Eugueni Kniazev (Dec. 11, 1954-Sept. 11, 2001)

My latest column, which is also a special news feature in today’s New York Post, is dedicated to the memory of the man pictured above. The story exposes how our behemoth, $34 billion Department of Homeland Security sent a green card approval notice on Jan. 15, 2005 to Mr. Eugueni Kniazev (pronounced Yev-GEN-nee Kuh-NEH-zev), who was murdered at the World Trade Center on that unforgettable day the towers collapsed.

That’s right. The feds sent a green card approval notice less than two weeks ago to a known, deceased Sept. 11 victim:

The letter informs Kniazev, an immigrant from Siberia, that he is now “deemed to be a lawful permanent resident of the United States.” The notice directs Kniazev to obtain a new alien registration receipt card (what we commonly call a “green card”) and instructs him to appear in person at the immigration office at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City with his passport and three recent photos.

But Eugueni Kniazev won’t be appearing at Federal Plaza. He won’t be going anywhere. Kniazev, 47, was an employee of the Windows on the World restaurant located on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower. After working his way up from dishwasher to facilities manager and living the American dream, Kniazev was murdered in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Let me repeat that for the clueless paper-pushers at the Department of Homeland Security: Eugueni Kniazev won’t be picking up his green card because he has been dead for nearly three-and-a-half years.

Here’s an exclusive look at the two-page letter immigration officials sent to Mr. Kniazev (click on the images to expand them):

This fiasco echoes the scandal just six months after the Sept. 11 attacks, when INS sent visa status-change approval notices out for two dead Sept. 11 hijackers. I ask:

What on earth is wrong with our federal government? Can you imagine how upsetting it must have been for family members to receive the letter? Why didn’t it occur to anybody to cross-check the official list of Sept. 11 victims against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ records? Did homeland security officials learn nothing from the dead hijacker visa letter fiasco?

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman told me it’s an “apples and oranges” comparison. Well, the bottom line in both cases is the same rotten fruit:

Despite billions spent on restructuring and new technology, our homeland security system is still unable to prevent a green card approval notice from being sent to a dead person. The fact that the letter recipient is a murdered Sept. 11 victim adds unconscionable insult to bureaucratic injury. A Department of Homeland Security spokesman told me it’s up to family members to notify the government when an applicant dies. “It’s unfortunate,” he said, but there is no mechanism in place to prevent this from happening again.

My Post article includes additional details about Mr. Kniazev’s life:

[He] was “always looking for something better,” a close relative told me. He was a hard worker and a good man who took advantage of life. He left his small village in Siberia 13 years ago in search of that “something better.” He found it in New York City, where he started out washing dishes for a living and quickly moved up the ladder. In January 2001, Kniazev was hired as facilities manager at Windows on the World, where he was responsible for maintenance and oversight of everything from the stoves to the refrigerators to the wall paint and flooring.

Michael Lomonaco, who was head chef at Windows of the World and worked with Kniazev in 2001, told me Kniazev’s death was “a real loss.” Lomonaco remembered Kniazev as a “bright, articulate, and energetic fellow.” He was “honest, dedicated, and a model of all that is possible for someone looking to make it in the United States.”

Kniazev was proud of his job and inspired by working in one of the nation’s most powerful symbols of success. Although he worried about a possible terrorist attack, he told family when he took the position that he “wasn’t going to let it bother me.” The always upbeat Kniazev had eagerly awaited his green card and eventual U.S. citizenship.

Now, he will never achieve his American dream. Family members simply hope this outrageous case of bureaucratic oversight will result in lasting, effective reform of information-based lapses at homeland security.

***

What can be done:

1. Contact the chairman and members of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration, Borders, and Claims and ask them to investigate this and other information lapses outlined in the column. The e-mail address of John Hostettler, chairman of the subcommittee, is John.Hostettler@mail.house.gov. His phone number is (202) 225-4636.

2. Donate to Windows of Hope, the charity for family members of Sept. 11 victims like Mr. Kniazev who worked in the restaurant/services industry.

3. Drop me a line if you have a similar story to share.

4. Keep Mr. Kniazev and his family in your prayers. May he rest in peace without any more government insults to his memory. The best way to honor him would be to ensure that national embarrassments such as this do not happen again.

Update: Reader Clint Watson Taylor writes:

Your Post column included this item:

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman told me it’s up to family
members to notify the government when an applicant dies. “It’s
unfortunate,” he said, but there is no mechanism in place to prevent this
from happening again.

That’s one of the strangest parts of the whole incident. They’re sending
green cards to dead people and they have no intention to stop doing so.
You hint at, but don’t really hammer home, what a security risk this is.

The letters on your site suggest that the next step for Knaziev would have
been to bring his passport and photos down with him to the INS office.
Presumably, then, anyone with a physical resemblance to Knaziev who had
obtained his passport could have shown up at INS headquarters and been
granted a green card–and eventually citizenship–under Knaziev’s name.

So whenever an immigrant with an outstanding INS application dies,
someone–e.g., a terrorist, criminal, or spy– with access to his passport
could apparently assume his identity without further DHS scrutiny. All
they have to do is show up at INS for one more meeting, and the card is
mailed out six months later.