 Benatta was a Lieutenant in the Algerian Air Force, and was sent to the United States on a 6-month visa in December 2000 to attend training seminars in Baltimore at the military conglomerate Northrop Grumman as part of a military exchange program.He did not return to Algeria at the end of the course, reporting that he feared for his life due to threats from terrorists and from the military.Between June 2001, when his visa expired, and September 2001 he lived in New York City with an Orthodox Jew as a roommate.