behalf.  The agent took Gretchen's photo and fingerprinted her thumbs, which was quite the process on a 10 week-old, but worked after the 3rd or 4th attempt.  We were told that her permanent DNI (the one we received at the Civil Registry is just a temporary, handwritten version) would be delivered to our house in 5-10 working days and her passport delivered in 15 working days, and we were sent on our merry way. 

Today marks the 5th working day since our appointment and I am pleased to say that we have received her DNI!  Now we are holding our breath and crossing our fingers that the passport is just as timely, as we have plane tickets to the US in (count them...) TEN working days!  Let's hope this new passport process is swift!

Legalizing Your Baby: US Passport - Received!

Though the peacefully-sleeping-baby gods have not been with us this week (or last week, or the week before...) the US-citizenship gods are on our side! Today we received Gretchen's US birth certificate (more accurately called the Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or CRBA, certificate) and her US passport. She is officially a United States citizen now - hooray!

You may remember from my first post about the US Passport process that we were told to expect our documents to be delivered in 10 working days. This ended up being an understatement as our original appointment with the Embassy was on April 15, 20 working days ago. No complaints here, we're just happy to receive them.

Gretchen is relieved that she can never be president

These documents came with instructions on applying for a Social Security number, something that I hadn't given much thought to. According to the instructions, we can apply through the Embassy - this is nice, we thought we needed to apply in the states - but they require you to submit the baby's US passport, original birth certificate and the passport of one of the parents. Considering that we plan to travel internationally within the next month, we are going to wait until our return to turn in all of these important items.

We now have 2/3 of the documents needed to bring our child to the land of the free, more updates to come on the progress of our other adventures in Legalizing Your Baby paperwork.

Legalizing Your Baby: US Passport

Today we successfully completed Step 2 in what I have dubbed the "Legalizing Your Baby" process. This step is perhaps the most important one for us because once it is complete, Gretchen will officially be a United States citizen.

Before you even think about starting the US Passport process, you first need to have a Certificado de Nacimiento. Once that is in order, let the passport application begin! To set the scene for our situation, Jon and I are both US citizens living in Argentina with work visas. Jon is a naturalized US citizen, but this was not addressed during our application process. So our daughter is eligible to be a US citizen because of us, but we need to apply for her citizenship status. Here is the step-by-step:

1. Make an appointment to apply for a passport with the Embassy. Be sure to print out the appointment conversation and bring it with you to the Embassy.
2. Go to the "reporting a birth abroad" section of the US Embassy website (and read it very carefully). This is where it is very important to read directions, and to have all of the documents listed on the website with you at your appointment.
3. Both parents and the applying child need to attend the appointment. When you arrive at the Embassy there is a window to the left of the entrance - go straight to this window. Don't wait in the line of people applying for visas, it's generally a really long line.
4. Be sure to also bring your US passports, without the passports you will not be admitted. (We found this out the hard way, my poor mom had to turn around and go home because she only had a drivers license.)

Our appointment was this past Friday, here is how it went.

We were admitted directly into the Embassy without waiting in line. After they took our electronics and liquids (keep this in mind if you have a formula-fed baby, no liquids are allowed inside the Embassy), we were told to proceed to window 15 inside the Embassy waiting room. We waited for 10 minutes and then were called up to window 15 - which is where they collected all of the paperwork listed on the US Embassy site referenced above. We then proceeded to the cashier window, paid our US$210 and waited for the next step.

Here is where our appointment took a ridiculous twist.

Original Photo

All of our paperwork was in order, however the passport photos we provided were too close up to Gretchen's face so we to have new photos taken. The agent collecting our paperwork said that she would start the application process, but we needed to bring in new photos before they could fully apply for her passport. She gave us the option of going to a photo shop and getting pictures done OR there is a "guy in the park" that takes photos and knows the requirements. This was great news! We could go to the guy in the park across the street and have pictures done in 15 minutes without needed to return to the Embassy another day. So we ventured across the street to find the Photo Guy. The Embassy guards gave us the directions to the Photo Guy: "he sits by the second big tree across the street", and this is exactly where we found him.

The Photo Guy photo

The Photo Guy is a very enterprising man that sits by the second big tree across the street from the US Embassy and takes pictures until 12:30pm Mon - Fri. When I approached him to take Gretchen's picture, he directed me to the backseat of an old beat up car that had a white sheet hanging in the back seat. Let me describe the state of this vehicle; there was at least an inch of dog hair in the car floor, it smelled of booze and sweat and the front passenger's seat had been replaced by a tree stump with a pillow on top. I held my infant daughter up against the white sheet while the Photo Guy sat on the tree stump and took her picture. The result is the lovely photo on your right. Then the Photo Guy went into the car parked in front of the photo lab car and developed the pictures.

