A Newark man denied citizenship due to his sacrifices to the U.S. military has had his case overturned and dream of being an American fulfilled.

Abdel Mamady served four years serving as an Army translator in places like Basra and Abu Ghraib. One requirement for citizenship mandates an immigrant must spend five years in the United States without leaving the country. Mamady's application was denied due to his being overseas.

"It's the only thing I've ever wanted," says Mamady. "I was supposed to wake up a permanent resident and have my lunch as an American. They took the single most important piece in my file, the thing I'm proudest of and turned it against me."

Perhaps even more insulting to Mamady was the fact that he went to work for the military in response to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, giving up a Wall Street job.

After sharing his story with News 12's Walt Kane, Mamady was called back to government offices to tell his tale to a supervisor. The supervisor overturned the initial decision and awarded Mamady his citizenship. Mamady is rectified and proud to be an American.

"It's the ultimate degree of freedom that you can achieve anywhere in the world, and that's how a human should live," he says. "That's how I want to live, that's how I want my children to live."