ST. LOUIS
After nearly eight years in the United States and a court fight with the government, Bosnian war refugee Adila Palalija can finally call herself an American.
She is one of 34 Bosnians enjoying their first days as U.S. citizens. The group had filed a federal lawsuit in March, claiming the government was unlawfully delaying their applications to become citizens.
The Bosnians became citizens Friday during a festive ceremony at Harris-Stowe State College. The case was dismissed the same day, as lawyers said the refugees had gotten the relief they had been seeking.
“We’re celebrating, yes,” Palalija said Tuesday through a translator.
About 40,000 Bosnians settled in the St. Louis area in the 1990s, following the war in the former Yugoslavia. They were asked to wait five years before applying for citizenship, said Ann Lever, litigation director for St. Louis-based Legal Services of Eastern Missouri.
Dozens sought waivers, claiming disabilities should excuse them from taking the citizenship test in English. The waiver requests were approved, but their applications toward citizenship stalled.
