News reports revealed on Tuesday that Edward Snowden has submitted an official petition asking for his asylum in Russia to be extended for another year.

A Federal Migration Official confirmed that the whistleblower had submitted his petition to the Moscow region branch prior to the June 30 deadline, exactly one month before Snowden's current one-year asylum status expires.

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Reportedly, if Snowden's request is granted, he will receive asylum for one more year.

In a move which was looked on as brazen by U.S. officials, Russia granted Snowden asylum last August, allowing the former NSA employee to walk freely out of the Moscow airport transit zone.

The country did so after disregarding pleas from President Obama and other U.S. senior authorities to turn Snowden over to the United States for detainment and sentencing.

According to reports, the NSA whistleblower originally arrived in Moscow after fleeing Hong Kong in June of last year. Although he had hoped to board a plane bound for Latin America, Snowden found himself grounded in the Moscow airport for five weeks due to his passport being cancelled by U.S. officials.

Mr. Snowden also told news sources that at one point that he had also applied for asylum from several other countries, including Brazil. However, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry denied ever having received an official petition.

Snowden told NBC in an interview in May that if he could he would return to the US, but, as that option seems currently unlikely, he would extend his stay in Russia instead.

Snowden gained fame in 2013 after he disclosed thousands of highly classified NSA documents to select media outlets. Since then, the U.S. government has charged the whistleblower with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property, meaning that Snowden could face up to 30 years in prison. 

TagsEdward Snowden, asylum, extension, Russia, NSA