SAN JOSE (KCBS/AP)  -- Until he was granted asylum in July, Haitham Jasim feared he would be killed because of his work as an engineer and translator for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

He now lives in West San Jose with his 32-year-old wife and their two children. Her career as an attorney is on hold because she cannot speak English.

  KCBS' Mike Colgan reports

Jasim said he is grateful to be in a safe place, and optimistic that he will eventually find work. “Nobody should be discouraged. Looking for a job takes a while, takes time,” he told KCBS reporter Mike Colgan.

The Bush administration, after much criticism for not allowing enough Iraqi refugees into the country, now has a goal of accepting 12,000 Iraqi’s for asylum by the end of September.

State department figures show 2,183 Iraqi refugees entered the country last month, compared to a record-setting 2,352 in July.

In all, some 10,998 have been allowed into the U.S. since last October.