Country Focus: Iran, Islamic Republic of

John Khosravi, Esq., Info@JQKLaw.com

Every country and Nationality has its own special immigration processing quirks that we get accustomed to (or catch) through experience. One of the most distinctive countries immigration lawyers have to deal with is Iran.

Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Iran have been cut off. This creates a significant headache for Consular Processing. The lack of a US Embassy in Iran means that Immigrant Visa applicants from that country have to travel to Yerevan, Armenia, Ankara, Turkey, or Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. for processing. These neighboring countries: (1) have limited Farsi speaking Consular Officers, causing increased delays for Iranian IV Applicant Appointments and (2) have their own security and political issues that can stop Iranians from coming or lead to Embassy shutdowns.

When asked which Embassy to choose, my frequent response is the least expensive one for the Applicant to travel to or whichever one would also double as a vacation. There is no "best" option.

Add to this the myriad of Travel Bans imposed on Iranians. The removal of the “Muslim Ban” does not relieve those who have visited Iran in the last 2 weeks from the Covid-19 Ban. Moreover, even before former President Trump, Iranian applicants would frequently have to undergo Administrative Processing, which could take years to complete in many cases. Filing a Federal lawsuit for the delays is not uncommon.

I say all this to save you a lot of headaches: in an initial consultation with an Iranian Applicant, set clear expectations about the timelines (meaning there are no timelines). They should also expect random new laws and political machinations causing delays and denials.

In January 2020, the previous administration suddenly denied Immigrant Visa Applicants who were conscripted to serve in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC or Sepah). These cases were approved without issue up to that point. Soon after this began, Embassies started to shut down due to the pandemic, so we don’t have updates on whether this situation continues.

Delays are not just at the Embassy. From my own anecdotal experience, I frequently see a few additional months of Naturalization processing time for Iranian N-400 applications.

Finally, Iran is under one of the strictest embargoes in history. As part of that, no direct banking relationship exists between the two countries, and some transactions coming from Iran can be sanctions violations, policed under the Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC). Practitioners should consult with OFAC Counsel, or recommend clients do that before obtaining U.S. Status. Some transactions to the U. S. are permitted for Non-U.S. Persons. So financial transfers before getting status may be appropriate.

Civil Documents

• Birth Certificates: The Iranian Birth Certificate is called a “Shenasnameh” and is a booklet that can include the names of Children and Spouses. If lost, a replacement version called “Al Mosanna” can be obtained.

• Marriage Certificates: Called an “Aghd Nameh,” it is a dozen page agreement between a couple. Uploading this document with translation to the National Visa Center’s CEAC portal can be difficult to their file size limitation.

• Police Certificates: not required from Iran.

• Military Records: The first thing you should bring up with clients is their military service. o Was it with the IRGC (Sepah)? o Did they have a Waiver of Service? If so, get the documentation of it. Most will have records of military service, normally a plastic card with a chip in it that specifies the military service or that it was waived, though it doesn’t always list the military branch they served in. Some people who left Iran, such as students before the conscription age, should have some paperwork stating that they could delay conscription until their education is over.

• Visa Reciprocity:

o B-1/B-2 visas are valid for 3 months and only single entry!

o The E-Visa Treaty with Iran was signed in 1955 and used frequently by Iranian Nationals until the Trump Administration ended the Agreement.

o Due to the illegality of many types of commercial trade relationships between the U.S. and Iran, L-Visas for qualifying entities in Iran is very difficult too.

• Investor cases: For EB-5 cases (now that E-2s have ended), a never-ending headache is the Source of Funds. (1) being able to document where the money was earned is very difficult and frequently impossible, and (2) tracing the funds from Iran to the U.S. account is very difficult to document, as direct banking relationships don’t exist and middlemen frequently do not provide documentation or provide incomplete documents.

• Finally, Iranians have been frequently requestors of Asylum status in the U.S. due to the discrimination against converts, LGBTQ+ groups, political pressures, and more. So, these types of cases are frequent.

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Not intended for individual legal guidance. Consult with an attorney.