In November 2025, Cherie Johnson and her husband arrived at the cruise terminal in Lisbon to begin a three-week transatlantic voyage to South America—a trip they had spent nearly two years planning, timed to her seventy-fifth birthday. They never made it aboard. At check-in, Celebrity Cruises agents told them that every American passenger needed a visa to enter Brazil, one of the ship’s scheduled stops. The Johnsons didn’t have one. They offered to simply stay on the ship while it was in Brazilian waters; they were handed denied-boarding cards instead. Nearly a hundred other passengers were turned away for the same reason. The mistake cost the couple close to $16,000.

It was an easy mistake to make. For decades, Americans could enter Brazil without a visa—until April 10, 2025, when Brazil reinstated the requirement. The logic was reciprocity: because the United States makes Brazilians apply and pay for a visa, Brazil decided to ask the…