COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Rifqa Bary, the teenager who ran away from her Muslim parents in Ohio after becoming a Christian, has received a green card, her lawyer says.
Bary became an adult illegal immigrant when she turned 18. Kort Gatterdam, a member of her legal team, said she was granted permanent U.S. residency last week, The Columbus Dispatch reported.
With the green card, Bary can work, apply to colleges and receive student aid. In five years she will be able to apply for citizenship.
Bary became nationally known when she sought shelter with a Florida couple, both Christian pastors, she had met online. She said she feared her father would kill her for converting.
Courts ordered her to return to Columbus, but she lived with a foster family instead of reuniting with her parents.
Omar Tarazi, a lawyer who represented the parents, sued a Florida lawyer and a blogger. In legal papers filed in federal court in Columbus, Tarazi said John Stemberger, who practices in Orlando, and Pamela Oshry falsely asserted he was being paid by a group with terrorist ties and that he was not qualified as a lawyer.
