Cablegate: Country Clearance Approval for Nasa Officials Mr and Mrs

VZCZCXRO7221
PP RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1536/01 2221236
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101236Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9713
INFO RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO PRIORITY 0578
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 4916
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 7030
RUEANAT/NASA HQ WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRASILIA 001536

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE PLS PASS TO NASA/JSC FOR EGLOOR AND NASA/OER FOR DPLENTY
STATE FOR OES/SAT
STATE FOR WHA/BSC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TSPA SENV KSCA OTRA US BR
SUBJECT: COUNTRY CLEARANCE APPROVAL FOR NASA OFFICIALS MR AND MRS
WILLIAMS

REF: STATE 109173

1. Mission welcomes and grants country clearance for Dr. Jeffrey
Williams (Astronaut) and Anna Marie Williams (spouse), National
Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL) official, to Sao Paulo (SP), Campos dos Goitacases (RJ),
Brasilia (DF) and Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Brazil, to serve as speaker
for the Centro Federal de Educacao Tecnologica de Campos First
Brazilian Space Flight Anniversary, August 17 thru August 24, 2007.

2. Visitors are reminded that all US citizens traveling to Brazil
for any purpose require visas, which must be obtained in advance
from a Brazilian Embassy or Consulate. "Airport visas" do not exist,
and immigration authorities will refuse entry to anyone without a
valid visa. All Brazilian visas are considered invalid regardless
of validity if not used within 90 days of issuance.

3. Visitors should be current with all immunizations required for
Brazil. Those arriving from flights that do not originate in the
United States are advised to ensure that their yellow fever
vaccination is up to date, and that they have their WHO yellow cards
with them to prove it. If you require a yellow fever vaccination
and it is for the first time, not a booster, it should be given at
least 10 days before travel to be effective. Please consult with
appropriate medical authorities before traveling.

4. American citizens living in or traveling to or throughout Brazil
may experience widespread delays in air travel nationwide due to
ongoing air traffic control and other infrastructural difficulties.
Both international and domestic flights are frequently delayed for
up to several hours and many flights are canceled. Some travelers
have been rerouted, causing disruptions to travel plans. American
citizens are advised to keep this in mind when making their travel
plans, either official or personal; to prepare for long delays at
Brazilian airports and for the possibility of missing flight
connections; and to allow for extra time to reach and return from
their destinations. We do not currently have reliable information
regarding when this situation will measurably improve.

5. All official visitors must attend the RSO Security briefing.

6. Mission understands that no Embassy/Consulate assistance is
required. Embassy points of contact for this visit are:

-- Science Counselor, Richard Driscoll, Tel (55)(61) 3312-7401 or
(55)(61)3312-7432, Fax (55)(61) 3312-7646 (Science Section),
cellular phone (55)(61) 9965-1439, email: DriscollRJ@state.gov
-- Science Assistant, Daisy B. da Costa, Tel (55)(61) 3312-7432, Fax
(55)(61) 3312-7646, Email: Costadbd@state.gov

7. Persons entering Brazil under the USG auspices have an important
role to play in strengthening U.S. - Brazil cooperation. Please
keep this priority in mind during your visit and inform the embassy
or nearest consulate promptly of any opportunities or problems that
arise. As a result of the imposition of biometric enrolment of the
US-VISIT program, the Government of Brazil started fingerprinting
and photographing arriving U.S. citizens in January 2004. Present
GOB policy is not to fingerprint U.S. travelers arriving on official
or diplomatic visas. It is possible, however, that official
visitors could be asked to submit to a fingerprinting through
administrative error. The Embassy hopes that visitors will comply
with reasonable requests from the Brazilian immigration authorities.
Any unusual delays or unreasonable treatment should be brought to
the attention of the Management Officer so they can be relayed to
the GOB. Full cooperation with the identification procedures is
advisable.

8. MEDICAL EVACUATION, INSURANCE AND HEALTH UNIT ACCESS ISSUES:

Direct Hire employees (not contractors) of the Department of State,
USAID, DOD, and CDC need not take further action. Direct Hire
employees of other U.S Government Agencies must provide their
control officer by cable or e-mail a name and 24-hour point of
contact for their agency that can authorize medical evacuation. For
employees whose agencies are not authorized to fund medevacs,
individuals will be responsible for obtaining their own medevac
insurance and providing the information to their control officer.

