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EMBASSY/CONSULATE ADDRESSES

Diplomatic representation in US:
Ambassador: Mauro Vieira
Embassy: 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone: (202) 238-2700
Fax: (202) 238-2827

US Diplomatic Representation:
Chief of Mission: Thomas A. Shannon
Embassy: Avenida das Nacoes, quatra 801, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal
Mailing Address: Unit 3500; APO AA 34030
Telephone: [55] (61) 312-7000
Fax: [55] (61) 225-9136

Consulate(s) general are in:

Los Angeles
8484 Wilshire Bl., Suite 730,711, and Suite 260,
Los Angeles, CA 90211.
(213) 651-2664

San Francisco
300 Montgomery, Suite 900,
San Francisco, CA 94104.
(415) 981-8170

Miami
Penthouse 1, 2601 S. Bayshore Dr., Suite 800,
Miami, FL 33131.
(305) 285-6200

Atlanta Cain Tower, 229 Peachtree St., N.E., Suite 2306,
Atlanta, GA 30303.
(404) 949-2400

Chicago
401 N. Michigan Av., 30th Floor,
Chicago, IL 60611.
(312) 464-0244, FAX (312) 464-0299

Boston
The Statler Building, 20 Park Pz., Suite 810,
Boston, MA 02116.
(617) 542-4000, FAX (617) 542-4318

New York
1185 Avenue Of Americas, 21st Fl.
New York, NY 10036.
(212) 916-3200

San Juan
Banco De Ponce Bldg., 268 Munoz Rivera Av.,
Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00918-2507.

Houston
1700 W. Loop, S., Suite 1450,
Houston, TX 77027.
(713) 961-3063

Hong Kong
1504 Dina House, 11 Duddell St., P.O. BOX 2805,
Hong Kong
(852) 525-7002


Embassy and Consulate Web Sites for Brazil
U.S. Embassy in Brazil
Consulate General of Brazil in Miami, USA
Brazil Embassy Web Site in Washington DC
Consulate General of Brazil in Houston, USA
Consulate General of Brazil in New York, USA
Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations
Consulate General of Brazil in San Francisco, USA


FOREIGN RELATIONS

Brazil has traditionally been a leader in the inter-American community and played an important role in collective security efforts, as well as in economic cooperation in the Western Hemisphere. Brazil supported the Allies in both World Wars. During World War II, its expeditionary force in Italy played a key role in the Allied victory at Monte Castello. It is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS) and a party to the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (Rio Treaty). Recently, Brazil has given high priority to expanding relations with its South American neighbors and is a founding member of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), the Union of South American Nations (UNASUL) created in June 2004, and Mercosul, a customs union between Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil, with Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador as associate members; Venezuela's full membership is pending.

Brazil is a charter member of the United Nations and participates in its specialized agencies. It has contributed troops to UN peacekeeping efforts in the Middle East, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Mozambique, Angola, East Timor, and most recently Haiti. Brazil is currently leading the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti. In 2010-2011, Brazil is serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. Prior to this, it had been a member of the UN Security Council nine times. Brazil is seeking a permanent position on the Council.

As Brazil's domestic economy has grown and diversified, the country has become increasingly involved in international economic and trade policy discussions. For example, Brazil was a leader of the G-20 group of nations and in 2009 became a creditor country to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The U.S., Western Europe, and Japan are primary markets for Brazilian exports and sources of foreign lending and investment. China is a growing market for Brazilian exports. Brazil also bolstered its commitment to nonproliferation through ratification of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), signing a full-scale nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), acceding to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, and joining the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

U.S.-BRAZILIAN RELATIONS
The United States was the first country to recognize Brazil's independence in 1822. The two countries have traditionally enjoyed friendly, active relations encompassing a broad political and economic agenda. Deepening U.S.-Brazil engagement and cooperation are reflected in high-level contacts between the two governments, including reciprocal visits by President George W. Bush and President Lula in March 2007, a visit by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in March 2010, and four other cabinet-level visits in the first part of 2010. Secretary Clinton attended the January 1, 2011 inauguration of President Dilma Rousseff and Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner visited Brazil in February 2011.

Ongoing topics of discussion and cooperation include trade and finance; biofuels; regional security; nonproliferation and arms control; human rights and trafficking in persons; international crime, including financial support to terrorist groups; counter-narcotics; social inclusion; cooperation in third countries on health and food security issues; and environmental and climate change issues. During Secretary Clinton’s March 2010 visit to Brazil, the two countries launched the high-level Global Partnership Dialogue and signed three memoranda of understanding--on Climate Change Cooperation, on the Advancement of Women, and on Trilateral Cooperation. Several other agreements were signed with Brazil in 2010, including the Defense Cooperation Agreement in April, the Binational Energy Working Group Joint Action Plan in July, the Tropical Forests Conservation Act in August, and the General Security of Information Agreement in November. Brazil and the U.S. also meet periodically for structured consultations and to increase cooperation on agriculture, trade, science and technology and nuclear energy.

