Safe to travel to Brazil and back to USA?

Mar 23, 2025

Hi Elizabeth, I have heard many US Citizens worried about this lately.  I believe that this is more paranoia than reality.

US Green Card holders may be subject to more scrutiny but this does not apply to US Citizens (US born or naturalized).

All the noise is mainly related to "people with CURRENT immigration issues" - whatever those mean.  Bona fide US citizens should not be worried as their rights are protected by the constitution.

I would not hesitate to visit Brazil any time.

Hope that this helps.

@aecandido As the Boy Scouts say, "Be Prepared". I am a Brazilian Resident and a U.S. Citizen. Thanx to the new technology I can watch the News4 Morning Show in my old hometown right outside of DC as well as the NBC Nightly News. There is a LOT going on and you are correct to be concerned. Even before the current administration I traveled to the USA (from Brazil) to get my FBI Background Check, Fingerprints and was physically stopped from coming BACK to Brazil (after several hours I was allowed in by a high ranking official on Easter Weekend) There are currently two high-profile cased in the US concerning academics with the correct paperwork who are in the process of being deported out of the USA.

On the good side my daughter who lives in Maryland and is Brazilian American, a citizen in both countries as well as having a passport in both countries and is completely fluent in both languages, just successfully came to visit my wife and I in Northeastern Brazil with no problem.

Just Be Prepared.

1. Have a trusted family friend (preferably who speaks Portuguese) on speed dial. - my Brazilian wife who was in Brazil at the time was my chief negotiator on the phone when I was stopped.
2. Have legal / immigration contacts also on Speed dial.
3. Have ALL your relevant documents handy and in ONE place.
4. Have the airlines you will be taking on Speed dial. 
5. Travel Light (The episode caused me to miss my connection, and Latham re-booked me and then booked me into a room in the Sao Paulo airport (it is on the ground floor) until the next flight - not a lot of room)
6. DO NOT RAISE YOUR VOICE. This one took a while to learn, but my Brazilian wife sternly taught me that one of the absolute worse things you can do is "be loud"...where I come from its a badge of honor, but not in Brazil.
7. BE POSITIVE - You may not need any of these. Good Luck.
8. 
   

FYI, yesterday "the US Commerce Secretary Says Seniors Wouldn't Mind Missing Social Security Checks", so I don't think you can be too Paranoid. 🤔 These are difficult times.

Roddie in Retirement🕵

03/23/25 @aecandido.  Good morning, Elizabeth.  I agree with @Pablo888:  as a US citizen with a US passport, I think it highly unlikely that your husband will have any problem re-entering the United States. 

To make your travel even more trouble-free, I recommend that both of you enroll for Global Entry prior to your next trip if you haven't already.  You can start here:  https://ttp.dhs.gov/

With Global Entry, you won't even talk to a Border Control Officer on arrival in the US unless you're randomly selected for a (brief) interview.  You'll receive your ticket to exit the Arrivals area at an electronic kiosk, retrieve your luggage, and hand the ticket to the Customs Officer at the exit door, whose only question (if any) will be, "Have anything to declare?"

Just a quick point on logistics. When leaving the USA as a Dual Citizen your husband will check in with his airline and hand them both of his Passports. The Brazilian passport shows he will have no reason to be denied entry into Brazil. The USA passport shows he will have no reason to be denied entry into the USA. Make sure both passports are not too close to expiring. The first hurdle is getting checked in with the airline.

Next when he arrives in Brazil he’ll get in the Resident/Citizen line. If asked for the reason he’s entering Brazil the answer is to visit family. When he enters Brazil he should just show immigration his Brazilian passport, unless asked for other documents. When departing follow the same steps with the airline check in process. Show both passports. When then entering passport control before security, again just show the Brazilian passport unless asked for other documents. When he arrives back in the USA, show the immigration agent only the USA passport. It both confuses and annoys them if you hand them two passports. My wife made this rookie mistake the first time she traveled back and forth after obtaining her USA citizenship and the immigration officer basically scolded her about it. He said “you’re a US Citizen right? Then give me just the US passport!” Since then never an issue. I don’t believe he will have any issues, there are a lot of dual citizens who fly back and forth.

ps.. When your husband arrives in Brazil he should have the mindset “I am Brazilian”. When he arrives in the USA his mindset should be “I am American!”. I find this has been helpful.

@roddiesho

Thank you so much for your response and great advice. As a former scout, I believe in being prepared, thinking out multiple scenarios, and erring on the side of caution.

We are currently working with someone at the Brazilian consulate here to renew his passport. We will be asking her questions as well as we get further along.

We will continue planning but will definitely be monitoring news about this issue.

Thanks again.

@abthree

Thank you for your advice. One of my brothers is currently circumnavigating the globe in his sailboat. I believe he has Global Entry and other things to make his entries easier.

We'll look in to that.

@bepmoht

Thank you so much!

He's traveled back and forth a few times in the 40 years he's been here in the US. This trip just hits different with everything that's going on.

Here's hoping that he will follow your advice and it will be smooth transitions just like before!

When entering a country on a passport that is not of that country, it is important to remember that you need at least the maximum time of a tourist visa to that country of life left on your passport.

For example, if entering Brazil on a US passport, you must have at least 6 months available before expiry of that passport...

@aecandido Your response made my day.

I don`t want to seem pessimistic but formerly living in the Washington, D.C. area where thousands of federal employees came into work at a number of agencies thinking they did not have anything to worry about and were told they did a bad job, turn around and go home. Where the mayor clears up parts of the city including memorial landmarks if the President says so (DC is federal, so she has to), Over 60 people died, mostly young figure skaters, because of a mishap with military helicopters at our local airport and the Head of the Department of Commerce says that seniors can go without their social security checks.  I have given up believing what should happen and not being prepared.

The truth is I did have a situation at the Sao Paulo Airport Customs that almost kept me from my wife and mother in Brazil, so I don`t take anything for granted.

Roddie in Retirement. 🕵

@Peter Itamaraca

Thanks for your reply. My husband has dual citizenship and will enter Brazil with his Brazilian passport and enter the US with his US passport. Hopefully without issues.

03/23/25 @Peter Itamaraca
Thanks for your reply. My husband has dual citizenship and will enter Brazil with his Brazilian passport and enter the US with his US passport. Hopefully without issues. - @aecandido

I have a Brazilian and a US passport and have done that with no problem.