I understand that former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a six-month U.S. tourist visa. As you know, Bolsonaro entered the US when he was still president, two days before his successor took office and a little more than a week before his supporters attacked the government and tried to reinstate him. That timing means he came to the U.S. on an A-1 visa restricted to heads of state, which had to be replaced as soon as he was no longer president. Bolsonaro’s lawyer told a reporter that Bolsonaro wants "to take some time off, clear his head, and enjoy being a tourist in the United States for a few months before deciding what his next step will be.” In fact, the right-wing leader has made it clear he is afraid of the many investigations underway in Brazil for fraud and now for inciting the attack on the government that might end up putting him behind bars.
Please, do NOT issue him a tourist visa. Let him go back and face the music in Brazil. Doing otherwise would be self-defeating to the extreme. Send him back to Brazil. Thanks.
