Megahed says he's eager to become a U.S. citizen

Even though Youssef Megahed had a bad experience with the U.S. government, he says he is willing to take up arms to defend the country if necessary.

For two years, Megahed was either facing federal criminal charges or deportation, after his August 2007 arrest in South Carolina. When he was picked up, he was with a friend, Ahmed Mohamed, who later pleaded guilty to helping terrorists.

Much of the two years, Megahed was behind bars - in the Hillsborough County Orient Road Jail and later, at immigration detention facilities.

"The whole experience was not the best experience," he said. Megahed said he felt like he was being discriminated against because he is from Egypt.

A federal jury acquitted him of explosives charges, and an immigration judge concluded the FBI had found no evidence linking him to terrorism.

After he was freed for good, Megahed had to catch up.

For one thing, he returned to the University of South Florida. He had been scheduled to graduate with an engineering degree in December 2007, five months after his arrest. When he was re-admitted, his classmates had already graduated and were working in their field.

By the time he graduated in December 2009, the economy had tanked, and finding work was not so easy, he said. But he eventually landed a job at a small company he didn't want to identify.

Also, while he was incarcerated, his entire family became U.S. citizens. He had applied for citizenship about two weeks before his arrest, so his application was never fully processed.

After his release in August, he and his lawyer, Charles Kuck, tried, without success, to revive the application.

"It's been a long time," Megahed said today. "I kept working on my application. I think the government is biased. They gave me a hard time getting my papers."

On Wednesday, Megahed sued the government, asking a judge to make officials act on his citizenship petition.

Megahed said he wants to become a citizen "so I can continue living here, being treated like everyone else in this country. My career is in this country....I think it's a good place for opportunity. A person can enhance his career and education."

His feelings about the government, he said, are separate from his feelings about the American people, and life in this country. "It's different living here," he said.

Megahed said he's cautious now about the sites he visits online. The information used against him in court included logs of his mostly fleeting visits to jihadi web sites and violent videos he downloaded, depicting attacks on U.S. and coalition forces.

"I think I'm being more careful," he said.

Still, he said, "I feel free again."