A decision to move him to the United States would mark the first time a post-Sept. 11 detainee was brought before a military tribunal here and could lead to a clash with Congress, which has barred transfer to the United States of prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. No similar barrier has been enacted to prohibit the transfer of detainees from Afghanistan, largely because the question has never arisen.

But as it nears the deadline for the drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, the administration is faced with what to do with several dozen non-Afghans it retained custody of when it turned over thousands of Afghan prisoners to the Kabul authorities under an agreement signed in March. The remaining 53 third-country nationals are deemed a continuing threat to the United States, according to U.S. officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

A senior administration official declined to discuss individual cases and emphasized that no final decisions had been made on how to deal with any of the detainees. “All possible options are under consideration,” the official said.