The USG does not cover contract employees for medevac. Therefore,
all USG contractors (regardless of the government agency they are
contracted to) must provide their control officer prior to arrival
the name, phone number, and policy number of their medevac insurance
provider(s) for use in case of emergency.

Contractors do not have access to services in the Health Units at

BRASILIA 00001536 002 OF 003

Post. In an emergency, the Health Unit will try to facilitate access
to care on the local economy or facilitation with their medevac
provider. Contractors need to be advised that for any medical care
needs they will need to use services provided on the local economy.

9. Please find below some information on Administrative procedures
and requirements:

A. Each visitor, regardless of length of stay, must bring/forward
fiscal data to pay for direct costs of the visit. Each agency,
organization or visiting delegation will be charged for the actual
costs attributed to its visit. Direct charge costs include, but are
not limited to:

-- American and LES overtime (for such services as airport
expediting, cashier accommodation exchange, control room staffing,
representational event support);
Travel and per diem costs incurred by post personnel in support of
visitor's field travel;
-- Rental of vehicles and other equipment;
-- Long distance telephone calls;
-- Office supplies;
-- Gasoline and other vehicle maintenance costs;
-- Departure tax and other airport fees.

Post will not provide service if fiscal data is not provided for the
direct charges.

B. For TDYers remaining at post over 30 days, there is a charge for
ICASS support services. This charge is for the following ICASS
services and will be billed thru the ICASS TDY module, based on a
per-capita-basis, prorated for the length of stay. For example, a
TDY visit by one USG employee of 06 months' duration would be
counted as 0.5:
-- Basic Package;
-- Community Liaison - CLO;
-- Health Services.

C. If your sponsoring agency is not signed up for ICASS services at
post, please be prepared to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
document for ICASS support services upon arrival. The agency should
provide post with a written communication generated by the
traveler's headquarters that confirms the agency will pay ICASS
charges for the TDYer. The communication should include the agency
ICASS billing code to which the TDY support should be charged and
authorize the traveler to sign the ICASS invoice generated by the
TDY module. Agencies will not be billed until the accumulated
invoice cost for TDY support exceeds Dols 2,500 for the fiscal year.
Where travel is urgent, the TDYers should bring this documentation
with him/her to ensure there are no interruptions in the provision
of service. Post will not provide any service to a TDYer staying in
excess of thirty days without provision of this documentation before
day 31 of the TDY.

10. Crime is the principal and real threat to visitors to Brazil.
The crime threat level in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and
Recife is critical. Armed street robberies are common in these
cities. The area in and around the hotel sector in Brasilia is
extremely dangerous, especially at night. Embassy visitors have
been robbed under gunpoint while walking on the street. Taxis and
private vehicles should be used to move about.

11. In addition, individuals and organizations with ties to
extremist groups operate in the tri-border area between Brazil,
Paraguay and Argentina - this includes the Iguacu falls area.
Official visitors contemplating travel to this area should contact
the Embassy before doing so, as well as Embassy Asuncion and/or
Embassy Buenos Aires if they plan to cross into Paraguay and/or
Argentina.

12. Visitors should practice common sense preventative security
techniques, just as they would in any large city in the world. Some
of the more important tips that you should follow to avoid becoming
a crime victim are:

-- Do not carry or wear valuable items that will attract the
attention of thieves. If you need to wear expensive jewelry or
carry a camera; conceal it until you arrive at your destination.

-- Be aware of the street environment and avoid contact with those
who may be looking for robbery targets. Seek a safer location. Go
into a store, bank or simply cross the street.

-- Do not physically resist any robbery attempt. While this is a
personal decision, statistics show that resistance leads to injury.

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-- Do not answer your hotel room door until you positively confirm
who is on the other side. Look out the peephole, or call the front
desk to confirm the visitor.

-- Do not walk on the beaches after dark. Assaults are common.

-- Avoid city buses. Many pass through high crime areas and are
susceptible to robberies.

13. Visitors who intend to bring U.S. Government portable
microcomputers into the embassy or consulate must obtain prior
approval from the systems manager and the RSO/PSO. The use of
privately owned computers is discouraged in any government
facility.

SOBEL

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