I'll add that, at least here in Brazil, applying for a US visa necessarily involves at least one in-person visit to any US consulate or embassy, in a business d

I'll add that, at least here in Brazil, applying for a US visa necessarily involves at least one in-person visit to any US consulate or embassy, in a business day, and they naturally don't exist in all cities. Lines are long, and the visit can take the whole day. So there's this much extra stress and expense.