I needed a visa for Brazil, and it could have been in several different categories. Grace talked with me a bit to understand the details of my trip, and then asked somebody at the Consulate which visa I should get. She picked up my materials in person, and returned them exactly when she said she would. She is really nice too! Great information, very helpful, timely... I'd go with these folks again. They saved me a TON of time, and the fee was great when I think about how many hours I would have spent figuring it all out by myself. Cheers to Grace! read more

Bay Document Services saved my daughter's trip to Brazil! She bought a ticket to fly with friends not knowing about the whole visa application. Although we live in SF the consulate had no available appointments because they are overwhelmed by World Cup applications. Bay Docs got her a visa from NY in 7 days. Just in time for her to fly with her friends. What a huge relief! Best service ever! read more

They only handle expedited passports. But their website does not say that. Also the San Francisco address is only a p.o. Box. They did give good advice to me when I was looking for them. read more

Bay document services saved my trip. I am forever grateful to them for their timely, efficient, and very personable services. Their services are moderately priced considering how quickly they are able to get what you need when you need it. I highly recommend Bay Document Services for your travel document needs. Also, they are so much more responsive than trying to deal with the consulate on your own, definitely worth it! Thanks Grace! read more

Grace is the best. I needed a visa to Brazil about two weeks before my trip, and the consulate had zero available appointments. I was wary about hiring a visa service because I'd read some real horror stories. One service in SF said I could get my visa in 30 days at the earliest. Another stopped responding midway through our communication. And then another said what I was asking for was impossible in San Francisco but that if I paid $400+, there was a small chance they could make it work with a consulate on the East Coast. Grace, on the other hand, had zero issues getting my visa processed and in my hands before my departure. And without an outrageous surchage. Grace is who I'll trust for all my future visas. read more

Grace is immensely knowledgeable. She was straight forward and was honest with me about the cost and turn-around time for renewing my passport and helping my kids get their first passports. Ultimately she is an expediting service and advised me that if I wanted to save money that I should go through the traditional route - she even walked me through it step by step over the phone. I might still have her do it for me because I trust her honesty and expertise. read more

First, there is a huge lack of communication. They needed my passport documents within 5 days, but none of which was expressed to me. It is not on the website and its not on the document that was sent out to me. Then when I asked for my documents and passport to be mailed back to me, many documents and the CHECK i wrote were no longer there in the package that was sent back to me. Where is the business ethic? When I asked for the check back, she told me that she will get her bookkeeper to write me a check that is $20 less than the original amount I wrote because of the return fee. Really?!?! I paid $20 to get it there and you can't pay $20 to return it back to me, especially for the mistakes you have made. This is by far one of the worst businesses I have ever encountered. read more

A couple of colleagues and I had some fairly complicated, fairly time-critical document needs--specifically, we needed to procure visas to transit thru Brazil after having worked offshore on a research vessel. Residing in Oregon, with our closest Brazilian consulate in SF, we were quite tentative about sending our precious passports away. But Grace worked her magic and got everyone the documents they needed (of course all three of us needed different documents, one of us a second passport) on a prompt time scale and for a reasonable fee. All of us were able to escape Brazil with only mild hangovers. Caipirinhas are one hell of a drink... read more

Bay Document Services did a bang-up job in expediting my passport and their fees were the least expensive compared to other businesses. Moreover, their excellent customer service and constant follow-up shows that they are passionate about what they do. I would highly recommend their services to anyone and everyone. read more

Amazing! There is no way I could have gone to Brazil with out this company... I had contacted many other passport agency's who said they could "MAYBE" get my visa for a huge price tag! Bay documents did not charge me an arm and a leg like the so called "expediters" Even after I made multiple mistakes Bay handled everything smoothly, calmly and efficiently. I am very, very happy with this company and will use them again. read more

After struggling through all the hoops involved in getting a previous visa, I decided I'd try going through a travel agent the next time I needed to get something from a consulate. Very good move. Grace and Philip were friendly, professional, accommodating, and their price was very reasonable. I initially called Bay Document Services (among other travel agencies) to ask some questions I couldn't figure out from the Brazilian Consulate website, but wasn't sure whether I wanted to use their services. They were helpful and friendly, even though I told them I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through a travel agent or not. It was a lot easier to hand over my paperwork to Grace and Philip rather than coming up to SF to the consulate to drop off/pick up my passport/visa. They were very flexible and arranged to meet me at the Caltrain. Now I'm en route to Brazil, and am very thankful to Bay Document Services for the role they played in my trip! read more

