NEED FOR GUIDANCE ON IRAQI PASSPORT ISSUES

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 002896 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/ARP, NEA/NGA AND PRM, CENTCOM FOR POLAD NSC FOR ABRAMS, THEROUX AND KHALILZAD DOD FOR OSD/NESA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PREF IZ TC SUBJECT: NEED FOR GUIDANCE ON IRAQI PASSPORT ISSUES REF: A) AMMAN 3455 B) ABU DHABI 2529 C) STATE 100462 ¶1. This is an action request; see paragraph 4. ¶2. Like our colleagues in Embassy Amman (ref A),Embassy officers here have received more than 50 calls and walk-ins since the closure of the Iraqi Embassy in Abu Dhabi in early June from Iraqi nationals resident in the UAE for assistance with consular services and travel to Iraq. Those who first contact the UAEG seeking assistance are now being automatically referred to us for help. We expect that the number of requests for assistance will grow exponentially as days pass, given that there are reportedly more than 80,000 Iraqis resident in the UAE. ¶3. Our Iraqi callers fear that their inability to renew their passports will jeopardize their residency status in the UAE and affect their ability to travel abroad, whether for education purposes or medical treatment. The following two cases are representative of the urgent requests for assistance that we have received: --An Iraqi engineer resident in the UAE requested assistance because his Iraqi passport expires in two months and the UAEG will not renew his residency visa unless his passport is valid for at least six months. When his residency visa expires, he will become an illegal overstay and lose his employment. --The Iraqi Office Director to the UAE Minister of Interior requested assistance on behalf of his son, whose Iraqi passport expired in May. The son has been studying at a Canadian university for three years. The university refused to enroll the Office Director's son this summer because his passport had expired, and advised him that he will not be allowed to enroll this fall for his final year if his passport is not renewed. ¶4. We note that our consular section has received at least one application for a U.S. visa by an Iraqi citizen holding a passport issued after 19 March. An SAO request was submitted pursuant to ref C. ¶5. ACTION REQUEST: We request Department guidance at the soonest on how we should respond to requests for assistance. We also need guidance that we can pass to the UAEG outlining when we expect passport services to resume at the Iraqi Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the meantime, the Ambassador is seeking the assistance of de facto UAE Foreign Minister Hamdan bin Zayid to ensure that the Emiratis grant waivers to Iraqi citizen residents who are experiencing visa/residency difficulties. WAHBA