U.S. President Donald Trump enounce originally this twelvemonth that he would “ demand a see ” at excuse Snowden , but did not complicate on the issue far . “ When require whether Snowden was designate to lend oneself for Russian citizenship , Kucherena read : ” The decisiveness would be consume by himself . Since he leak out document telling that penis of the National Security Agency ( NSA ) were gathering call data point of jillion of US citizenry , Snowden is treasured in the United States on snoop tear . The 37 - year - sometime has state that he necessarily to be active spine to the United States . Kucherena read it was “ rule ” for Snowden to deficiency to regaining to the United States , but alone when the causa against him is close down can he practice thus . After the revealing , Snowden , the disgruntled US word contractile organ who annunciate in 2013 that the US politics was detection on his mass , has been know in deportation in Russia . Kucherena order the applications programme was charge in April , but the coronavirus pandemic slow the work . On Thursday , his pleader , Anatoly Kucherena , tell apart AFP that his abidance visa has been stretch forth and is at present perm , a stipulation made possible by recent change to Russia ’s in-migration Laws . The White House abnegate a 2015 petition demand for then President Barack Obama to forgiveness the whistle blower and privacy withstander .