Murtadha al-Tamimi

Born 1992 · Age 33

Iraqi-born software engineer (Facebook) who emigrated with his family to Canada as refugees; participated in a U.S. Youth Exchange scholarship at 15, later studied and worked in the U.S.; publicly spoke about the 2017 U.S. travel ban and its impact on non-U.S. citizens.

Total Events

Career Span

25 years

Peak Net Worth

$150,000

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Life & Career Timeline

1992Age 0

Birth of Murtadha al-Tameemi

Approximate birth year (article says he was 24 in Jan 2017).

1/1/1992Source

Confidence

75%

2002Age 10

Context: Youth Exchange and Study program approved by U.S. Congress

Article notes the Youth Exchange and Study scholarship program (which he participated in) was approved by Congress in 2002 — included as contextual background referenced by Murtadha.

1/1/2002Source

Confidence

95%

2004Age 12

Family fled Iraq to Jordan (as refugees)

His family fled Iraq and first went to Jordan before later settling in Canada (timing inferred).

1/1/2004Source

Confidence

30%

2005Age 13

Father and eldest brother killed in Baghdad by suicide bomb

Article states his father and eldest brother were killed by a suicide bomb in Baghdad; this event forced the family to leave. Exact year not given; estimated.

1/1/2005Source

Confidence

25%

2005Age 13

Family settled in Canada

Family settled in Canada after fleeing Iraq and Jordan (date approximate/inferred from article).

1/1/2005Source

Confidence

30%

2006Age 14

Applied for U.S. visa (Youth Exchange); long processing

He notes it took him 18 months to get the visa required to come to the U.S. for the exchange program (applies to the trip that began when he was 15).

1/1/2006Source

Confidence

85%

2007Age 15

Placed in Minnesota (Duluth) and acted as cultural ambassador

During his exchange year he was invited to church groups, schools and universities to explain life in Iraq and show photos of his country, food and daily life.

1/1/2007Source

Confidence

90%

2007Age 15

Regular secondary screening at U.S. border began

Because he was born in Iraq, every time he crossed the U.S. border he was routinely sent to secondary screening — a process taking 30 minutes to four hours — and sometimes had his phone searched.

1/1/2007Source

Confidence

90%

2007Age 15

Arrived in the United States on Youth Exchange scholarship

At age 15 he came to the U.S. through the Youth Exchange and Study scholarship program and was placed in a small town in Minnesota; he attended school in Duluth for a year.

1/1/2007Source

Confidence

95%

2007Age 15

Missed family birthdays due to studying in the U.S.

He reports missing all of his family's birthdays for eight years after he left to study in America (he left at 15).

1/1/2007Source

Confidence

85%

2008Age 16

Finished exchange year; experienced an 'awakening'

At the end of his year in the U.S. he described his experience as an 'awakening'—a formative cultural exchange outcome.

1/1/2008Source

Confidence

90%

2008Age 16

Left to study in America (post-exchange)

After the exchange year he remained in the U.S. to study (he references being separated from his family after leaving to study in America). Exact degree/institution not stated.

1/1/2008Source

Confidence

60%

2011Age 19

Younger brother starting school (desired memory that he missed)

He wanted to be present when his little brother (who was four when he left) went to school for the first day; this is a personal milestone referenced in the narrative (timing inferred).

1/1/2011Source

Confidence

35%

2014Age 22

Became part of U.S. tech workforce (timeline context)

By his early twenties he pursued a technology/software career path; the article identifies him as a software engineer at Facebook by 2017 (start date at Facebook not provided). This event indicates his movement into the U.S. tech sector (approximate).

1/1/2014Net Worth: $10,000Source

Confidence

40%

2017Age 24

Visited family in Vancouver

He was visiting his mother and two brothers in Vancouver the week before the article (January 2017) and tried to spend as many weekends as possible with them.