Iranian pupil to self-deport despite dropped charge
Alireza Doroudi with his fiancee. He was detained by immigration officials in March and was held at a facility in Louisiana for six weeks. His visa was revoked in June 2023 (AP photo)
MONTGOMERY : An Iranian mechanical engineering student at
University of Alabama
has decided to self-deport after six weeks in a Louisiana detention centre despite govt dropping a charge behind his initial arrest, his lawyer and fiancee said.
Alireza Doroudi
was detained by immigration officials in March and has been held at a facility in Louisiana, over 300 miles from where he lived with his fiancee in Alabama. At the time, the state department said Doroudi posed "significant national security concerns." Doroudi's lawyer, David Rozas, said govt hasn't offered evidence to support the claim. Doroudi's visa was revoked in June 2023. Officials did not give a reason and ignored numerous inquiries, his fiancee,
Sama Ebrahimi Bajgani
, said.
Operation Sindoor
India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan
India-Pakistan tensions: Delhi airport issues travel advisory
Operation Sindoor: Multiple explosions heard at several Pakistan air bases
The university told Doroudi he was legally allowed to stay but would not be allowed to re-enter if he left. This spring, govt filed two charges against Doroudi to justify deporting him, saying his visa was revoked and he was not "in status" as a student, Rozas said.
On Thursday, a govt attorney withdrew the first of those and said the
visa revocation
was "prudential", meaning it would not go into effect until after he leaves the country. A state department spokesperson declined to comment on the case, including Rozas' characterisation of the initial arrest as an error.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Google Brain Co-Founder Andrew Ng, Recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around
Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List
Undo
The judge in the case gave both sides until the end of May to refile motions and denied Doroudi's plea to redetermine eligibility for bond. Doroudi decided to give up rather than continue to fight deportation.
"He told me if they let him go out, there was a good chance he would have fought his case for the sake of other students and for the sake of himself," Bajgani said. She echoed Rozas' confusion about why Doroudi was targeted, saying he had no criminal record, entered the US legally and was not politically outspoken like others who have been targeted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Indian students among those hit as Canada clamps down on dummy visa extensions
To prevent misuse of visa extensions, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has changed rules around 'maintained status' for temporary residents. The update targets the growing trend of 'dummy extension' applications submitted to prolong legal stay in Canada without genuine eligibility, according to a report by Lubna Kably in the Times of India. Under the new guidelines, if a temporary resident submits a second application for an extension while already on maintained status, and the first application is later rejected, the second application will not preserve their legal stay. It will be returned and denied. Earlier, such second applications could help maintain legal status, though without allowing work or study rights. 'Under the revised guidelines, if a temporary resident with 'maintained status' submits a second application to extend their stay and their initial application is rejected, the second application will not preserve their legal status in Canada. Instead, it will be denied and returned,' said Kubeir Kamal, a regulated Canadian immigration consultant to TOI. 'This represents a change from prior rules, where a second application could still uphold legal residency, despite a first refusal, though it did not permit work or study rights.' Play Video Pause Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded : 0% 0:00 Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off , selected Captions captions settings , opens captions settings dialog captions off , selected Audio Track default , selected Picture-in-Picture Fullscreen This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Text Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Caption Area Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Opacity Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Drop shadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Top 5 Dividend Stocks for May 2025 Seeking Alpha Read Now Undo As per Lubna's report, maintained status, earlier known as implied status, allows a foreign national to stay in Canada legally under the same conditions of their expired permit, provided they applied for an extension before the original permit expired. The revised policy responds to concerns about applicants submitting ineligible extensions only to extend their stay temporarily through maintained status. (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Kamal noted that many temporary residents, including students and workers, used this route to buy time after submitting an initial extension that had little chance of approval. The new rules close this loophole. Live Events You Might Also Like: Indian diaspora to benefit as Canada proposes expansion of citizenship by descent Manish Kapoor, another regulated immigration consultant, explained the rule's impact to TOI, 'With nearly half a million work permits expiring in 2025 and with the stringent policies and rules changing every other day, it has become extremely difficult for the temporary residents to maintain their legal status in Canada. This new rule has added fuel to the fire, as it indirectly discourages submitting multiple applications for extension.' Kapoor pointed out that the policy shift is part of the government's effort to reduce the number of temporary residents in Canada to five per cent of the total population by 2027. At present, temporary residents make up 7.3 per cent of the country's 41.5 million people. The new guidelines are expected to affect Indian nationals and international students the most, as they form a large share of Canada's temporary resident population. You Might Also Like: Canada's new bill to grant citizenship to thousands of people
