Passports and Visas

The Greater Miami Area is the seventh-largest metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of 6.2 million people.  The metropolitan area is composed of Miami-Dade County, Broward County, and Palm Beach County.  Its main cities include Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Miramar, Davie, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, and Boca Raton.  This is a diverse community where 40% of the population was born in another country, and it is one of America’s most important cities for international trade.  Miami is a business hub for the Latin American region and is often thought of as the unofficial “Capital of Latin America”.  While Spanish is often heard on the streets of Miami, Portuguese is another powerful language in this city.  With a similar climate and lifestyle as Brazilian cities like Rio de Janeiro, Miami is an attractive destination for Brazilian tourists and investors seeking a second home in the United States.  Miami has several Brazil-based banks and asset management firms providing financial services to wealthy Brazilians and the many businesspeople involved in commercial trade between our two countries.  Miami is a true gateway to Brazil, having direct flight to several cities including São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia, Fortaleza, and Campinas.    

Denver, known as the “Mile High City” because of its elevation of 5,280 feet, is the capital of Colorado and is one of the fastest growing cities in America.  The Denver Metropolitan area is the 19th most populous metro area in the U.S. and has a population approaching three million people.  The metro area includes the towns of Arvada, Castle Rock, Centennial, Lakewood, Littleton, Thornton, Westminster, and Aurora.  The region’s growing and diverse economy—along with its proximity to Rocky Mountain ski resorts—make Denver an attractive destination for people seeking a more active and balanced lifestyle.  Denver has a diverse economy and strong foundation of large and mid-size companies doing business all over the world, including in places like Brazil.  Although Denver has a smaller population of Brazilians compared to other major cities, there are still opportunities for local Coloradans to engage with Brazilian culture without having to leave the United States.  For example, each year the city plays host to the Colorado Brazil Fest, an event organized by the Boulder Samba School that celebrates Brazilian dance, music, and culture.  Denver also has small businesses and restaurants like Little Brazil that offer traditional Brazilian meals and specialty grocery items. 

Greater Houston is the fifth most-populous metropolitan area in the United States and has a population of over 7 million residents.  Houston is one of America’s most ethnically diverse cities.  With over 145 different languages being spoken in this global city, it is no surprise that Houston has plenty of great restaurants offering delicious cuisine from all over the world, including several Brazilian restaurants.  This is a fast-growing and youthful city that attracts entrepreneurs, corporate businesspeople, international investors, and students.  Greater Houston encompasses nine counties and includes the cities of Sugar Land, Baytown, Conroe, Pasadena, Pearland, The Woodlands, and Galveston.  Houston has nearly 10,000 Brazilian immigrants and is home to the Brazilian Cultural Institute, where locals can learn capoeira, samba, or Portuguese—a language spoken by 275 people around the world.  Houston also has several private schools that offer Portuguese language programs, including Rice University, which offers continuing education for adults interested in Portuguese.  The university also provides cultural and academic connections with Brazil through its Brasil@Rice programs.  Ties with Brazil are further cemented through direct flights from Houston to São Paulo on United Airlines. 

Greater Boston is the eleventh-most populous metropolitan area in the United States with a population of 4.9 million people, and includes towns such as Cambridge, Brookline, Quincy, Brockton, Lynn, Newton, Waltham, and Medford.  Boston is one of America’s oldest cities and has a rich history that attracts over 20 million tourists each year.  Known as the “intellectual capital of the United States”, Boston is a center of education that has more than 350,000 college students from around the world, including students from Brazil.  Many of the area’s colleges, including Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Boston College, Wellesley College, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts Boston, and Tufts have strong ties with Brazil through research agreements with Brazilian universities, study abroad programs, Portuguese language learning, and Brazilian student associations.  Boston also has strong ties to Brazil through its many companies doing business there such as General Electric, Boston Scientific, Boston Consulting Group, Gillette, Raytheon, Dunkin’, and many others.  Boston, and the state of Massachusetts, have the 2^nd largest Brazilian immigrant community in the United States (Florida is the largest) with over 100,000 people.

Detroit is the largest city in the state of Michigan and the second largest metropolitan area in the Midwest (after Chicago).  Detroit is better known by its nickname “Motor City”, or “Motown”, because of its prominence as the global center of the automotive industry.  Although the city has certainly had its share of ups and downs, Detroit remains an important and influential American city.  The Detroit metropolitan area, known as Metro Detroit, has a population of 4.3 million and is the fourteenth-largest metropolis in the United States.  Metro Detroit includes the towns of Dearborn, Royal Oak, Auburn Hills, Livonia, Southfield, Rochester Hills, Warren, Pontiac, Troy, and other municipalities.  There are a few thousand Brazilian immigrants throughout Metro Detroit and the nearby college towns of Ann Arbor and Lansing both have Brazilian student organizations.  Likewise, University of Michigan and Michigan State University have close connections with Brazil through study abroad programs and partnerships with Brazilians universities.  Detroit and the state of Michigan have strong business ties with Brazil; large Michigan-based manufacturers such as General Motors, Dow Chemicals, Whirlpool, BorgWarner, and Federal-Mogul have investments in Brazil, along with consumer brands like Kellogg’s and Domino’s.

