So, I emailed around after the first of the year to see if there were any developments. It turns out there were: They mailed the papers on the seventh of November—we just never received them! The Consulate sent the papers, but the Correios (the Brazilian post office) never delivered them. Frustrating too, because we will have to send the papers via this same un-reliable system.
Besides this delay being frustrating, we are elated that we can move forward now. Just last night I was lying awake wondering what was going on with the visa, and just when I could introduce my wife and daughter to family and friends.
I am still wondering some of those things, but at least now we know that the next step is in our hands.
Now we are working on getting these papers filled out, and documents collected in order to send them to the Consulate in Rio de Janeiro.
[Update: I did not choose the best wording, and that left some things unclear. The forms have still not arrived in the mail from the Consulate, however, they are also available online. So, we have downloaded the forms and are in the process of filling them out. Hopefully we will have more news soon regarding this. Though I do not know how soon to expect it.]
