VZCZCXRO0450
RR RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2083/01 1881209
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061209Z JUL 08 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8147
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002083 
 
CA FOR DAS TONY EDSON; PRM FOR AMB FOLEY 
USAID ME/AA FOR JIM BEVER; ME/IR FOR JEANNE PRYOR; 
GC/ANE FOR MICHELLE GODETTE AND ARNOLD HAIMAN 
 
AIDAC 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CVIS IZ PHUM PREF PGOV SMIG SOCI UN
SUBJECT:   SIV ELIGIBILITY OF IRAQIS WORKING UNDER 
GRANTS OR COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS 
 
BAGHDAD 00002083  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. Section 1244 of Public Law 110-181, the Defense 
Authorization Act of 2008 (the Refugee Crisis in 
Iraq Act), greatly expanded the eligibility criteria 
for special immigration status for Iraqi nationals 
employed by or on behalf of the United States 
Government in Iraq on or after March 2003, for a 
period of not less than one year. As currently 
written, N2 of the draft 9 FAM 42.32 (d) (11), 
dealing with eligibility, is unclear whether it 
would include Iraqi citizen employees working on 
behalf of U.S. grantees and recipients of U.S. 
cooperative agreements. 
 
¶2. The proposed regulations appear to restrict 
eligibility to Iraqi United States Government (USG) 
employees and Iraqi employees of contractors working 
on behalf of the USG. Restricting eligibility to USG 
employees and employees of USG contractors will 
adversely affect a significant number of Iraqis 
employed by U.S. grantees and U.S. cooperative 
agreement recipients. Moreover, the restriction is 
arbitrary and unfair to such individuals and appears 
contrary to the broad language and intent of the 
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act. 
 
¶3. In pertinent part, Section 1244 (b)(1)(B) 
specifically deems an Iraqi eligible for special 
immigration status if that person ?(B) was or is 
employed by or on behalf of the United States 
Government in Iraq, on or after March 20, 2003, for 
not less than one year.? The legislation does not 
define what it means to be employed ?on behalf of? 
the USG.  Post believes that no distinction should 
be made between Iraqis employed on behalf of the USG 
by USG contractors and those employed on behalf of 
the USG by grantees or recipients of cooperative 
agreements. Further, Section 1243 (a)(2)(B) of the 
Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act specifically includes as 
eligible under the Refugee Admissions Program those 
Iraqis who were or are employed by ?an organization 
or entity closely associated with the United States 
mission in Iraq that has received United States 
Government (USG) funding through an official and 
documented contract, award, grant, or cooperative 
agreement."  It is not clear to Post that Congress 
intended to treat eligibility requirements for 
Iraqis under the SIV program more narrowly than in 
the Refugee Admissions Program and to exclude Iraqis 
employed by an organization or entity that has 
received USG funding through a grant or cooperative 
agreement. 
 
¶4. Section 1244 purposefully created a program with 
less stringent eligibility requirements than section 
1059 of Public Law 109-163, the National Defense 
Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2006, as amended by 
Public Law 110-36 (2007), which granted special 
immigration status to a limited set of Iraqi 
citizens employed as translators and interpreters 
for the U.S. military or under Chief of Mission 
authority. The intent behind Section 1244 is to 
provide special immigration status to a broader 
group of Iraqi citizens who have provided faithful 
and valuable service to the USG and as a result of 
such service have experienced or are experiencing an 
ongoing threat.  Concededly, indigenous grantees and 
indigenous recipients of aid provided under programs 
financed through cooperative agreements would not 
meet the eligibility criteria.  However, the 
legislation does not distinguish between persons who 
work ?on behalf of? the USG via employment with USG 
contractors and persons working ?for or on behalf 
of? the USG via employment with U.S. cooperative 
agreement recipients or U.S. grantees.  Regulations 
limiting eligibility to Iraqi citizens who are 
working or have worked for USG contractors appears 
contrary to the legislative intent of Section 1244. 
 
¶5. Cooperative agreements and grants make up a 
significant portion of USAID?s programs dollar-wise. 
For example, a snapshot of USAID/Iraq?s Program on 
April 7, 2008, reveals a total amount of 
$799,489,629 awarded in grants or cooperative 
agreements. This compares to a total amount of 
$1,400,498,610 awarded under contracts. (These 
amounts do not include USAID?s program, for 
 
BAGHDAD 00002083  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Humanitarian Assistance, Disaster Relief and 
Internally Displaced Persons which involves a 
mixture of cooperative agreements, grants and 
contracts with a total value of $254,100,193.) 
 
¶6. USAID/Iraq Programs financed by such cooperative 
agreements and grants employ large numbers of Iraqi 
citizens who are providing valuable services on 
behalf of the USG. For example, Cooperative Housing 
Foundation International (CHF) and the U.S. NGO sub- 
grantee partners, which implement USAID?s $150 
million Community Action Program II (CAP II) through 
a cooperative agreement, presently employ 
approximately 500 Iraqis. These Iraqi employees are 
not the recipients of aid, but rather assist in 
implementing the program so that aid reaches the 
indigenous community population.   As another 
example, a recent survey done for USAID involving 
its security sub-contractors/sub-recipients 
indicated that there were approximately 503 Iraqi 
nationals working for the security sub-contractors 
employed under the five major USAID prime contracts. 
By contrast, the U.S. cooperative agreements 
recipients and grantees of USAID?s five major 
programs under cooperative agreements employ 
approximately 619 Iraqi security sub-recipient 
employees. 
 
¶7. U.S. cooperative agreement recipients and U.S. 
grantees of USAID sponsored programs employ a 
significant number of Iraqis. These Iraqis work on 
behalf of these recipients/grantees at considerable 
risk. The risk and potential threat taken by these 
Iraqis is indistinguishable from the risk taken by 
Iraqis working on behalf of USAID contractors. The 
nature of the financial mechanism for a USAID 
program is irrelevant to the malign influences that 
threaten Iraqis who have or are providing faithful 
and valuable services to or on behalf of the United 
States Government. 
 
¶8. As such, Embassy Baghdad requests the Department 
revise the definition of ?contractor? in the 
proposed FAM notes to include U.S. recipients of 
cooperative agreements and U.S. grantees, or add a 
new definition, so that Iraqi employees working for 
or on behalf of such recipients/grantees will also 
be eligible for special immigration status. 
 
CROCKER