I didn't realize it was so complicated to get a visa to Brazil until it was almost too late. The next available visa appointment was the day before my trip! Yikes.!! I phoned a bunch of different visa expediting services and found that BDS had both the most competitive rates and greatest flexibility. I work in Novato , so being able to drop my documents off with Grace before or after working hours was a godsend. As promised, I got my passport back within 8 days. This was the most efficient and painless visa experience of my life! I signed up for a yelp account just so I could add a review! These guys are awesome. And it wasn't until I popped in to drop off that my passport that I discovered that Grace actually handles the travel visas for the company I work for! Small world, eh? Thank you for rescuing my holiday plans! read more

BDS is the best visa agency in the bay area. We booked a Christmas trip to Brazil 2 months ahead of time, not knowing how hard it is for U.S. citizens to get visas from the Brazilian consulates. There was no way we would be able to make our trip by applying on our own. Those other top rated agencies in the area all wanted big $ to rescue us. We are talking about $1.6K they want for a family of 4. And worst yet, they couldn't commit to a deadline and end up waste our precious time. Everyday, we get stonewalled by "there is no appt available yet". Luckily, I found Grace with 3 wks left to our trip. She has a very reasonable standard fee and she instantly promised a delivery date to me. She was responsive and honest and fair. I drove over to her home office in SF to drop off the visas. Her husband carefully reviewed all our documents and pointed out the errors and fixes. And at the end, not only they got visas for us no hassle, they got them a few days earlier than what they promised. They saved our Christmas vacation. 5-star service and well worth the $. Will definitely use them again. read more

This place is wonderful! I called to ask questions to see if I needed a visa to travel to China since I will only be there for 24hrs to get on a cruise ship to japan. After reading information online, calling the consulate, I was still confused on what to do. I finally have decided to just get a visa just to be on the safe side. The lady I spoke to was soooooo wonderful. She was knowledgeable and provided great detail. If you ever need a visa, this business will handle it the right way. read more

Grace & Phillip were reliable, professional, and most importantly . . . effective! I don't have a lot to say because, well, they just got the job done. 10 days before I needed to leave for Europe, I realized my passport was expired! I was referred to them (Bay Document Services) by a friend (who had also used them successfully) and they explained what I could expect and then they delivered on the promise. On time, no drama. I would definitely use them again! read more

Those of you who read my Tadich Grill review will remember my account of our trip to the Brazilian Consulate, the surprising crowds, the lengthy wait and our encounter w/ the man from Bay Document Services who offered to process our visa application for us. His name is Philip Monares. I was apprehensive about turning our passports over to a stranger, but when I met him he had a steady solidity that reassured me. We gave him our paperwork w/ a check to cover his fee. Today our documents were delivered by a special delivery postal courier and they're fine. It worked out well for us. If you need travel documents like a passport or a visa and you don't want to wait for hours and hours at the consulate, contact Philip Monares. Get your paperwork in order and he'll take care of it. Fees are probably based on how complex the processing is and whether there's a time crunch. In our case it was simple and straightforward and it cost about $135. read more

I can't recommend Grace and Bay Document Services enough! We thought we had plenty of time to get our visas to Brazil but didn't expect all the appointments at the San Francisco consulate to fill up as quickly as they did. Thankfully Grace was there to help us out. She quickly got us expedited visas through the New York consulate and all we had to do was send her our materials. Most importantly, Grace communicates with you so you understand the process and the timeframe, a must when your anxiety is high. Professional, trustworthy, efficient, and swift, Grace and Bay Document Services are fantastic. Thank you so much! read more

Getting a Visa for some countries is not easy, and Brazil is particularly difficult due to their 'in person' requirements. We had to deal with all this, and in addition, there was a spate of Brazilian holidays that put the consulate behind schedule. In short, it looked like we weren't getting our visas in time for a nonrefundable trip. So, we found Bay Docs and Phillip and Grace managed to get our visas faster than I could have done it myself, and even arranged to deliver them right to us, at the airport, before our flight took off. They did this all for a very reasonable price and with pleasant and informative communication. I will be using them again in the future for other visas and won't hesitate to recommend them to friends whether or not they are on a tight schedule. Thanks Bay Docs. read more

I used Bay Docs again for my 2011 trip to China and they were just as efficient, courteous and helpful as my first visit. Great people to work with. read more

USE THESE GUYS, THEY ARE EXCELLENT! I needed help getting a last minute child's passport and renewing mine. The staff went over and above to help me get a post office appointment and answered my many questions in a kind clear manner. We got our passports in time and the prices are very reasonable. read more