That's right. My infant daughter's passport photo was taken in the back seat of a homeless man's car while she wore a bib that said "fabulous". Whatever works.

After we reentered the Embassy and turning in our Photo Guy photos, we waited for another 15 minutes for our consultation. We answered a few minutes of questions, signed a few documents and Gretchen's passport was ready for processing. We then proceeded to the DHL line in the next building over to prepay for the delivery of the passport. This was very similar to my experience with renewing Jon's US passport last July. The nice part this time around was that we were allowed to cut ahead of the DHL line because we had a baby with us - score! We were given a receipt that we need to show when the passport is delivered and we were on our way.

So now we wait. Just like with a passport renewal, we were told that Gretchen's passport would be delivered to us in 10 working days. All things considered, we were at the Embassy for a total of 1 hour and 45 minutes which includes our make-shift photo shoot.

Next up, Step 3: getting an Argentine passport for our little portena.

Legalizing Your Baby: DNI and Certificado de Nacamiento

Now that we have a beautiful baby girl, we need to make her legal. 

As I promised in my Buenos Aires Birth Day post, I will keep you updated on the paperwork processes of documenting a birth abroad.  As with any international paperwork, there are lots of steps - and like most processes in Argentina, everyone has a different rendition of what was required so we had our fingers crossed on Monday when we began the process. 

The first step is to get a DNI (Documento National de Identidad) and Certificado de Nacimiento (Birth Certificate).  This process varies by hospital, in Sanitario de la Trinidad if at least one of the parents are Argentine nationals they can register at the hospital.  In our case, we're both extranjeros so we have to go to the Civil Registry and apply for our documents in person.  Here is the step by step:

1. Call to make an appointment with the Civil Registry (4373-8441/45).
2. Bring the following items to your appointment:
1. Both parent's original DNIs and Passports
2. A copy of both parent's DNIs and Passports
3. An original marriage license (if you were not married in Argentina the license has to have an apostille stamp - which is basically an internationally recognized notary stamp)
4. The "Partida" form issued at birth.  This form is filled out by the midwife or doctor involved in delivery and there are very specific instructions on how to complete the form.  Be sure to check the form for completeness before heading to the registry office. 
3. Our appointment was located at Uruguay 753, between Cordoba and Viamonte.
4. Once inside the building, there is a main information desk that you check in with.  They will direct you to the correct window.

Here is where it got a little dicey.  We gave all of our documents to the clerk and she began by calling us up to answer a few questions.  We had a translator with us because although our Spanish is pretty decent, we didn't want to leave it to chance.  For reasons unknown (maybe because our guy wasn't a "certified" translator) the clerk said that we were not able to use the translator and one of us needed to answer the questions for ourselves.  I took the lead because my Spanish is slightly stronger than my husbands, and I filled out the first form she provided.  After this, she insisted on my husband answering the rest of the questions - and she added that if he asked me or the translator for help she would void our appointment and we would have to start over.  Por suerte, Jon passed that test with flying colors. (Side note: When Jon and I got married, I legally changed my last name to his but failed to change my passport to my new name.  Because of this, Argentina will not recognize my married name and instead of making it an issue I have continued to use my maiden name in all of my Argentine documentation.  I have been told that this is why Jon had to answer all of the questions regarding Gretchen, because in Argentina, legally, her and I have different last names therefore I am not her legal parent.  I don't know if this is true, but it was definitely an interesting point...)

We were given Gretchen's DNI on the spot and handed a receipt with instructions to return in two days to retrieve her birth certificate (we have up to a month to claim the certificate, according to the receipt). 

Now that we have her DNI number, we are able to make an appointment to receive her Argentine passport.  As soon as we have her birth certificate, we can make an appointment with the US Embassy to receive her American passport, so this first step was critical. 

To celebrate this important milestone, Gretchen and I celebrated by doing the most American thing we could find.  I got my first 30 cm sub from Subway.  It was delicious. 

DNI

Hallelujah! After over a year of waiting, the Argentine government FINALLY decided to send me a little present, in the form of my DNI (Documento National de Identidad).  This little booklet has been a thorn in my side since last January, and we were crossing our fingers that we would get it before our little peanut is born.  Hooray for me!  Now, what is it?

