Decorated soldier awaits citizenship

KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 20 (UPI) -- A decorated U.S. soldier who was born in Iraq has filed suit in federal court intended to speed up government action on his bid to become a U.S. citizen.

Julian Polous, who was born in Mosul, Iraq, fled Saddam Hussein's army and found asylum in the United States, where he got a green card and joined the Army, the Kansas City Star reported Sunday.

Polous served an extended tour in Iraq, earning several medals, including a Purple Heart.

Still, the U.S. government says it is not ready to let him become a citizen -- his application has been caught up for more than a year in a backlog of FBI name checks, the newspaper said.

Part of the problem may be that, while his full name is Julian Petrous Polous al Matchy, he has also gone by Polous, Polous al Matchy and Polousalmatchy.

Polous served as a translator for U.S. Army Col. David Sutherland of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

Polous was "accepted better than any other interpreter by governors, tribal leaders, whomever we needed communication with," Sutherland said.

In addition to his Purple Heart, Polous earned two Army Commendation Medals, a Combat Action Badge and gold combat spurs.