- 15 April 2010
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- 6 Comments
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- Immigration Policy, Iranian American activism, Legislative Agenda
Tell President Obama to Fix the Single-Entry Visa Policy for Iranian Students in the US
15 April 2010 Posted By David Elliott
So many Iranian Americans began their journey in the U.S. as students, but now that path is becoming increasingly closed. Not only is it more difficult for Iranians to obtain visas to study in the U.S., but Iranian students are only eligible for single-entry visas.
This means that Iranians studying in the U.S. cannot visit their family or travel abroad without losing their student visa. Even in emergencies—such as if a family member falls ill—or academic opportunities—such as an international conference—Iranian students who leave the U.S. cannot come back unless they start the entire application process over again and obtain a brand new visa.
President Obama stated in his recent Norooz message that he is “committed to increasing opportunities for educational exchanges so that Iranian students can come to our colleges and universities.”
We should thank the President for this commitment, but we must also take this opportunity to say: Mr. President, please fix the “single-entry only” student visa policy that unnecessarily burdens all Iranians studying in the U.S.
6 Responses to “Tell President Obama to Fix the Single-Entry Visa Policy for Iranian Students in the US”
Thanks David. I took advantage of the convenient form, and added that:
– I voted for Mr. President.
– I urged him not to pursue sanctions and promote peace.
– I urged him to accept the the Iranian TRR counteroffer by swapping LEU on Iranian soil.
Please Fix the Single-Entry Visa Policy for Iranian Students in the US.
Thanks a lot for bringing attention to this issue. It’s an important issue that many Iranians are grappling with one way or another.
It would be great if you could provide a counter functionality which would tell visitors how many people have submitted the letter so far.
My personal feeling, from seeing this getting posted and re-posted many times on facebook is that its mobilizing a lot of Iranian students. It would also be great if you could let us know whether NIAC is pursing this issue through any other means and if it has any “bigger plan” in place for working towards this goal.
Thanks a lot
Foruhar,
I can let you know that, within the first three days of this alert going up on our website, we had over 1500 people send letters to President Obama!
And NIAC’s policy team is working with both House and Senate offices to raise awareness of this issue and offer a solution that fits together with President Obama’s vision for expanding educational exchanges for Iranian students. We’ll have more to report as things move forward, but know that we’ve already gotten the attention of Congressional leaders, State Department officials and others in the Obama administration.
So for now, keep doing what you’re doing!
How many signature have you collected so far? what’s your next move?
Ok and would the iranian people ask there president to give more access to americans into iran and to stop harassing us! I think it shud be the same for the iranian people here in the u.s as it is for americans in iran….. If an american student in iran leave to come back to the u.s for emergency what wud happend? Heck there are some places in iran that are not safe for americans i waunder how does the iranian people feel about that?