In addition to these recently signed initiatives and periodic meetings, the governments of Brazil and of the United States have a long-standing collaboration on biofuels, trilateral cooperation, and eliminating racial discrimination. Under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2007, Brazil and the U.S. have been working together to advance biofuels cooperation, bilaterally and globally. There is also cooperation on trilateral development programs in Mozambique in the health sector and food security, with plans to extend this cooperation to additional countries in Africa, Haiti, and El Salvador. In March 2008, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Brazil and signed a historic Joint Action Plan to Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Discrimination and Promote Equality. The plan calls for Brazil and the United States to work jointly in combating racial discrimination and sharing best practices in tackling discrimination in the areas of education, law enforcement, labor, health, and many other areas.

U.S. Embassy and Consulate Functions
The U.S. embassy and consulates in Brazil provide a wide range of services to U.S. citizens and business. Political, economic, and science officers deal directly with the Brazilian Government in advancing U.S. interests but also are available to brief U.S. citizens on general conditions in the country. Attaches from the U.S. Commercial Service and Foreign Agriculture Service work closely with hundreds of U.S. companies that maintain offices in Brazil. These officers provide information on Brazilian trade and industry regulations and administer several programs to aid U.S. companies starting or maintaining business ventures in Brazil. The number of trade events and U.S. companies traveling to Brazil to participate in U.S. Commercial Service and Foreign Agriculture Service programs tripled over the last 3 years.

The consular section of the embassy and the consulates and the consular agents provide vital services to the estimated 60,000 U.S. citizens residing in Brazil. Among other services, the consular section assists Americans who wish to participate in U.S. elections while abroad and provides U.S. tax information. Besides the U.S. residents living in Brazil, some 150,000 U.S. citizens visit annually. The consular section offers passport and emergency services to U.S. tourists as needed during their stay in Brazil. The U.S. Mission in Brazil is the fourth-largest visa operation in the world, issuing over 600,000 visas in FY 2010. The consulate in Sao Paulo is the largest non-immigrant visa issuing post, conducting over 2,000 visa interviews a day. It is expected that Brazilian travel to the U.S. will increase 198% by 2015. Brazilian tourists spent $4.57 billion in the U.S. economy in 2009.


Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Thomas A. Shannon
Deputy Chief of Mission--Lisa Kubiske
Defense Attache--Colonel Cris Coello, U.S. Army
Consul General--Marie Damour
Economic Counselor--Tara Erath
Agricultural Counselor--Alan Hrapsky
Commercial Attache--Rebecca Armand
Political Counselor--Stephen Liston
Science Counselor--Richard Driscoll
Public Affairs Counselor--Adele Ruppe
Consul General in Sao Paulo--Thomas J. White
Consul General in Rio de Janeiro--Elizabeth Lee Martinez
Consul in Recife--Chris del Corso

The U.S. Embassy in Brasilia is located at SES Avenida das Nacoes, quadra 801, lote 3, Brasilia, DF, CEP: 70.403-900 (tel. 55-61-3312-7000), (fax 55-61-3225-9136). Internet: http://brasilia.usembassy.gov/.

U.S. consulates general are in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and a consulate is in Recife. Consular agents are located in Manaus, Belem, Salvador, Fortaleza, and Porto Alegre. Branch offices of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Services are located in Brasilia, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte.


TRAVEL ADVISORIES

To obtain the latest Travel Advisory Information for Brazil check the U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet


TRAVEL TIPS

Driving U.S Driving Permit and International Driving Permit required
Currency (BRL) Real
Electrical 110/220 Volts
Telephones Country Code 55, City Code Sao Paulo 11+7/8D, Campinas 19+8D, Rio De Janeiro 21+8D



Currency
The Brazilian currency, the Real, fluctuates widely. At the time of this content was created, the exchange rate was approximately 1.15 reales to the dollar.

Language
Portuguese is Brazil's native language

Water
It is recommended that visitors drink bottled water

Business
Shops and most offices are open Monday through Friday from 9 am. to 6 p.m. and from 9 am to 1pm on Saturday. Banks are open on Monday through Friday from 10am to 4:00pm. Most shopping centers and malls remain open until 10pm. Many pharmacies and small stores are also open on Sunday.

Time Zones
There are four time zones in Brazil. Mato Grosso time zone is one hour less than São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia.

Electric Current
110 or 120 volts


CUSTOMS/DUTIES

Each adult visitor to brazil may take in duty-free clothing/ toiletries for personal use alcoholic beverages. maximum 2 litres.

400 cigarettes and 250 grams of tobacco and 25 cigars up to $500 U.S. worth of goods bought duty-free in brazil still camera and/or movie camera a portable radio/ typewriter/ tape-recorder/ one pair of binoculars other items for personal use. value not exceeding us$300

All international passengers may in addition purchase up to $300 U.S. worth of articles in duty-free shops at brazilian airports

Commercial missions/ athletic and artistic groups may be granted higher allowances subject to prior permission from brazilian authorities

Pets...need to be authorized by brazilian consulate in country of origin. will require veterinary health certificate

Export..free export of personal effects

Minors may import alcoholic beverages to brazil : if accompanied by parents or legal guardian and over the age of 14 or if unaccompanied but over the age of 10 yrs

Prohibited items:
meat and cheese products from variouus countries; contact the consulate for details. other varieties of animal origin transported from africa, asia, italy, portugal and spain. the total value of imported goods should not exceed $500 U.S.



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