A former Harvard security guard who won a multimillion dollar jury judgment against Harvard will remain in the country, pending an appeal of a court order that would have required him to leave the U.S. this month.

A ruling last month ordered Viatcheslav "Steve" Abramian to leave the country by Sept. 1 and denied his request for permanent residency in the U.S.

But a last minute appeal by Abramian's immigration attorney allowed him to remain in the country.

The deportation ruling might have made it difficult for Abramian to collect the damages a jury awarded him against Harvard in a civil suit.

Abramian sued Harvard alleging he was fired from his job as a University security guard in 1993 for complaining about anti-Russian slurs by co-workers. A jury decision awarded him over $1.2 million in compensatory and punitive damages on the two claims, but a portion of the case will soon be retried after a Harvard appeal.

Abramian, a Russian immigrant, applied for political asylum several years ago and was denied. But his case had not gone through the appeals process before a change in immigration law forced it back to a lower court.

Last month, Abramian's case came before federal immigration Judge Patricia Sheppard.

According to Daniel Cashman, Abramian's immigration attorney, Abramian had to prove he previously applied for asylum, had good moral character and that he would suffer hardship if he returned to his native country.