THE CLEARLY UNEVEN VETTING OF U.S. VISA APPLICANTS FROM IRAN

Roujin Mozaffarimehr and Ally Bolour, Nov 11, 2022

"More than 40 days have passed since the protests began in Iran in response to the murder of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini was killed on September 16, 2022 by Iran’s morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.  The passing of forty days is significant in Iranian culture and in Islam: the “chehelom,” or 40^th day, marks the date of remembrance after someone’s death.  Videos and reports of protests across Iran to mark the “chehelom” continue to demonstrate that the Iranian people have had enough. Vice President Kamala Harris joined many others in voicing support for the protesters and calling for change. ... Injustice will continue until the U.S. fully reviews its vetting processes for Iranian nationals and gets it right – find a balance between letting the family members of clearly identifiable terrorists into the U.S. and ensuring that regular Iranian people have an option to come to the U.S. These sanctions must be seen to actually impact those who SHOULD be held to account, not those innocents caught in the middle. The Iranian people deserve better."

Roujin Mozaffarimehr is a Managing Partner at ImmiCore Law, PLC and is currently Chair of the AILA Business Section Steering Committee. Ally Bolour is an immigration attorney based in Los Angeles, CA; his practice covers a wide range of immigration law and policy, including asylum, family, and business cases. He is a member of the AILA Board of Governors.