A deportation hearing Wednesday for 32-year-old Mosab Hassan Yousef lasted only 15 minutes. The judge ruled that Yousef can stay in the US after he passes a routine background check.

The government denied his request for asylum in February 2009, ruling that he posed a terrorist threat.

A US Department of Homeland Security attorney says she is dropping objections to asylum. Kerri Calcador gave no explanation for the government's change of heart.

Yousef, who spied for Israel for a decade and converted to Christianity, has been living in San Diego. Yousef told reporters that he hopes to become a US citizen.