Jair Bolsonaro, the former president of Brazil, has applied for a six-month visitor visa to remain in the US as his legal standing in his home country grows perilous.
Bolsonaro’s application was received by US authorities on Friday, according to his lawyer Felipe Alexandre, who has advised him not to leave the country while it is being processed — a period that could last several months.
“I think Florida will be his temporary home away from home,” said Alexandre, the founder of AG Immigration. “Right now, with his situation, I think he needs a little stability.”
Bolsonaro is facing multiple investigations in Brazil, both for alleged wrongdoing during his four-year presidential term and to determine whether he was to blame for an insurrection in Brasília earlier this month that was launched by supporters who have rejected his electoral defeat.
The close ally of former US president Donald Trump decamped to Florida on December 30, skipping the inauguration of his leftist successor and bitter foe Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro has been staying at the Kissimmee home of a former mixed martial arts fighter José Aldo, where he is often thronged by adoring members of Florida’s right-leaning Brazilian expat community.
Bolsonaro had been travelling on an A-1 visa reserved for diplomats and heads of state. It expired the day he left office, with a 30-day grace period.
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