As An Iranian Couple Mourns The Loss Of Their Newborn, The Travel Ban Keeping Them Apart Adds To The Pain

Just a fewer months back, Safa Sefidgari, an Iran autochthonal and Ph.D. campaigner astatine Rutgers University, was pregnant pinch her first kid and diving heavy into her laboratory activity successful New Jersey. She had made a fewer friends, and her English improved each day. It should person been a joyful time.

At nan opening of March, alternatively of celebrating her gestation and world occurrence pinch her husband, Sefidgari went into labour astatine 30 weeks, astir 4 weeks earlier than doctors said was safe.

Her Iranian husband, Ehsan Entezari, had nary measurement to get to her — he was stuck successful Canada without a visa while Sefidgari endured a whirlwind of doctor’s visits and hospitalization alone.

A week aft birth, nan babe died. Her hubby couldn’t recreation to nan U.S. to beryllium by his wife’s side.

Standing successful their measurement is nan Trump administration’s recreation ban. Issued successful June, nan argumentation restricts introduction of citizens from definite countries, including Iran, to “protect nan United States from overseas terrorists and different nationalist information and nationalist information threats.”

Sefidgari and Entezari, some 33, past saw each different successful January. Sefidgari was capable to time off nan U.S. and return to New Jersey pinch her F-1 visa, which allows world students to participate nan U.S. to prosecute world work. But her husband, who is finishing a postdoctoral programme successful Canada, has been many times denied an F-2 visa, which applies to dependents and spouses of F-1 visa holders. Neither has applied for asylum successful nan U.S.

Without specifying a logic for nan denial, a announcement Entezari received, reviewed by NBC News, said successful part: “When determining eligibility for a visa, nan serviceman takes into information nan applicant’s full situation, including family, community, professional, and economical ties to nan applicant’s location state arsenic good arsenic anterior recreation history and immoderate ties to nan United States.”

Sefidgari and Entezari are among an untold number of Iranians ensnared successful an ever-widening migration dragnet filled pinch lawsuits, detentions and separations arsenic nan U.S. and Israel costs warfare connected Iran. Without a safe location to return to, galore specified families are stuck successful ineligible limbo while migration attorneys conflict nan Trump management successful court.

Left to grieve acold from her husband, Sefidgari said she can’t thief but wonderment whether her babe mightiness person survived had he been pinch her. Perhaps, she said, she would person been little stressed astir their ongoing separation and little anxious that nan recreation prohibition could support them isolated for respective much years.

“They don’t attraction astir people’s lives,” Sefidgari said, referring to nan Trump administration’s hard-line migration policies. “It’s conscionable truthful sad and disappointing.”

Safa Sefidgari's babe connected transportation day. A week later, nan babe died.Courtesy Safa Sefidgari

Last year, nan mates joined a group suit challenging nan administration’s recreation ban. The lawsuit, which was revenge successful December successful U.S. District Court for Massachusetts, includes dozens of Iranian plaintiffs and argues that nan prohibition shouldn’t impact reviewing and issuing student visas.

Jesse Bless, 1 of nan lawyers representing nan plaintiffs, said that while nan president has wide discretion to determine who enters nan country, nan State Department besides has discretion to reappraisal visa applications.

“Even anterior to nan recreation ban, immoderate Iranians waited years to beryllium approved,” he said, referring to F-1 and F-2 visas. “Our fearfulness is that moreover if nan recreation prohibition is lifted, it will return 2 aliases 3 much years for student visas to beryllium reviewed and processed.”

Lawyers for nan Trump management moved to disregard nan lawsuit this week.

The State Department didn’t instantly reply to a petition for comment.

Sefidgari moved to nan U.S. successful 2024 aft having secured a student visa. She received a master’s grade successful nutrition successful Tehran and is now pursuing a Ph.D. successful endocrinology and animal biosciences astatine Rutgers University.

She is studying nan narration betwixt metabolism and nan parasympathetic tense system, she said.

Ehsan Entezari and Safa Sefidgari.Courtesy Safa Sefidgari

Entezari has a master’s grade successful metals engineering and is finishing a postdoctoral programme astatine nan University of Saskatchewan, 2,000 miles and 2 clip zones distant from New Jersey.

The mates met astir 10 years agone while they were attending assemblage successful Tehran. They ever planned to prosecute precocious degrees extracurricular Iran and past settee down successful whichever state offered nan champion activity and investigation opportunities.

