In our last class we were made aware of an Iranian woman who was turned away from entering the United States due to the simple fact she was born in Iran. A New York Times article reveals that the BBC journalist, Rana Rahimpour, is a dual citizen of both Britain and Iran and thus according to new visa rules was not permitted entry to the Untied States.
While visa restrictions are targeted towards associates or members of the Islamic State, and although Ms. Rahimpour has not been to Iran in years and verified her ability to travel using a visa waiver awarded to British citizens, she was denied only once she reached the airport. There appeared to be some confusion regarding when the new visa restrictions start, but when Mr.Rahimpour contacted various Embassy’s there did not seem to be an issue. It is startling to see that dual citizens of a European Union nation who are also from Iran, Iraq, Syira or Sudan are not permitted to enter the United States. Even though the new travel rules are not supposed to have an effect on visits to these countries based on tourism or business, there are clearly some issues with this new policy.
This is a youtube link of Ms.Rahimpour explaining her experience.
