Egyptian Authority for Migration and Passports issued a statement on Thursday saying that the mother of Salafist presidential candidate, Hazem Salah Abu-Ismail, Nawal Abdel-Aziz Nour had a US passport with the number [500611598].

The Authority sent an official notification to the Supreme Presidential Electoral Commission headed by Farouk Sultan, on Thursday, that Abdel-Aziz used her American passport several times in 2008 and 2009 through visits to the United States and Germany.

Interior Ministry officials, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Wednesday that "they had obtained copies of what they described as American 'travel documents' belonging to Nawal Abdel-Aziz Nour that indicated she had been a United States citizen before her death, but the exact nature of the documents could not be confirmed.

Early Thursday Abu-Ismail filed a lawsuit at the State Council Wednesday against the head of the Supreme Electoral Commission Abdel-Moez Ibrahim and Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim, to demand a certificate confirming his mother did not hold dual nationality.

If confirmed, this would disqualify the popular Abu-Ismail from running for president because electoral rules bar candidates with a parent who holds citizenship in any other country even if both parents are also citizens of Egypt.