Green Card Nightmare: Doctor's Application Rejected, Blames Trump's Immigration Policies

An Iranian doctor claims her green card application was rejected by the U.S. government due to her insistence on receiving answers regarding her case. Dr. Zahra Shokri Varniab is among the individuals affected by a Trump administration policy that paused application reviews for people from specific high-risk nations. In January, the State Department ceased processing immigrant visas for citizens from 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Russia, and Somalia, due to concerns about potential reliance on public assistance. However, the Trump administration quietly exempted physicians with pending visa or green card applications from this suspension last week. This decision followed numerous lawsuits from immigrants seeking resolutions to their cases. Dr. Shokri Varniab, who arrived in the United States three years ago for radiology research, is one such example. Her situation highlights the complexities and frustrations many immigrants face navigating the evolving U.S. immigration policies. Before the exemption, several immigrants filed federal lawsuits to compel the government to make decisions on their applications. Varniab, who came to the U.S. for radiology research, experienced delays with her green card application. She filed a lawsuit seeking a decision and a judge ordered immigration officials to review her case. Although she received an answer on February 20, her green card application was promptly denied. The 33-year-old doctor believes this was retaliation for her