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Of 45,000 Iranians who applied for a visa waiver between January 2017 and July 2020, only 7,000 were granted visas, according to the State Department. “The impact has been widespread – financial, emotional, educational, professional, romantic,” said Reza Mazaheri, a New York-based immigration lawyer who represents many Iranians.
For others, the ban is a closed and tragic chapter.
Mohamed Abdelrahman, a Libyan businessman, believed he hit the jackpot in 2017 by winning a green card lottery, providing an escape route for a country in chaos, his nephew, Mohamed Al-Sheikh, said.
But Trump’s ban forced Abdelrahman to delay and, before he could leave Libya, he suffered a stroke and died.
If there had been no ban, “his life could have been completely different,” said Mr. al-Sheikh, 34, speaking by phone from Tripoli. “He just needed a stable place to live for the rest of his life.
Reporting was provided by Farnaz Fassihi of New York; Vivian Yee from Cairo; Ben Hubbard and Hwaida Saad from Beirut, Lebanon; Abdi Latif Dahir from Nairobi, Kenya; Ruth MacLean from Dakar, Senegal; Mohammed Abdusamee of Tripoli, Libya; Hannah Beech from Bangkok; and Saw Nang from Yangon, Myanmar.
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