Bay Document Services is a Visa and Passport Service. I found out about them when I tried to get a Brazilian visa. Complete mayhem at the visa office--expected waiting time was 3-4 hours, just to drop off the application and passport. Another guy in line had just talked with Phillip from Bay Document Services and had his card. I googled them for some bona fides (they weren't in Yelp, though), and then talked with Phillip. I met him 10 minutes later. He took my passport, application form, money orders (made out to the Brazilian consulate), and a check for their fee. An hour later, I had an emailed receipt. A week later--sooner than expected--he delivered the passports with visas to my office. It was easy and smooth and utterly professional. I was very happy. read more

I echo Toni M. We too sought Brazilian visas, and due to Brazil going to an electronic system (a good thing), and recent travel restrictions, other services stopped processing visas for Brazil due to the hassle. Bay not only got our visas, but they got them two days early during a peak period. Grace and Phillip were flexible, easy to work with and provided great customer service. read more

Philip at Bay Document Services was a great help. I was in San Fran for a conference and he helped me with getting my visas for Brazil and China. Super great help and responsive. I recommend using them for visa services! read more

I had a great experience working with Bay Document Services. My boyfriend needed a visa to go to Brazil ASAP (he'd already booked his tickets) and let me know this at 5:30 pm a week and a half before his departure date. Of course not many services are open at this time but thanks to other yelp reviewers I was able to find BDS. They were open until 8 pm!!! and were able to answer all of my questions regarding a Brazil visa and scheduled the earliest possible appointment to get a visa. Grace and Phillip were very informative, prompt, and cheap! What more can you ask for!?! read more

This review is long overdue and I signed up for a Yelp account just so that I can share with others my experience with Bay Document Services. I had made plans with a friend awhile back to go to Brazil. We're both educated individuals, but we were both embarrassed that somehow we missed that we needed a tourist visa to enter the country. I called around and couldn't find any agencies that could help me on short notice... that is until I gave Bay Document Services a call. Grace was amazing. She got a reservation for me at the consulate in SF ASAP and the turnaround time was amazing. Not only did I receive everything I needed on time, but she was a great communicator throughout the process, answering all of my questions in the most courteous and professional manner. All of this at a very reasonable price. I would highly recommend Bay Document Services! read more

Just like many people, i booked my trip to Brazil not knowing that visa is required. No appointments were available at the brazilian consulate and i started my search for agency that can help me get my visa.I was really worried finding a good agency. I choose Grace thanks to the great yelp reviews and i was not disappointed. Grace is lovely lady who is extremely helpful. She replies to email or text message right away ( i think i emailed her on sunday because i was freaking out that my whole trip will go down the drain so i couldn't wait until monday) and she still emailed me right away. Visas were ready exactly on the dates that she stated. I would absolutely recommend Grace to anyone and use her services again. Thank Grace! read more

Philip and Grace took outstanding measures to help me get my visa on-time. My passport got lost in the mail less than two weeks before my departure. I called them, somewhat resigned to foregoing the first leg of my journey. Instead, they told me that I could make it, and they told me the steps to take to do so. I handled my part and then left it in their hands. They worked some magic, and I'll be heading out on time as planned. Throughout it all, they were kind, sympathetic, and supportive. And, they kept me in the loop to assuage my fears. I can't say enough about them!. read more

I was at first wary because of my concern to send my passport to people I hadn't worked with, however because I was unable to personally go to San Francisco I had to choose a company to go through. I'm sooooooo glad I went through Bay Document Services. The level of service was outstanding! They answered questions about filling out the application. They called me to let me know I'd forgotten to send part of the application. They were quick about getting the application in and the returned passport to me. Most amazing of all, they even took the time to send me my passport cover, just a cheap clear plastic one with some ticket stubs, back to me. I had written it off--should have taken it off before I sent it, but the people at Bay Document Services were all over it :) Now I'm getting married in Brazil and I will definitely be recommending that my friends and family go through them to get their own visas. I also will be using them when I go to apply for a permanent visa. Really, really can't recommend them enough! :) read more

Bay Document Services helped me get out Visa, it was a bit nerve racking for me to send our passports off when I've always been told, never lose your passport! They guided me to Fed-X it so it could be tracked, they also kept in touch with me whenever I emailed them a question they responded within that day. This gave me great comfort that they were very professional and right on top of it! Thank you so much Bay Document Service...I would highly reccomend your company to anyone who is looking for your services. read more

Absolutely efficient, quick and delivery was in person! I am so glad I discovered Bay Document Services. In late 2011, my wife and I had planned a trip to Brazil at the last minute. The only glitch was obtaining a visa for Brazil. I checked around many places in the SF Bay area and was happy to discover Bay Document Services. Grace and Philip delivered, not only with great service, but Philip hand delivered our passports to us in person at our home! I cannot speak highly enough for their service! read more