Moving to the USA from Brazil: Visas, Green Cards and Where to Apply

Brazil is not among the 39 countries restricted by Proclamation 10998, which took effect on January 1, 2026. Brazilians can apply for visitor, student, and work visas as usual.

Immigrant visas have been affected by two pauses:

• Brazil was also on the list of 75 countries whose immigrant visas were paused starting January 21, 2026. A federal court vacated that pause on August 21, 2026 (CLINIC v. Rubio), and the government has appealed, so the situation can still change.
• Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are trained on public charge reviews. Scheduled interviews were moved to later dates, and no restart date has been announced as of September 2026. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not part of this pause. Details: immigrant visa pause.

People with approved green card petitions should keep their National Visa Center (NVC) case complete so they are ready when interviews resume.

For an overview of every route, see our guide to US immigration and how US immigration works.

Yes. Brazil is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so you need a B-2 tourist or B-1 business visa. Complete the DS-160, give fingerprints and photos at a Visa Application Center (CASV), and attend an interview at a US consulate or the embassy. A visa lets you travel to a US port of entry, but each entry is still decided by US border officers. Visitors cannot work or study for credit. The State Department's guidance is to apply for a visitor or other temporary visa at the US embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Applying elsewhere is possible but can make it harder to show you qualify.

EB-2 National Interest Waiver. The NIW has become one of the most popular routes for Brazilian professionals, such as engineers, doctors, researchers, and business specialists. You petition for yourself (no job offer or PERM needed), but you must show an advanced degree or exceptional ability and a well-defined plan that has substantial merit and national importance. Approval standards are strict, and a weak petition can be denied.

E-2 through a second citizenship. Brazil itself has no E treaty, but many Brazilians have Italian or Portuguese citizenship through ancestry. Italy and Portugal both have E-1 and E-2 treaty status, so a dual citizen can apply for an E-2 using that passport.

H-1B. Since February 27, 2026, the H-1B lottery gives more entries to higher wage levels. A separate $100,000 fee on some new H-1B petitions (from a September 2025 proclamation) is being fought in court, with judges split as of September 2026. See H-1B $100k fee.

Students. Since September 15, 2026, new F-1 students are admitted until a fixed date instead of for "duration of status", so you may need to file for an extension if your program runs longer. See F-1 fixed admission period.

Family. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of US citizens have no annual cap. Siblings (F4) and married children (F3) wait many years. Brazilians use rest-of-world dates in the Visa Bulletin.

Employment. EB-2 (including the NIW) and EB-3 use rest-of-world dates. Demand from all countries has created waits in these categories, so check the current bulletin.

Diversity Visa. Brazilian natives were not eligible for DV-2026 because more than 50,000 Brazilians immigrated to the US in the previous five years. The Diversity Visa (DV) lottery is paused: visa issuance stopped on December 23, 2025, and DV-2027 registration never opened. See DV lottery paused.

Book appointments through the embassy's website. See our visa interview guide.

For immigrant visas, the State Department's Brazil page lists:

• Police certificates: you need both a state certificate (Atestado or Certidao de Antecedentes Criminais) from the state public security department (Secretaria de Seguranca Publica) of each state where you lived for more than 6 months in the last 5 years, and a federal certificate from the Policia Federal, available online. They are issued only to people 18 and older.
• Birth certificate: a Certidao de Inteiro Teor (full-content certificate) from the civil registry office (Cartorio de Registro Civil), or for older records the Certidao de Nascimento, as described on the State Department page.
• Marriage and divorce: a full-content marriage certificate from the Cartorio, with any divorce noted on it.

Documents in Portuguese need certified English translations.

The largest Brazilian communities are in Massachusetts (Framingham, Everett, and the Boston area), Florida (Orlando, Pompano Beach, Boca Raton, and Miami), and the Newark (Ironbound) area of New Jersey. Others live in Astoria, Queens; Danbury, Connecticut; and the Atlanta area. Brazilian churches, consulates, and community groups help newcomers with jobs and housing.