Trump administration revokes some Iranian visas and green cards

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The Trump administration revoked the green cards or U.S. visas of at least four Iranian nationals connected to Iran’s current or former government, according to the U.S. State Department. In a statement, the department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined this week that the individuals were no longer eligible for lawful permanent resident status or to enter the United States.

The latest action, the State Department said, included arrests by U.S. immigration authorities of Hamidah Soleimani Afshar and her daughter, after Rubio revoked their green cards. The statement said the two were taken into custody late Friday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and were expected to be deported.

The State Department linked the case to Afshar’s family ties to Qassem Soleimani, the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps who was killed in a U.S. airstrike near the Baghdad airport in 2020. In the statement, the department said Afshar and her daughter had been living in Los Angeles for many years while publicly supporting the Iranian government and anti-American attacks.

In an April 4 post on X, Rubio said Afshar was “an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime” who “celebrated attacks on Americans” and referred to the United States as the “Great Satan,” and he said the administration would not allow the country to become a home for foreign nationals who support “anti-American terrorist regimes.” The State Department did not provide details in the statement about any court proceedings connected to the arrests.

The department also said Afshar’s husband had been banned from entering the United States. The statement described U.S. actions as part of a broader effort to revoke legal status for individuals the department linked to Iran’s government.

The State Department said Rubio’s determinations also covered Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. The department said their visas were revoked and that neither was still in the United States.

The State Department’s disclosures also referenced an earlier round of visa restrictions affecting some people at Iran’s mission to the United Nations. In early December, the department said it revoked or declined to renew visas of several Iranian diplomats and staffers, including the deputy ambassador, and it said Friday the action began on Dec. 4 but declined to comment further for “privacy and security reasons” except to note it was not tied to either protests in Iran or the war.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations had no comment on Saturday, according to the report.