Mar 26, 2007 12:56 pm US/Mountain
Jordanian Man Wins Lawsuit, Close To Citizenship
by Raj Chohan
DENVER (CBS4) ―
A Jordanian man hopes to become a U.S. citizen within the next 45 days after winning a lawsuit against the federal government. The case from the U.S. 10th Circuit now serves as a precedent for other people hoping to gain citizenship.
Zuhair Mahd, is a blind IT specialist who has been living in the U.S. for about 17 years. The Muslim moved to America when he was in High School and applied for citizenship in 2004.
He quickly found his application caught in a bureaucratic logjam.
"I think initially there is a fair amount of hesitation based on the fact that the vast majority of applicants including myself were born in a country where the perception is people from that country are suspicious," said Mahd.
He took the matter into his own hands. Acting as his own attorney, he sued the federal government and won.
"The judge found the government in violation of the federal law, of its own regulations and of its interpretation there of," Mahd said.
The judge ruled that the government had 45 days to resolve his case. Mahd has a meeting on Thursday, when he hopes to learn he'll have citizenship soon.
He plans to move to Washington, D.C. after that and continue his computer business.
Mahd works with companies to implement adaptive computer technology for visually impaired people.
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