Iranian Americans in limbo, despair after new travel rules

LONG BEACH » U.S. Navy veteran Mohammed Jahanfar has traveled overseas four times in the last year to visit his Iranian fiancee, most recently hoping to complete government paperwork that would allow her to come live with him in the United States.

But the 39-year-old now fears they will be forever separated after President Donald Trump’s administration rolled out new restrictions blocking most Iranians from traveling to America. The new restrictions covering citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen — and some Venezuelan government officials and their families — are to go into effect Oct. 18.

“It is devastating,” said Jahanfar, who works as a salesman in Long Beach, California, and has lived in the United States for three decades. “There should be no reason why my fiancée, who is an educated person in Iran, who has a master’s degree, why we cannot be with each other. I cannot wrap my head around it.”

This is the Trump administration’s third measure to limit travel following a broad ban that sparked chaos at U.S. airports in January and a temporary order issued months later that was challenged in the courts and expired last weekend.

Jahanfar is among 385,000 Iranian immigrants in the United States, according to the Census Bureau, more than any of the other countries covered by the travel restrictions issued last weekend.

The U.S. has a many-layered history with Iran, a Middle Eastern ally until the pro-American shah was overthrown or haven’t taken necessary security precautions.

Iranian-American advocates said they’ve been fielding phone calls from frantic community members who fear they will remain separated from family or their dreams. Already, many Iranian visa applicants find themselves caught up in lengthy security checks, delaying their travel plans.

“People don’t know what to do,” said Ally Bolour, an immigration attorney in Los Angeles. “If you are from one of these banned countries, there is just so much going on already. This just adds another layer and people are just petrified.”

Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian American Council, said the ban seems aimed at punishing mainly Muslim countries.

AMY TAXIN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS U.S. Navy veteran Mohammed Jahanfar poses for a photo during an interview on Wednesday in Long Beach. Jahanfar is seeking a visa to bring his Iranian fiancée to live with him in California, and fears that may not be possible due to the Trump...