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Kurdistan's intelligence chief Masrour
Barzani seeking US citizenship
15.2.2009 |
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February 15, 2009
WASHINGTON,
DC, — Sources close to the U.S. government have
informed kurdmedia.com that Masrour Barzani is
seeking US citizenship through naturalization.
Masrour Barzani is the eldest son of Massoud
Barzani, the president of Iraqi Kurdistan and
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He is the director
of KDP’s Parastin Agency, which human rights
activists and independent analysts accuse of torture
and kidnapping.
In meetings with both executive and legislative
branch officials—first when applying for a Green
Card and subsequently when discussing
naturalization, a U.S. source said Mr. Masrour
Barzani would often bring up both his immigration
status and desires and the possibility of Kurdish
investment in the United States. By bringing up both
issues in the same meeting, several officials
concluded that he was suggesting a linkage between
their assistance and either donations of U.S. -
citizen Kurdish businessmen to their campaigns or
more direct KRG or Barzani clan investment in their
enclave.
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Kurdistan Region’s top intelligence chief Masrour
Barzani, the son of the current Kurdistan Region
President Massoud Barzani. |
In the past year, he has
also sought the assistance of U.S. government
officials with whom he has worked in his capacity as
director of the Parastin Agency. Recently, his wife
traveled to the United States to deliver their baby.
Using their baby’s automatic U.S. citizenship, a
former U.S. official says Barzani is now seeking to
convert his Green Card status which, according to
Kurdish sources in Sulaymani, he acquired while a
student at American University, to full U.S.
citizenship, again seeking the assistance of U.S.
government contacts.
Under normal circumstances, Masrour Barzani does not
qualify for U.S. citizenship. The American
naturalization laws mandate applicants to retain a
Green Card for five years to be eligible for
citizenship. Petitioners are required to fill out
the N-400 Application for Naturalization and submit
it to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The USCIS will perform a background check and will
make a decision regarding the petition. If USCIS
accepts the application, the petitioners must pass a
civic test and take the Oath of Allegiance, swearing
allegiance to the United States of America.
Masrour Barzani must answer challenging questions
when filling the N-400 application. He has
officially lived in Kurdistan since 1998 and served
in an official capacity. The application inquires
whether the applicant has been a member of a
totalitarian party. Masrour Barzani is the member of
Kurdistan Democratic Party, which both Kurdish
critics and U.S. analysts accuse of autocratic
tendencies. Also, the same form inquires if the
applicant has “ever persecuted (either directly or
indirectly) any person because of race, religion,
national origin, membership in a particular social
group or political opinion.” Under Masrour Barzani’s
leadership, the Parastin Agency kidnapped Kamal Said
Qadir in 2005, an incident documented by numerous
international human rights groups and even condemned
by the US government. Qadir, an Austrian citizen,
was allegedly tortured for accusing the Barzani
family of corruption. Under normal rules and
regulations, Masrour Barzani should be disqualified
for US citizenship, and USCIS may still deny his
petition.
Copyright, respective
author or news agency,
kurdmedia.com
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