Donald J. Trump — who is the current president of the United States — signed a proclamation on Sunday, May 24, 2020 which suspends the entry of foreign nationals of all nationalities who were present in the Federal Republic of Brazil at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival at a port of entry to the United States effective as of tonight, Tuesday, May 26, 2020 at 11:59 in the evening Eastern Daylight Time.
Travel Restrictions to Enter the United States From Brazil In Effect Tonight, May 26, 2020
The proclamation is part of an effort to protect the United States and its citizens by preventing the further spread of the current 2019 Novel Coronavirus pandemic; and it does not apply to legal permanent residents, immediate family members of citizens of the United States in general, lawful permanent residents — which includes the holders of Green Cards, and specific categories of individual holders of visas who are identified in section two of the aforementioned proclamation.
This means that if you are a citizen of the United States, you are not affected by the suspension of travel from Brazil to the United States. Citizens of Brazil are included as foreign nationals who are affected by the travel restrictions resulting from the proclamation.
Similar travel restrictions were imposed upon most foreign nationals for 30 days who had been in 26 countries in Europe at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the United States — which was effective as of Friday, March 13, 2020.
“I have suspended and limited the entry of aliens recently present in certain foreign jurisdictions where significant COVID-19 outbreaks have occurred”, Trump wrote in the proclamation. “These jurisdictions include the People’s Republic of China (excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau), the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom (excluding overseas territories outside of Europe), and the Republic of Ireland.”
At the time this article was written, at least 343,514 people — or slightly greater than 6.35 percent — have died of the minimum of 5,404,512 confirmed cases worldwide, according to this situation dashboard from the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus…
…and at least 22,666 people — or slightly greater than 6.24 percent — have died of the minimum of 363,211 confirmed cases in Brazil, according to this situation dashboard from the World Health Organization pertaining to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus in Brazil, which ranks third of the countries with the most confirmed cases of the virus.
Citizens of the United States who are in Brazil and want to return to the United States are encouraged to book tickets on commercial flights as soon as possible — unless they are prepared to remain abroad for an indefinite period, as flight schedules may change with little to no notice; and the arrangement of repatriation flights from Brazil is not anticipated to occur by the federal government of the United States.
Commercial flights are not affected by the proclamation itself, as regular commercial flights to the United States are still available from São Paulo and Campinas. Citizens of the United States who are in Brazil and want to return to the United States are encouraged to contact airlines directly for the most current schedule information.
Actions to take — according to the United States Embassy and Consulates in Brazil of the Department of State of the United States — include:
- For the most current information regarding COVID-19, the May 24 Presidential Proclamation, and its impact on travel to the United States, please visit dhs.gov and www.whitehouse.gov
- For information about U.S. bound travel from Brazil, please reach out the to the U.S. Mission to Brazil’s call center at (55) 11 3250-5000 from 08:00-17:00. Callers should then press “0” for more information.
- Contact your airline with flight questions: United Airlines, Azul, and LATAM.
- Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive Alerts and Messages from the U.S. Embassy.
Summary
The restrictions as outlined in the proclamation were originally supposed to have been effective as of Thursday, May 28, 2020 at 11:59 in the evening Eastern Daylight Time; but they have been changed to tonight, which is two days sooner.
Unknown at this time is specifically when the aforementioned restrictions will ease, according to this fact sheet from the United States Embassy and Consulates in Brazil of the Department of State of the United States: “This proclamation shall remain in effect until terminated by the President. The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall recommend that the President continue, modify, or terminate this proclamation as described in section 5 of Proclamation 9984, as amended.”
Photograph ©2005 by Brian Cohen.
