Jazz forward Kirilenko becomes US citizen

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko still has the Russian accent though he sounded like an American citizen Wednesday talking about taxes.

Kirilenko and his wife, Masha, both passed the citizenship tests and were sworn in as U.S. citizens Monday afternoon.

Their two sons, both born in the U.S., now are citizens as well. He said their young daughter, adopted in Russia, still has visa issues because she was born in Russia.

He said she has been able to stay in the U.S. only six months at a time and will return to Russia in a month.