Time of India
18 minutes ago
- Time of India
Outside Vrindavan's Banke Bihari Temple, monkey takes away bag with Rs 20 lakh jewellery. Here's how police got it back
In the spiritual town of Vrindavan, where devotion fills the air and monkeys often roam freely, faith and chaos collided in a bizarre episode outside the revered Banke Bihari Temple. What was meant to be a peaceful visit turned into a nerve-wracking chase when a monkey snatched a handbag containing jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh from a devotee. The surreal theft highlights an all-too-familiar problem in temple towns—mischievous monkeys turning into petty criminals amid crowds of unsuspecting devotees. But how did the police recover the purse? According to the Hindustan Times, Abhishek Agarwal from Aligarh had just stepped out of the temple when the monkey made its move, grabbing the handbag from his wife and vanishing into the maze of ancient lanes. The woman had removed her jewellery and stored it in the bag for safekeeping, a precaution that backfired. How did the police recover the purse? Residents attempted to retrieve the bag but failed, prompting police intervention. Acting quickly, Banke Bihari outpost in-charge Prashant Kapil launched a search operation. CCTV footage and field tracking eventually led officers to a bush where the bag was stashed. Fortunately, all the jewellery was found intact and returned to the relieved family. Circle officer Sandeep Kumar Singh confirmed the gravity of the incident, noting they were unable to trace the monkey. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy One, Get One Free, Up To 50% Discount, Expiring Soon Original Adidas Shop Now Undo A few years back, a viral video from Mathura showed a monkey snatching the spectacles of a District Magistrate during his visit to the Banke Bihari temple. As the DM walked through the temple premises, the monkey leapt and grabbed his glasses, leading to a chaotic scene. Police officers were seen struggling to retrieve the spectacles from the monkey.
Time of India
21 minutes ago
- Time of India
'It could have gone nuclear': Trump again claims he 'stopped India-Pakistan war'; doubles down on trade angle
US President Donald Trump (PTI photo) US President Donald Trump on Friday once again claimed that he played a key role in stopping a possible war between India and Pakistan - a conflict he said might have gone nuclear if not for his intervention. Speaking to reports on Air Force One, Trump said he used trade as a tool to get both sides to halt hostilities immediately. "You know, I did something that people don't talk about, and I don't talk about very much, but we solved a big problem, a nuclear problem potentially with India and with Pakistan. I spoke to Pakistan, I spoke to India, they have really great leaders, but they were going at it, and they could have gone at it nuclear," US President said. He explained that both countries stopped their attacks after he warned them the US would suspend trade if the fighting continued. "Both nuclear countries, strong nuclear countries, and I talked about trade and said, 'We're not doing trade if you guys are going to be throwing bombs at each other.' They both stopped, and I stopped that war immediately. It was going much further, and hopefully, it would not go to nuclear, but it might have gone to nuclear. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo In fact, it might have gone to nuclear in the next round, but we stopped it, and I'd like to commend the leaders of both countries, Pakistan and India. " Trump's version of events got a rare endorsement from Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin 's aide Yury Ushakov backed Trump's claim, saying his direct involvement helped end the conflict - something that even came up in a phone call between Trump and Putin. "The Middle East was discussed, as well as the armed conflict between India and Pakistan, which has been halted with the personal involvement of President Trump," Ushakov said. The US president's comments, however, stirred diplomatic pushback. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor , who is leading an all-party delegation to the US, said they addressed Trump's mediation claims directly with US Vice President JD Vance. "The meeting with Vice President Vance was outstanding, very good, very clear. I think we made our position amply clear on this question of mediation, and Vice President Vance fully understood our points," Tharoor said. Trump has made similar claims in the past, especially after India carried out Operation Sindoor -- precision strike on terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) on May 7, in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. India later responded to Pakistani military aggression with airbase strikes. Eventually, tensions eased after Pakistan's Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) contacted his Indian counterpart and agreed to stop further action.
