Issue 5 | Apr-Jul 2021
A Brief Note From the Ambassador
Fellow Citizens,
I hope this message finds you and your families healthy and well. Writing to you today is bittersweet as this will be my final note to you as U.S. Ambassador to Brazil. As many of you may have heard, I have decided to retire from government service after a 30-year career with the Department of State.
Serving as U.S. Ambassador to Brazil since March 2020 has been a tremendous honor. Together with our U.S. Embassy and Consulate teams, we’ve worked with the Brazilian government and our Brazilian friends to shape our countries’ relationship into what I genuinely believe our nations are meant to be – strategic and equal partners. Even while confronting the most devastating pandemic in over a century, we continue building an ever-stronger alliance and partnership with Brazil, the largest and most influential democracy in Latin America. I know that I leave this Mission in good hands, as upon my departure Douglas Koneff, our current Deputy Chief of Mission with extensive experience in Latin America and Brazil, will step in to lead as Chargé d’Affaires.
Brazilians can count on the United States, as a friend and partner, to do our part to support their efforts to fight the pandemic and get their economy back on track. I was particularly proud in June to oversee the arrival to Brazil of three million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine donated by the U.S. government. I have no doubt that these medicines will help save many lives in this country.
As U.S. citizens, your health, safety, and well-being will always remain our top priority. Please let us know if you ever need assistance or have any questions. You will find the contact information for the Embassy and all our Consulates General in Brazil here. Continue to check our U.S. Embassy website on our most recent travel alerts and please register for the U.S. Department of State’s Safe Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) if you haven’t yet, to receive up-to date information on conditions in Brazil. The U.S. Embassy and Consulates General in Brazil are also open to you for passport, citizenship, and notarial services. To schedule an appointment online, follow the instructions on this page: https://br.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/contact-information-working-hours-appointments/.
It is my strongest hope that the strong friendship between the American and Brazilian people continues to flourish in the years ahead. To each of you, our U.S. citizen community in Brazil, I wish all success, health, and happiness and, as I would say to my closest Brazilian friends, “a gente se vê” or “we will be seeing one another.”
Stay safe.
Sincerely,
Todd C. Chapman
U.S. Ambassador to Brazil
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Updates on Travel to Brazil
U.S. citizens in Brazil who have a U.S. passport that expired on or after January 1, 2020 may now use their expired passport to return to the U.S. until December 31, 2021. Travelers qualify for this exception if all of the following are true:
- They are flying directly to the United States, a United States territory, or have only short-term transit (“connecting flights”) through a foreign country on their direct return to the United States or to a United States territory.
- Their expired passport was originally valid for 10 years or if they were 15 years of age or younger when the passport was issued, their expired passport was valid for 5 years.
- Their expired passport is undamaged, unaltered, and in their possession.
Travelers do not qualify for this exception if:
- They wish to depart from the United States to an international destination (including back to Brazil).
- They are seeking to travel to a foreign country for any length of stay longer than an airport connection en route to the United States or to a United States territory.
- Their expired passport was limited in validity or a special issuance passport (such as a diplomatic, official, service, or no-fee regular passport).
If your U.S. passport expired on or before December 31, 2019, please see our website for information on how to renew your passport before traveling: Passport Services at U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Brazil.
