A proposed U.S. rule would end the 60-day grace period after a job loss. The exposure lands on Brazilian paperwork — a public power of attorney takes weeks to put in place, and cannot be compressed into the days after a termination notice.
The hook
On 11 September 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule in the Federal Register, Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period (91 FR 57807). Comments are open until 10 November 2026. If adopted, a Brazilian who loses a job in the United States would no longer have two months to reorganize — and whatever they own in Brazil would become very hard to reach.
What happened
The proposal (DHS Docket USCIS-2026-0364; RIN 1615-AD22) would remove 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2), the provision that today grants a discretionary grace period of up to 60 days after employment ends to holders of E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1 and TN classifications and their dependents. DHS describes the change as a return to its previous, long-standing policy of requiring immediate departure.
Separately, and in the same week, Brazilian tax practitioners published on 7 September 2026 an analysis of how the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service is treating the Declaração de Saída Definitiva do País — the formal exit-tax filing — following Ruling Disit/SRRF04 No. 4.010 of 15 April 2026. The emerging position is that the filing alone does not establish non-resident status: the tax authority looks at facts, including remaining employment ties in Brazil, where the family lives, where assets are concentrated, and the person's immigration status abroad.
Why this matters, and how Brazil actually works
Two features of the Brazilian system surprise people who have lived abroad for years.
First, Brazil is a civil-law, registry-based country. Real estate is not conveyed by deed delivery; ownership changes only when the transfer is registered on the property's matrícula at the competent Real Estate Registry. Companies exist as filed with the commercial registry. Estates of Brazilian assets are settled in Brazil, before a Brazilian notary or a Brazilian judge. Nothing meaningful happens to a Brazilian asset without a Brazilian instrument — which is why a U.S. immigration event turns, almost immediately, into a Brazilian paperwork problem.
Second, a U.S. general power of attorney will not do the job. A Brazilian power of attorney used to sell, mortgage, gift or settle must be a procuração pública — executed before a Brazilian consulate or, alternatively, before a foreign notary and then apostilled under the 1961 Hague Convention, sworn-translated into Portuguese, and, for real estate matters, recorded at the Registry of Titles and Deeds under Article 129, §6 of Law 6,015/1973 before it can be presented to the property registry. Article 661, §1 of the Brazilian Civil Code requires powers of disposition to be special and express; a broad "management" power will be rejected at the counter. This process takes weeks. It cannot be compressed into the days that may follow a termination notice.
A third point is structural. A shareholder or quotaholder residing abroad must maintain an attorney-in-fact resident in Brazil with power to receive service of process; a non-resident CPF (Brazilian tax number) is likewise maintained through a Brazilian representative. Without these, corporate amendments stall and the company itself becomes vulnerable to service by publication.
And the tax side runs in the opposite direction. Once you file as a non-resident, the sale of Brazilian real estate is subject to capital gains tax withheld at source and due on the date of receipt, without the installment treatment and several of the exemptions available to residents. An unplanned return reopens the residence question, and transactions carried out in between may be re-examined. The April 2026 ruling makes that re-examination more likely, not less.
Who this affects
- Brazilians in the United States on H-1B, L-1, O-1, E-1, E-2, E-3, H-1B1 or TN status, and their dependent spouses and children
- Anyone holding real estate, company quotas, investment accounts or a pending inheritance in Brazil
- Non-resident shareholders of Brazilian companies without an attorney-in-fact appointed in Brazil
- Families with an estate open in Brazil where one heir lives abroad
- Anyone who has filed a Brazilian exit-tax declaration and is now weighing a return
What to do, and by when
- Before anything happens — build a document inventory of what exists in Brazil: property matrículas, articles of association, accounts, pending lawsuits and estates.
- Read the power of attorney you already have. A general management power does not authorize selling, gifting, pledging, settling or receiving service of process.
- Execute or refresh the procuração pública well in advance, allowing for the full chain: consulate or foreign notary with apostille, sworn translation, and registration at the Registry of Titles and Deeds where real estate is involved.
- Regularize Brazilian representation — an attorney-in-fact in Brazil for the non-resident partner and for maintaining the non-resident CPF.
- Review your Brazilian tax residence position on the facts, not merely on the filing, and keep the supporting evidence. The U.S. comment period closes on 10 November 2026; the Brazilian document work does not depend on that outcome and can be done now.
The cost of doing nothing
Without a valid Brazilian power of attorney, your assets in Brazil do not disappear — they simply become impossible to move, at precisely the moment you need to move them.
Scope note. This content addresses Brazilian law only. Matters governed by foreign law are handled in partnership with lawyers licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Editorial record
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Pillar: 6 — Ties to Brazil
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Related service (performed in Brazil): public power of attorney with special powers, apostille and registration; regularization of Brazilian corporate and tax representation for non-resident partners; review of tax residence
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Editorial tier: Gold
Sources: DHS/USCIS, Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period, 91 FR 57807, 11 Sept. 2026 — Federal Register · Murthy Law Firm — DHS Proposes Eliminating 60-Day Grace Period, 10 Sept. 2026 · ConJur — exit-tax filing and the "animus definitivo" test, 7 Sept. 2026 · Law 6,015/1973, Article 129, §6 — Registry of Titles and Deeds · Brazilian Civil Code, Article 661, §1 — special and express powers
Notice
This content is strictly informational, produced under Provimento No. 205/2021 of the Federal Council of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB), with no commercial or client-solicitation purpose. The practical guidance is general and does not substitute for analysis of a specific matter. Artificial intelligence assisted in research and drafting, under the full professional review and responsibility of the signing attorney, in accordance with Recommendation No. 001/2024 of the Federal Council of the OAB.
Scope
This content addresses Brazilian law only. Matters governed by foreign law are handled in partnership with lawyers licensed in the relevant jurisdiction.
Verification record
Sources were checked as of September 14, 2026: DHS/USCIS, Eliminating the Discretionary 60-Day Grace Period, 91 FR 57807, published September 11, 2026 (Docket USCIS-2026-0364; RIN 1615-AD22), comments open until November 10, 2026; 8 CFR 214.1(l)(2); Ruling Disit/SRRF04 No. 4.010 of April 15, 2026; Law No. 6,015/1973, art. 129, §6; Brazilian Civil Code, art. 661, §1.
The elimination of the 60-day grace period is a proposed rule, not current law. United States immigration material appears here as factual background only and is not advice on U.S. law; the guidance concerns Brazilian documents and Brazilian tax residence.
A note on the English edition. This piece is an adaptation, not a translation. Legal citations keep their Portuguese designations, because those are what a Brazilian notary, registry office or court will recognize.
About the firm
Andrade & Cintra Advogados is a boutique law firm dedicated to Civil, Corporate and Real Estate Law, with a focus on Family and Succession Law, concentrated on estate and succession planning, the structuring of family and asset-holding companies, corporate governance and the organization of wealth for succession purposes — always with business purpose, substance and legal compliance. International practice in cooperation with Sintra Legal & Partners.
About the author
Dr. J. Guilherme de Andrade Cintra — Founding Partner · OAB/SP nº 220.915. Editorial co-authorship assisted by artificial intelligence (Anthropic Claude) as editor, under the review and responsibility of the signing attorney.
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