NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - On April 29, as reward for his bravery in helping U.S. troops rescue captured Pfc. Jessica Lynch from a Nasiriya hospital, Iraqi lawyer Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief was granted asylum in the United States. Now, barely two weeks after arriving in America, he's cashing in.

The New York Times reported Friday that al-Rehaief has signed a contract with HarperCollins Publishers to tell his side of the Lynch rescue tale. The deal includes a reported $500,000 advance for a book to be written with co-author Jeff Coplon.

HarperCollins has given the book the working title: "Rescue in Nasiriya: The Untold Story of American P.O.W. Jessica Lynch's Harrowing Ordeal and the Iraqi Who Risked Everything to Save Her," according to the Times. Because Lynch remembers little of her capture and hospitalization, researchers will fill in the gaps of al-Rehaief's knowledge.

The Iraqi decided to save Lynch after seeing her being slapped by her captors in the hospital where Lynch was being held.

For al-Rehaief, 33, the windfall represents the latest in a round of good news since the war. Besides getting asylum for himself, his wife and 5-year-old daughter, al-Rehaief has been hired by Washington-based Livingston Group, a well-connected Republican lobbying firm headed by former congressional leader Robert Livingston.