The U.S. Department of Justice hasn’t appealed the award to grant the political refugee status to Alexander Konanykhin, former chief of All-Russia’s Stock Exchange Bank. So, Konanykhin may apply for the green card now.
Photo: Yury Gripas
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Konanykhin Granted Political Refugee Status
The U.S. Department of Justice hasn’t appealed the award granting political refugee status to Alexander Konanykhin, former chief of All-Russia’s Stock Exchange Bank. So, the U.S. government has deemed final the decision of Federal Immigration Court and Konanykhin may apply for the green card now.
The term, during which the U.S. government could appeal the court decision on granting political refugee status to Alexander Konanykhin, expired past week. The Department of Justice had 30 days to challenge the verdict and attempt to prove again that Russia didn’t prosecute Konanykhin for political reasons and that the banker committed a crime by illegally transferring $8.1 million from All-Russia’s Stock Exchange Bank to his personal accounts.
Konanykhin, who lives in Florida now, said he was pleasantly surprised by the absence of appeal, taking into account the persistence of the U.S. goverment in the last 15 years. In the next move, Konanykhin intends to apply for the green card, though the delay in its granting won't particularly astonish him “due to the long relations with the U.S. Immigration Service.”
Konanykhin, who has been unable to travel abroad until recently, may obtain the so-called white passport authorizing him to smoothly leave and get back to the United States. But a white passport holder needs to apply for a visa if he/she wants to go to any country of the world. Konanykhin isn’t discouraged. “I’ve lived with no passport for so many years that I will survive the procedures of getting visas,” he said.
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