United States General Consulate São Paulo

The U.S. Consulate General in São Paulo is the largest U.S. consular post in Brazil and handles the bulk of American visa demand from Brazilian applicants. Its consular district covers the state of São Paulo plus Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina — the industrial and agricultural heart of Brazil's south-east and south. Brazil is not in the Visa Waiver Program and there is no ESTA route for Brazilian passport holders, so most travel to the United States requires a visa. The consulate, in the Chácara Santo Antônio district of southern São Paulo, sees visa applicants by appointment only and also provides American Citizen Services to the large U.S. community across its district.

Brazilian citizens need a U.S. visa for most travel to the United States — there is no ESTA or Visa Waiver route for the Brazilian passport. The consulate handles the full range of nonimmigrant categories: B-1/B-2 visitor visas for business and tourism, F-1 student and J-1 exchange visas, H-1B specialty-occupation and L-1 intracompany-transfer work visas, E-2 treaty-investor visas (Brazil holds an E-2 treaty with the U.S.), and O-1 extraordinary-ability visas — alongside the full immigrant-visa pipeline (family- and employment-based). Every application begins with the DS-160 form and an appointment booked online; São Paulo carries the highest volume of any post in Brazil, so interview wait times can run long in peak periods. Eligible B-1/B-2 renewals may qualify for the interview-waiver (drop-box) route.

The U.S. Commercial Service at the consulate helps U.S. exporters reach the Brazilian market and connects Brazilian buyers with U.S. suppliers, with a focus on agriculture and food technology, industrial and automotive manufacturing, financial technology, IT and digital services, and energy. São Paulo is the commercial hub of the U.S.-Brazil trade relationship, and the Commercial Service runs trade missions, market briefings and matchmaking around the state's major industry events.

Through SelectUSA, the consulate helps Brazilian companies and investors establish or expand operations in the United States, from site selection to navigating federal and state programmes. It also supports U.S. firms assessing investment in Brazil's priority sectors — agribusiness and food technology, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, IT and digital services, and healthcare and life sciences — working alongside Brazilian agencies such as ApexBrasil.

The consulate supports U.S. companies operating in or entering Brazil and works closely with the American Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo — one of the largest AmChams in the world — and with Brazilian business bodies such as FIESP, the São Paulo state federation of industries. It offers practical guidance on market entry, regulation and partner identification, and coordinates business delegations and networking around the city's role as Latin America's business capital.

The consulate's public-affairs and education work runs through EducationUSA advising for Brazilian students bound for U.S. universities and the Fulbright Commission (Comissão Fulbright) for academic exchange, alongside university partnerships with institutions such as the University of São Paulo (USP) and Fundação Getulio Vargas. It also supports the International Visitor Leadership Program for Brazilian professionals and cultural exchanges around São Paulo's arts calendar, including the São Paulo Art Biennial.