Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro Apply for a US Tourist Visa Valid for Six Months, Why?

Jair Bolsonaro. (Wikimedia Commons/Pal handicio do Plan to leave)

JAKARTA - Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month tourist visa to remain in the United States, his lawyer said Monday, despite calls for the US visa held by him to be revoked following violent protests in Brasilia.

The United States accepted the visa application on Friday, said his lawyer, Felipe Alexandre, adding that Bolsonaro would remain in the United States while his application is pending.

"He wants to take some time off, clear his mind and enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next steps are," Alexandre said by email to Reuters, as quoted January 31.

"Whether he will use the full six months or not is up to him and whatever strategy we agree to start with based on his plans," Alexandre added.

News of Bolsonaro's tourist visa application was first reported by the Financial Times.

Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson said visa records were kept confidential under US law, adding the department cannot discuss details of individual visa cases.

Earlier this month, the 41 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives asked US President Joe Biden's Administration to cooperate with a Brazilian investigation into the violent protests in Brasilia and revoke all US visas held by Bolsonaro.

The State Department has repeatedly said its policy does not address specific visa cases.

Further, the State Department said, it is obligatory for a person entering the United States on a so-called "A" visa reserved for diplomats and foreign heads of state, to leave the country within 30 days or apply for a change of immigration status, if they do not again engaged in official diplomatic relations. Bolsonaro is believed to have entered on such a visa.

It is known, Bolsonaro flew to Florida, USA two days before his term ended on January 1 and left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, before supporters of the former president stormed the nation's capital.

Bolsonaro's supporters ransacked Congress, the Supreme Court and Brazil's presidential palace, calling for a military coup to overturn Lula's October election.

Brazil's Supreme Court has agreed to open an investigation into Bolsonaro, for allegedly encouraging anti-democratic protests that ended with his supporters storming government buildings in Brasilia.