So far as I can tell, a DNI is similar to a social security number in the US, but it is currently utilized much more (although with the recent changes to hiring and employment requirements, the use of SS#s has started to increase).  Virtually every financial or legal transaction will bring about the need to have your "numero de documento" which, until now, has been using our passport numbers and throwing everyone off.  Funny though, I could count the number of times that I used my passport number on one hand until I started living in Argentina, and now they ask for it even though I have no reason to believe that it's not tied to my other personal information here. The DNI changes all of that. 

Every time you use a credit card, book a flight, sign a contract (cell phone, housing, employment, etc) you are asked to provide your DNI number.  There are different (lower) airfares reserved for "nationals" that can provide this number, discounts into natural parks such as Iguazu Falls and Puerto Madryn, and without it you will have a very difficult time getting a cell phone plan, buying a house or making any large purchase that is not in full in cash.  Your DNI number is connected to your bank account, passport, voting history (voting is mandatory in Argentina and the DNI booklet records each time that you have punched a ballot), it's on your marriage license, and is needed to acquire an Argentine passport. 

(Just as an aside, can you imagine the uproar in the US if there were different entry costs for national parks or different airfare options for those that had a Social Security number?  Or if a Social Security number was requested when you used a credit card?  That's not to say that you are unable to enter or purchase a ticket, it just means that your fare is more.  Here it's understood, if you're not a national, your a tourist, and therefore capable of paying.  One of the many differences when living abroad...but I digress...)

This is not to say that we have been here illegally or anything, we have our temporary visas that are good for a year at a time.  Honestly, the biggest relief in obtaining our DNIs is that we're hoping it will make registering our newest little Argentine a little easier when the time comes.  That process seems to be complicated enough, with her needing both US and Argentine passports, birth certificates and other related documentation before we can take her out of the country, maybe this will now offer us a little relief/less hassle.  I'll post updates with our experiences in obtaining all of these other documents for our baby - I've heard some horror stories and some have said the process is a piece of cake.  You'll read all about how the process goes for us...that is, once we actually have a baby. 

Four more weeks!

Passport Renewal Update

So in my growing list of blogging delinquencies, here is a post I meant to update a few weeks ago.  If you remember, on Friday, July 23, I took Jon's passport to the US Embassy for Renewal because it was getting seriously close to expiring.   The Embassy was incredibly efficient and, shockingly, came through with all of their promises, the main promise was that we would receive the passports back within 10 working days. 

I didn't realize until I got home that the DHL stand at the Embassy somehow recorded my name as Daun Gorgani (aka - Dawn Giorgiani) on the delivery slip.  Exactly 8 working days later, Jon received a call asking if it was alright to mail his old and new passport to this mysterious Daun Gorgani - just as a safety precaution.  I'm not gonna lie, this impressed me.

Come August 6, exactly 10 working days later, I had Jon's fancy new passport (and old used up passport) in my hands.  He even has that spiffy new chip in the front page that has every piece of relevant information to his entire identity.  Hooray for new passports!

US Passport Renewal

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of visiting the US Embassy in Buenos Aires for the first time.  We just received notice that we need to begin the process of renewing our resident visas, and the first step of that process is to make sure that our passports are valid for at least the next year.  My passport passed this test, Jon's however, did not.  Thus, we needed to go through the exercise of renewing a US passport in Argentina (although I think these are the same steps for any foreign country with an Embassy).  Here's how:

• Check with the US Department of State website to see if you are able to apply by mail or if an appointment with the Embassy is required for your passport renewal.  This website nicely lays out the information needed to apply for a passport renewal.
• If you are eligible to apply by mail, you have the option of actually applying by mail or physically bringing the information to the Embassy.  We opted to apply in person, which does not require an appointment. 

There were a couple things not covered by the website with regard to applying in person.

1. If you are applying for another person (ie - me for Jon) be sure to bring your US Government issued ID (passport, license, etc).
2. The renewal fee (currently US$110.00) can be paid by cash or credit card.  The DHL delivery fee that you prepay to have the original and newly issue passports returned to you must be paid in local currency cash.  

The US Embassy is located in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Av. Colombia 4300 (54-11) 5777-4533 and though it's not the prettiest embassy in the city (on the contrary, it's probably the least attractive), it is certainly a secure facility.  Getting in is similar to getting on an airplane, no electronics, no liquids and everything goes through a metal detector.  After giving away my electronics and showing my ID, the nice officers at the embassy showed me exactly where to go, Window 15.  

