On a visit to the U.S. capital, Washington, Antonio Patriota, Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said that the Brazilian and U.S. governments need to remove barriers before reaching the desired visa waiver agreement. At a news conference yesterday, alongside U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, he added that the requirement is not yet close to an end.

"This will not happen in the short term because it involves a series of aspects that need to be thoroughly examined, including a very large imbalance between the number of Brazilians visiting the U.S. and the number of Americans who go to Brazil," said the minister, noting that the two countries have made "significant" progress in facilitating travel.

In both cases, the waiting time for an interview has fallen, on average, from 120-140 days to just a day or two due to framework and infrastructure extension measures in consulates and procedural changes.

Brazil currently has ten offices in the United States, while the U.S. government announced it will open two further offices in Brazil: in Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre. Brazil is already the third ranking country in the word with regard to the number of visas issued to Americans, behind only China and Mexico. This year alone, over 1 million visas were granted.

27 October 2012