2017 South American EducationUSA Fair Circuit

Brazil requires U.S. citizens to carry a valid U.S. passport and visa when traveling to Brazil for any purpose. You must obtain your Brazilian visa in advance from the Brazilian Embassy or consulate nearest to your place of residence in the United States. Visas cannot be obtained at the airport, and immigration authorities will refuse entry into Brazil to anyone not possessing a valid visa. The U.S. government cannot assist you if you arrive in Brazil without proper documentation. Please contact the city coordinator of the city you are visiting to request a visa invitation letter. Representatives may apply for a tourist visa since they are unpaid speakers/participants.
Bolivia requires U.S. citizens to have a visa. The fee for the visa is US$160. You can obtain the Visa in advance in any of the five Consulates (Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Puerto Rico) and it is valid for five years. As of May 1st, 2015 you can no longer request a VISA at the Viru Viru airport (VVI) when you arrive. So please obtain a visa prior to traveling to Bolivia. For more information, visit www.boliviawdc.org/consulate/visas. Please contact Frances Gratacós ([email protected]) to request an invitation letter.
Paraguay also requires U.S. citizens to have a visa. The fee for the visa is US$160. You can obtain a visa for Paraguay in the in any of the four Consulates (Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles, Miami) or you can request one at the Airport Silvio Petirossi at your arrival. Visas requested at the airport tend to last only 90 days, while visas requested in advance at the consulates can last longer. For more information, visit www.mre.gov.py/Sitios/Home/Contenido/embaparusa/26
As of February 28, 2015 all U.S. citizens traveling to Venezuela must apply for a visa. For the South American EducationUSA Fair Circuit, representatives should apply for a “tourist visa”. Usually an invitation letter is required, please contact Marta Garcia ([email protected]), the EducationUSA Country Coordinator in Venezuela for this purpose. Important: Visa processing is timely, make sure you allow ample time for your Venezuelan Visa application.
In the invoice that each university receives, EducationUSA provides two options for payment. These include sending a wire transfer within the United States or mailing a check to the Fulbright Commission in Brasília, Brazil. Paying by credit card is not an option.
EducationUSA uses Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and radio advertising as well as print ads to promote the fairs. Representatives are encouraged to complete the Marketing Information Survey that will be sent upon registration and send as many blurbs and videos as desired to be added to our social media marketing campaigns.
To take advantage of the consular/group rates negotiated at the suggested hotels, representatives should follow the indications in the Primary Information Package that will be sent upon registration to book their hotel rooms.
Whenever possible, EducationUSA provides hotel arrangements at the same venue as the fair. When this is not the case, EducationUSA will provide transportation to and from the fair venue.
Early check-in and late check-out is a possibility at all of the venue hotels. If any of this services is needed, the representative should contact the hotel directly, as there may be additional fees involved.
EducationUSA encourages each representative to ship their university’s materials to each fair city. The representative's welcome manual will provide instructions for each city's protocol.
In some cities, EducationUSA will provide arrangements for airport pick-up, and instructions will be available in the Primary Information Package. Information about transportation options will be provided for the cities where complimentary ground transportation is not offered.
The school visits are arranged by each host city and vary from year to year. As the fair approaches, the school visit information will be provided in the fair system. Transportation to and from the school visit is provided at no extra cost.
Even though the students who visit the fair are expected to have a foundation in English, many parents who accompany their children may not. If the representative does not feel comfortable carrying on a full conversation about the academic programs that their university provides, EducationUSA recommends that the representative hire a translator/helper.
There is a fee of USD $100 per translator per fair. Each representative is responsible to inform EducationUSA if they would like to hire a translator and for which cities.
Each university is welcome to send as many representatives as they would like, but there will be a fee if the university is bringing more than 2 representatives per city. EducationUSA asks that each university provide the names and email addresses of each representative.
EducationUSA asks that ALL representatives provide their flight itinerary.
Alumni are welcome to help universities. Please provide alumni information for each city, so they can be given access credentials. When registering an alumni in the online system, please make sure to write the word ALUMNI in front of their name so EducationUSA can keep track of who is a representative and who is an alumni.