Residency Advice

It will need to be an FBI background check and yes it needs to be apostille.
Yes if the children/husband is Brazilian you apply for the family reunion visa.
It should not be an issue to extend a visa, but if you apply for a family reunions visa and initial documents are approved you will receive a protocol that gives you X" amount of days to stay in brazil.
When I applied I had the majority of the documents, but not all, and PF extended 3 times. (Took about 6 months)

The apostille for a federal document, like the FBI Background Check, should be from the US Department of State.  The apostille for a state document, like your birth certificate, should be from the appropriate authority in the issuing state.  Both should have Sworn Translations that conform with Brazilian law.

Passports never require apostilles.

Thank you for your response! Yes, I had an FBI check done back in July unaware it was only good for 90 days and that it needed to be apostille. I’m now stuck having to redo my fingerprints and have a family member resubmit everything to the fbi.

I’m just confused because when I spoke to a Brazilian lawyer here who specializes in migrating to Brazil, he said it had to be done at a Brazilian consulate back in the states...???? I don’t see why that would be necessary.

So far I’ve only had my marriage certificate apostilled along with it being translated. The translation was also apostilled. Do You know if I need to have my birth certificate apostille as well?

Your lawyer's information was true once, but is outdated.  Until 2016, US documents did need to be legalized at a Brazilian Consulate for use in Brazil.  In that year, Brazil ratified the Hague Convention on Apostilles,  to which the US had already adhered.   Hague Convention members recognize each other's legalizations in the form of an apostille, eliminating the need for the consular legalization.

If you have all of your documents and you haven't been out of Brazil since the date of the Background Check, I would suggest getting Sworn Translations of any that don't have them, and to try processessing your application with them.  The Polícia Federal are allowed to exercise some discretion.

Technically, your birth certificate should have an apostille.   However,  it's only used to provide your parents' names, so I'd try it, if you have a Sworn Translation for it.  Your passport is your true identification document.

Were you married in Brazil, or did you register your US marriage at a Brazilian cartório when you and your husband moved (back) to Brazil?   If so, your Brazilian marriage certificate will be sufficient documentation for your marriage.

Ok thanks for the clarification! Me and my husband where married back in the States. My husband hasn’t registered our marriage here in Brazil yet. However I do have my marriage certificate apostilled. 

As far as my birth certificate, looks like I’m going to have that apostilled as well!

As far as the translations, I was told it could only be done by a sworn translator in Brazil. Is that true?

Yes, that is true.

A search on "Traduções Juramentadas" should identify local Sworn Translators for you.  There are also reputable online firms that are able to work with PDFs and supply translations electronically, that can be printed.   I've been pleased with the work of fidelity.com.br

Sworn Translations don't expire, so be sure to keep duplicate originals, authenticated copies, and/or printable electronic versions for possible future use.

GringaGirl,

Did you and your husband register your marriage at the Brazilian Consulate?  How about the births of your children, if they were born in the United States?

No, me and my husband didn’t register our marriage at the Brazilian consulate. My children, yes. My kids have dual-citizenship.

GringaGirl101 wrote:

No, me and my husband didn’t register our marriage at the Brazilian consulate. My children, yes. My kids have dual-citizenship.

That's good that your children were registered.

If you had registered your marriage at the Consulate and then registered the Certidão Consular with the cartório when you got to Brazil, it would make the permanent residency process a little easier now, but hopefully, the PF will act on your apostilled US Marriage Certificate.

Ok good to know! Thank you for all your help! Obrigada!!