The Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government announced this Monday (7) the beginning of a new stage of Brazil’s participation in a program to allow frequent Brazilian travelers to have easier entry into the United States — without exempting them from the visa.
In a statement, the Civil House and other ministries reported that interested Brazilian citizens can now apply for Global Entry. This is a US government initiative aimed at travelers with a history of frequent tickets to the US, for business or pleasure.
Under the program, travelers who have been pre-approved and considered reliable by the US authorities will be granted expedited clearance at passport control upon arrival in the US. At previously selected airports, applicants do not go through immigration officials or queue, being moved directly to an automatic kiosk linked to the initiative.
Authorization is granted by the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service. Upon approval, Global Entry participants must pay a fee of US$100 (R$529). Currently, 11 countries are part of the facilitated entry program, including Argentina and Colombia.
“Once approved, they will be able to proceed with the entry process in the US at selected airports in a less bureaucratic way, through automatic kiosks”, says the statement, also signed by the ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs and the Economy.
“The simplified procedure for Brazilian travelers in the US will encourage business contacts, cooperative interaction and tourism, strengthening relations between the two countries”, the note continues.
This is the third phase of the program, in place since March 2020, when a testing period began. At the time, the two countries included only 20 guests from the Brazil-US Senior Executives Forum on the list of authorized persons. On the American side, there were representatives of companies such as Baxter International, Dow Silicones, Vermeer Corporation, among others; of the Brazilian, Natura, Votorantim, Embraer and Gerdau participated, for example.
Six months later, the partnership advanced to a second stage and 200 executives were included in the program. Now, according to the Itamaraty, all Brazilian citizens interested in taking part in the initiative can apply to be submitted to the analysis of the American authorities.
To start the process, Brazilians must follow the step-by-step instructions on the CBP website. This step includes registering with a US Department of Homeland Security system and paying the $100 non-refundable fee. If the application is accepted, the program authorities will conduct interviews with interested parties, in a protocol similar to that applied for granting visas.
Admission to Global Entry was an old demand of the Brazilian private sector, which it considers to be a fundamental measure for the integration of economies, but Brazil’s accession to the program faced obstacles.
One was the resistance of Brazilian authorities to sharing certain information about travelers with Americans – for example, informing the US government if a person is being prosecuted, even if he has not been convicted.
Global Entry’s participation is part of a series of trade facilitation measures dealt with between the two countries. They gain special importance due to the difficulties and political obstacles to the conclusion of a broad trade agreement between the USA and Brazil.
