News & Views

IIC Welcomes the Easing of Immigration Rules for Iranian Travelers to the US

Washington DC, August 9, 1998 -- Iranians for International Cooperation (IIC), a not-for-profit network of concerned global citizens who strive to facilitate friendship between Iran and other nations of the world, applaud the US Department of Justice gesture of goodwill towards Iranian travelers.

IIC has addressed Secretary Albright and Attorney General Janet Reno on numerous occasions, urging them to change these procedures. We are happy to see that our calls have been answered, but further changes to these procedures are still needed.

In a little-noticed regulation published on July 17 in the Federal Register, Attorney General Janet Reno, who oversees immigration procedures, allowed exemptions for "certain nonimmigrants" from Iran "when such action is deemed to be in the interest of foreign policy or national security." This modifies a 1991 policy that required immigration officers to fingerprint first-time visitors from Iran and three other countries that the U.S. government accuses of supporting terrorism. This move is an indication of a genuine willingness from the US administration to improve ties with the Iranian people and to facilitate these people-to-people contacts. According to a US official, the new policy "stems from a desire to be courteous to Iranian people and was formulated after Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright intervened personally with Reno."

Although this and a previously announced, more streamlined procedure for issuing visas to Iranians who travel to the United States frequently are very much welcomed, measures must also be taken to end the discrimination against Iranian students continuing post-graduate studies in the US. A new interpretation of President Clinton's executive order and Senator D'Amato's ILSA act puts Iranian students planning to pursue graduate degrees in the US at a disadvantage since no form of financial aid can be offered to these students whilst students from all other countries continue to be eligible for such assistantships. Additionally, prospective students with Iranian addresses can not even register to take the GRE or TOEFL exams--effectively excluding them from the new cultural and educational exchanges which both countries claim to favor.

Hopefully, the July 17 decision to change visa procedures will be followed by further steps to end discrimination against Iranians.

Contact:

Trita Parsi, Chairman, chair@iic.org
Ramin Farjad-Rad, PR Officer, public_relations@iic.org

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