After being assigned to a mission in the U.S., he secretly reentered the Kingdom but failed in an attempt to have his name removed from the list of prohibited travelers so that he could obtain a U.S. visa.

Critics argued that the USA could not evade its obligation to conduct competent tribunals to determine whether captives are, or are not, entitled to the protections of prisoner of war status.

These hearings were designed to assess the threat a detainee might pose if released or transferred, and whether there were other factors that warranted his continued detention.

Among the factors al-Zahrani faced were: A Summary of Evidence memo was prepared for Khalid Mohammed Al Zahrani's second annual Administrative Review Board.

Among the additional factors al-Zahrani faced were: On November 26, 2008, the Department of Defense published a list of the dates captives were transferred from Guantanamo.