Iranian Students' U.S. Visa

We, a group of Iranian students and researchers admitted to US universities as graduate students or research scholars, have applied for F and J visa types to the Embassies of the United States of America but are stuck in Administrative Processing. We would like to kindly ask for your assistance to speed up the process as the hard deadlines of our programs' enrollment are fast approaching.

    We fully understand that national security is of vital importance for the US, but currently, the Administrative Processing for most Iranian students takes several months. For instance, some of us have been waiting for more than seven months, and there is no indication of how many more months this process would last. Consequently, many of us might lose our chances to attend the student orientation and preparation sessions on the date specified by the I-20 or DS2019 forms. We are wondering that we may not be able to arrive on time for our check-in processes in our universities, or even worse, may lose our admissions and scholarships. Since most of us have already deferred for one or two times, there is a possibility that our admissions be revoked.

    In addition, there are some returning students among us who want to come back to their universities to continue their studies and finish their programs. Similarly, they have been waiting for their visas to be approved for a long time. If they don't find the chance to return to the US, all their hard work until now will be worthless. As you can see, this lengthy process has caused uncertainty. The uncertainty has led to tremendous suffers and distress in our personal and professional lives and also has made planning for the future almost impossible. Honestly, we all put our lives on hold and waiting to see when this frustrating process finally will be finished.

    Also, there are several dependent applicants (F2&J2) which their spouses are studying in the US, and they are waiting for completing the visa process for more than eight months. Some of them live with their parents and resigned from their job after the visa interview since the embassy had mentioned it may take up to 6 weeks, but they are waiting for a long time. So, this situation is insufferable for them. As you know, Family is important because it provides love, support, and a framework of values to each of its members, and it is very difficult that a family lives separate. Unfortunately, this delay affects their private lives and the progress of education.

    We are aware of the political issues between our countries, and we hope these will be resolved in the near future. But we are just some ordinary people seeking higher education in the US. Your great country, "the land of the free, and the home of the brave", has welcomed several Iranian students for many years, and we are truly grateful for that. In return, Iranian scientists have been a major boon from Mars exploration to Ebola-fighting to advanced mathematics. We hope we could have the chance to travel to the US and start our courses. This opportunity will definitely help us to boost our knowledge and learn more about the United States of America and its great people. Then as we are back to Iran, we could be the messenger of freedom and peace and bring two nations closer together.

Please do not hesitate to contact any of us should any additional information is required.

Sincerely,

A group of Iranian F and J Visa applicants