DISCLAIMER

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PETITION IS TO SOLELY REPRESENT THE DIRE SITUATION OF IRANIAN STUDENTS WHO ARE WAITING FOR AN APPROPRIATE APPOINTMENT FOR A U.S. STUDENT VISA TO ATTEND THEIR UNIVERSITIES INSIDE THE UNITED STATES (CAUSED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC).

NO POLITICAL OR OTHER PURPOSES ARE BEING FOLLOWED. ANY MISUNDERSTANDING OR MISCONCEPTION OF THIS PETITION BY NEWS MEDIA OR OTHER ENTITIES AND INDIVIDUALS IS ON THEIR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.

THE ADDRESSEES OF THIS PETITION ARE U.S. OFFICIALS AND RELEVANT DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR INTERVIEW APPOINTMENTS.

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Dear Sir / Madam

As you are probably aware, there are no US embassies in Iran. Therefore, Iranian students have always had a hard time getting their visas, having to travel to neighboring countries for their interviews. Upon the advice of the U.S. Department of state, Iranian residents should schedule their appointments in US embassies in Yerevan, Ankara, and Dubai. Sadly, however, since these embassies are not providing enough interview dates due to the COVID pandemic, the process of getting Visas for Iranian students has become even more difficult these past couple of years. Many of the Iranian students, who have worked really hard to get admission from the most prestigious universities of the US, are now losing their admission and funding opportunities, due to the fact that they cannot schedule a visa appointment in time. We, the Iranian students' community, respectfully request that the US embassies provide more interview dates for us.

The US embassy in Yerevan has only scheduled a limited number of appointments in 2022 for Iranian residents in the past year which were too late for the Fall 2021 semester. Most of us had to ask the embassy to expedite our interview appointments, but even the expedited dates are not appropriate for the Fall semester (Most of them are in September and October, while August probably has free days). The embassy in Ankara is no longer accepting any Iranian residents for more than a year, and the US embassy in Dubai has been scheduling the interview dates for Iranian students for after October 2021, which is also too late for Fall 2021 and even Spring 2022 semesters and does not approve any expedite request. It is worth mentioning that Iranian students have contacted many US embassies in other countries during this time, but they also do not accept Iranian students, or even if they do, processing Visa applications in these embassies usually take a very long time, costing the students their opportunities.

That said, we would really appreciate it if the US embassies, especially, the embassies in Yerevan, Ankara, and Dubai understand our concerns and help us to reach our classes on time in the Fall and Spring by providing more interview slots at an appropriate time. It also should be noted that most of us do not have any alternative option except attending our classes in the Fall, since we have already deferred our admission for more than a year. Failing to schedule a Visa appointment will probably mean losing our admissions and funds. Furthermore, Online choice is not an option for Iranian residents.

Respectfully