Sefidgari was still successful Tehran erstwhile they decided to get joined successful 2023. Entezari had moved to Mexico and past to Canada to decorativeness his studies. He returned to Iran for their wedding successful July 2023 and, successful August, applied for his F-2 spousal visa.

Sefidgari revenge her visa exertion arsenic doctoral acceptance letters poured in. Her F-1 visa process was truthful delayed that immoderate of nan 7 universities that initially accepted her threatened to reissue their offers to personification other who could judge immediately. Eventually Sefidgari was granted a student visa and began her Ph.D. programme astatine Rutgers University successful autumn 2024.

Meanwhile, Entezari’s F-2 exertion appeared to participate its last reappraisal stages.

“We were truthful happy. We thought he would person his visa and we would beryllium together again,” she said.

Instead, Donald Trump sewage elected president. “The embassy went quiet,” Sefidgari said.

In September 2024, Entezari received a rejection announcement from nan Department of Homeland Security, according to emailed documents reviewed by NBC News. The email highlights that applicants must show “they person nan intent, means, and expertise to complete a people of study successful nan United States.” It says that while nan determination can’t beryllium appealed, applicants tin reapply.

“We couldn’t understand what happened,” Sefidgari said, adding that her hubby was seeking not an F-1 visa but alternatively an F-2 visa for spouses of world students.

Entezari applied again, this clip from Canada, wherever he had started a postdoctoral programme while Sefidgari vanished her first twelvemonth astatine Rutgers. By that point, Trump’s 2nd word was good underway, and nan recreation prohibition went into effect.

Two months later, successful August, Entezari sewage different rejection, according to documents shared pinch NBC News. The announcement cited Trump’s recreation prohibition arsenic a reason, according to documents reviewed by NBC News.

Sefidgari was already pregnant and felt “completely hopeless” aft a 2nd denial.

Entezari said they tried everything they could deliberation of, including appealing to nan agency of Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

“This prolonged separation from my woman has contributed to ongoing struggles pinch stress, worry and depression,” he wrote successful an email to Booker’s agency shared pinch NBC News. “My spouse and I are doing our champion to stay patient, but nan uncertainty is becoming progressively difficult to endure.”

He said past week: “Nobody has been capable to thief us. I cannot spell to USA to spot my wife, and she can’t travel to Canada successful her condition.”

Booker described nan recreation prohibition successful a connection arsenic “reckless and discriminatory.” He added, “Indiscriminately closing our doors to group fleeing unit and instability, preventing U.S. citizens from reuniting pinch their families, aliases singling retired group simply because of nan state successful which they were calved is antithetical to our nation’s astir basal values.”

Booker’s agency has precocious made interaction pinch Entezari.

Alone, Sefidgari is juggling her Ph.D. programme while mourning nan nonaccomplishment of her babe and nan forced separation from nan 1 personification champion capable to thief her.

“After each that’s happened, I person bad memories of New Jersey. But it’s besides wherever my babe will beryllium buried,” she said done dense emotion.

Safa Sefidgari's baby's footprints.Courtesy Safa Sefidgari

Her visa is up for renewal successful June, she said, and her programme isn’t scheduled to extremity until 2029. Deciding whether to enactment successful New Jersey aliases transportation is excessively overwhelming correct now — she is conscionable trying to get done her baby’s ceremonial successful nan coming days.

Entezari won’t beryllium capable to attend, nan mates said. That realization causes him to up and down betwixt sadness and fury.

“She faced a medically vulnerable gestation wholly alone, without her hubby aliases adjacent family support,” he said. “She has had to strengthen delivery, condolences and terrible psychological trauma. Why?”

The mates tin only hold and spot whether nan U.S tribunal strategy will let them to beryllium together. In nan meantime, Sefidgari said, she has a mini group of friends successful her programme who person acted arsenic surrogates during this achy time. They visited her astatine nan infirmary and slept complete astatine her location erstwhile she was excessively vulnerable to beryllium alone, and they occasionally coax her retired to meal aliases luncheon erstwhile she feels up for it.

But nights measurement heavy connected her, she said. She’s anxious overmuch of nan clip and can’t slumber well.

Sefidgari visited nan Pakistani Embassy successful Washington this week to renew her Iranian passport. Asked whether she’s worried she mightiness beryllium rejected aliases look an unforeseen hiccup, she pauses and sighs.

“Everything has been difficult since I came here,” she said. “I don’t cognize what to expect.”