(CNN) -- A 19-year-old American Muslim detained and questioned in Kuwait is suing the U.S. government, claiming it is refusing to let him fly home because he is on a "no-fly" list. Stuck in limbo between the country he calls home and the place he was visiting on what his lawyer describes as a journey of self-discovery, Gulet Mohamed of Alexandria, Virginia, has been trapped in Kuwait for nearly a month, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Virginia. "No-fly" lists were set up to protect Americans against potential threats. They are designed to prevent terrorist suspects from boarding planes to and from the United States.
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Gulet Mohamed, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is on a "no-fly" list and cannot fly home
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He says he was departing Kuwait after a visit when he was held and questioned
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His interrogators knew details about his family in the United States, he says
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Mohamed filed suit, claiming the U.S. is refusing to let him return home
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Mohamed's lawyers told CNN that at the suggestion of  Kuwaiti officials, his family recently bought a plane ticket for him to return to the @placeholder.