On May 24, 2020, the White House added Brazil to the list of countries triggering denial of admission to the US if travelers have been physically present in those countries for the preceding 14 days.  The presidential action cited “widespread, ongoing person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2” as the reason for the ban, listing the WHO’s ranking of Brazil with the “third highest number of confirmed cases in the world.”

The ban was to go into effect at 11:59 p.m. this Thursday, May 28.  However, the very next day, in a move that will surely cause confusion among both travelers and US airport immigration officers, the White House issued another proclamation moving the effective date up to 11:59 tonight, May 26, while at the same time exempting anyone “aboard a flight” that departed prior to that hour.  It is not clear when a traveler must have boarded that flight in order to be exempt from the ban.

Consult with immigration counsel about US travel and quarantine strategies if you have been in any of the countries on the Prohibited Entry list:  China, Iran, the European Schengen area, United Kingdom, Ireland and now Brazil.