The waiting room was packed with people waiting for a total of 18 windows.  I waited for 15-20 minutes before my number was called up to the DMV style window, where I turned in our papers, waited in line at another window to pay the processing fee, then returned to the first window to turn in my receipt.  I was then directed to an outdoor DHL window where I waited to pay for the delivery of the passports to our apartment.  All in all, the process took about an hour, not too bad considering the number of people in the waiting room.  According to the nice embassy people, we should have Jon's new passport delivered to our apartment within 10 calendar days. 

Brazilian Tourist Visas

We have been compiling a list of places to visit while living in Buenos Aires, and the destination that tops that this list is Iguazu Falls. Iguazu Falls are comprised of a strip of 250 falls over a 2 mile strip nestled between the northeastern tip of Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil. With Jon's parents visiting in April, after the major mosquito season is over, we planned a trip to Iguazu while they are in town. Through recommendations from our friends, we were told that the trip could be maximized by spending time on the Brazilian side of the Falls. As we soon learned, as Americans, we need to obtain a tourist visa to step foot in Brazil, even if it's only for a few hours. This is a direct result of America requiring Brazilians to obtain a visa before coming into the USA, including a fee that matches what the US charges - referred to as a "reciprocity fee". As of today, this fee is listed as $130 for a 90-day visa, yikes! We have been assured that this fee is worth it, I'll update you on whether we feel the same way after we return.

The interesting part of this process was the difference between the steps listed on the Brazil Embassy website versus the actual steps that we were required to take, so if you are in the market for a Brazilian visa - Beware! I read a number of blogs on the subject before we started the process, so we were ready to be surprised, but each person has a slightly different version of the process (us included). We spoke to a Canadian couple standing behind us in line for their visas and they had changed all of their reservations based on what they heard from friends, and in the end, this was an unnecessary inconvenience. So, here is how the process for an American obtaining a Brazilian tourist visa in Argentina panned out for us:

• Fill out the online visa application form. Jon's parents were prepared enough to do this ahead of time, I filled out some other form that was expired so I filled the forms out when we got to the Brazilian Consulate. The goal is to have an application number, which is part of your form submission confirmation.
• Go to the Brazilian Consulate building at - Carlos Pellegrini 1363 - Piso 5 from 9:00am to 1:00pm Monday - Friday. We went right at 9:00am and had approximately 6 people ahead of us. Bring with you:

1. Your US passport that has at least 6 months left before it expires. You also need to have at least 2 empty pages in the back "visa" section.
2. A 2x2 passport photo on white background. Neutral facial expression is best.
3. Round trip travel information, they want to make sure that you're not going to stay in Brazil. We are not actually flying into Brazil, but our Iguazu, Argentina flight confirmation did the trick.
4. Address and phone number of your hotel or overnight accommodations. Again, we are not staying in Brazil, but this was of no issue.
5. A bank statement with the name of the account holder that proves you have at least US$1,000 in the bank.  The statement must be from the last 90 days, preferably printed that morning.  
6. Tourist visa application number, if you were smart enough to get this in advance. If not (like me) you are able to get a number on the computers at the consulate, but they are s.l.o.w.

**Note: Some information we read stated that you need proof of a recent yellow fever vaccination,  proof of work in Argentina and various other documents. We did not need any of these items.

• Bring this information up to the teller window. The teller fills out a paper, asks you a few questions, and has you sign your name on the paper (so each person requesting a visa must be present). This is the part where she takes your passport and photo (and I have a mild heart attack thinking that something will happen and she won't return them).
• You will get a deposit slip with the address of a bank that you need to pay your reciprocity fee to. The teller told us to pay the fee and come back after 12:00pm the following day to receive our completed visas.
• We went straight to the bank (approx 4 blocks away) and paid our fee. So far as I can tell, the bank will only accept Argentine pesos. The bank gives you a confirmation of payment slip - guard this with your life.

We returned to the Consulate the following day at noon to turn in our confirmation of payment and collect our passports with shiny new Brazilian visas inside, just like the teller said. We were also pleasantly surprised to find that the visas are good for 5 years, not the 90-days we were expecting. All in all, the process was not nearly as painful as I had expected, save a few extra errands. It was funny to see the same people in line at the Consulate, then the bank, then the Consulate again the following day. We head out to the Falls on Thursday, armed with our entry passes to Brazil!

UPDATE: The Brazilian Consulate has begun requiring appointments for all visa requests. This was only a mild issue for us, who did not have an appointment. The teller gave us a frustrated look and a sign when we told her that we did not have an appointment but she let us process our request that day regardless. I would recommend making an appointment, the next teller may not be so nice: Brazilian Tourist Visa appointment directions.