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Snowden Free to Travel and Work All Over Russia

U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden can move freely throughout Russia and work in any position other than government service, a high-ranking migration official said Friday.

If Snowden should ask to move to a different region "we will, of course, give him that opportunity," the head of the Moscow region's migration office told Interfax.

While his precise location is unknown, the Moscow region's authorities have received no notification from him, which suggests he is elsewhere in Russia, RIA Novosti reported Friday.

The former NSA contractor was granted temporary asylum on Aug. 1, two weeks after submitting his application to the authorities.

Snowden can stay in Russia until July 31, 2014, at which point he can either apply for a one-year extension or five-year permanent asylum.

Immediately after receiving his documents, Snowden left the transit zone of Sheremetyevo Airport, where he had been stuck ever since arriving from Hong Kong on June 23.

Anatoly Kucherena, Snowden's Russian legal consultant, on Tuesday told journalists that Snowden had officially registered at his new residence but declined to reveal its location.

Kucherena also announced that he had sent Snowden's father, friends, and relatives invitations to Russia — a prerequisite for receiving a tourist visa, Itar-Tass reported.

On Thursday, Snowden's American lawyer, Bruce Fein, confirmed that Snowden's father had submitted a visa application, but said that he did not know how long the process would take.

Snowden is likely to hold a long-awaited press conference after the date of his family's arrival has been determined, a source told RIA Novosti.

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