Chicago is America’s third-most-populous city and its metropolitan area, known as Chicagoland, has a population approaching 10 million people.  Chicago is a vibrant international city with a robust economy that is the corporate headquarters for 57 Fortune 1000 companies.  While manufacturing and food processing provide a strong foundation for its economy, the city is also an important financial center and is home to the Chicago Stock Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The Chicago metropolitan area covers 14 counties across three states—Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin—and includes cities like Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Elgin, Waukegan, Cicero, Skokie, Gary (Indiana), and Kenosha (Wisconsin).  Chicago has a large population of immigrants from Latin America, including several thousand Brazilians scattered throughout Chicagoland.  United Airlines offers direct flights from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport to support the strong business ties between Chicago and Brazil.  The state of Illinois is one of the largest sources of foreign direct investment into Brazil due to the strength of Chicago-area companies in the fields of machine tool manufacturing, agriculture, and food products.

Philadelphia is the largest city in the state of Pennsylvania and is one of the oldest cities in the United States.  Founded in 1682 by Englishman William Penn, a social reformer and champion of liberty, he named the city Philadelphia using the Greek term meaning “brotherly love”.  Philadelphia has the nickname “City of Brotherly Love” and is nowadays more casually known by locals and non-locals alike as “Philly”.  The Philadelphia metropolitan area has over 6 million people and includes cities and towns in the states of New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, in addition to Pennsylvania.  The area is well known as a center of higher education and has more than 80 postsecondary institutions including the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University, which both have Portuguese language programs.  Philadelphia was home to the first Brazilian consulate in the United States after the country gained independence from Portugal in 1822.  Today there are 45,000 Brazilians living in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, many living in the northeast part of the city where there are dozens of small businesses along Castor Avenue catering to this immigrant community.  Philadelphia is also home to Brazilian Day, a popular event held each September commemorating Brazilian Independence Day. 

New York is America’s most-populous city, and its metropolitan area has over 20 million people.  New York City contains the five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and the Bronx.  The New York metropolitan area includes New York City, Long Island, and the Mid and Lower Hudson Valley.  It also includes several large cities in New Jersey such as Newark, Edison, Elizabeth, Paterson, Jersey City, and Hoboken, along with large cities in Connecticut that include New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford.  New York is one of the most important economic regions in the world and has the highest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States.  New York is considered “Capital of the World”, not only due to its economic power, but also because it is a center of diplomacy and culture—the city is home to the United Nations and there are over 800 languages spoken here.  Many cultural events are celebrated in New York such as Brazilian Day, which is the world’s largest Brazilian event outside of Brazil.  There are over 100,000 Brazilians throughout New York and locals interested in Brazil have plenty of opportunities to experience their culture thanks to the many Brazilian neighborhoods in the area and cultural institutions dedicated to teaching Portuguese. 

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States and is an important global city that attracts visitors from all over the world.  The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area—which includes the District of Columbia and parts of Virginia, Maryland, and West Virginia—is America’s sixth-largest metropolis and has a population of 6.3 million people.  Cities within this area (apart from the District of Columbia) include Alexandria, Annandale, Arlington, Fairfax, Falls Church, and Reston—all in Virginia—along with the Maryland towns of Bethesda, College Park, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Rockville, and Silver Spring.  The Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area has over 15,000 Brazilian immigrants and is home to several Brazilian restaurants, bakeries, and grocery stores.  Washington, D.C. is also home to organizations like the Brazil Institute, The Brazilian-American Cultural Center, and the Brazil-US Business Council.  The United States was the first country to recognize Brazil’s independence from Portugal in 1822 and today our two countries share the common bond of being the largest democracies in the Americas.  The United States and Brazil are also the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere, and the United States is the largest source of foreign direct investment into Brazil.

Charlotte is the 23rd-most populous city in the United States and is the most populous city in the state of North Carolina.  The Charlotte metropolitan area is a sixteen-county region that stretches into the state of South Carolina and includes the towns of Concord, Gastonia, Huntersville, Kannapolis, Indian Trail, Mooresville, Monroe, Salisbury, Matthews, Statesville, Rock Hill (SC), and Fort Mill (SC).  Known as the Queen City, this metropolis of 2.6 million people has been one of the country’s fastest-growing cities the past two decades.  Charlotte’s youthful population, low cost of living, and geographic location in America’s Sun Belt, have made it an attractive destination for companies relocating or expanding from other parts of the United States.  Charlotte has also seen an influx of international investment from industrial companies seeking to establish manufacturing and distribution capabilities in the United States.  While most of these firms come from Europe, there are now Brazilian companies making investments in the Charlotte area and the state of North Carolina.  There are a few thousand Brazilian immigrants in the Charlotte area, and there are even a few Brazilian restaurants and bakeries where locals can try homemade style foods along with more elaborate churrasco restaurants.