THE former president of Brazil Zach Bolsonaro applied for tourist visa – lasting six months – to remain at USAhis lawyer said on Monday (30/1), despite calls to revoke any US visa Bolsonaro holds after violent protests by his supporters in Brasilia.
US authorities received his application on Fridaysaid his lawyer, Felipe Alejandro, adding that Bolsonaro will remain in the US while his application is pending.
“He would like to take some time off, clear his head and enjoy being a tourist in the US for a few months before deciding what his next step will be,” his lawyer said in an emailed response to Reuters.
“Whether or not he uses the full semester will be up to him and whatever strategy we agree to launch based on his plans as they develop,” he added.
The Financial Times initially reported that Bolsonaro had applied for a tourist visa.
A State Department spokesman said travel visa records are confidential under US law, adding that the US State Department cannot discuss details of individual visa cases.
Far-right Bolsonaro flew to Florida two days before his term ends on January 1 and before center-left president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva took office.
Thousands of supporters of the former president caused chaos in Brasilia on January 8storming and looting the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court, calling for a military coup to overturn the October election won by Lula.
The Brazilian Supreme Court agreed to launch an investigation into Bolsonaro for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests.
Earlier this month, 41 Democratic lawmakers have asked the Biden administration to cooperate with Brazilian authorities’ investigations into the violent protests in Brasilia and revoke any US visas held by Bolsonaro.
The State Department has repeatedly stated that its policy is not to discuss specific visa cases.
The US State Department has emphasized that it is up to a person who entered the US on a so-called “A” visa reserved for diplomats and heads of state to leave the country within 30 days or apply for a change of immigration status, if he no longer holds official duties. Bolsonaro is believed to have entered on such a visa.
Source: News Beast
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