A UCF student from Iran left in limbo by President Donald Trump’s travel ban returned to Central Florida on Monday, after being stranded for two weeks in his home country.
“If I couldn’t come back, three years of my life would be wasted,” said Ph.D candidate Mahmoud Shirazi after clearing Customs at Orlando International Airport. “It [would’ve] been so bad for me if I couldn’t come back.”
His older brother Mojtaba Shirazi, also seeking a Ph.D from UCF, was at the airport waiting with three sunflowers to greet his brother, whose flight on Emirates landed just before 10 a.m. from Dubai.
It was the first time the brothers, who live and study together at UCF, had seen each other since December. That’s when Mojtaba was allowed to fly back to Orlando, while Mahmoud, 29, still awaited clearance to travel. The brothers flew to Iran last summer, for what was supposed to be a brief trip to visit their ailing father.
When it was time to return to the United States, they had to renew their visas, which proved to be a drawn-out process. Mahmoud received the OK from the U.S. government for a new visa on Jan. 25, and prepared to return to school.
Two days later, President Donald Trump enacted an executive order banning travel and immigration.
The ban led to travelers being detained in airports around the nation, and others were deported. Mahmoud and others were unable to return to the United States from overseas.
The order banned travel and immigration from citizens of Syria, Somali, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Libya. However, it was halted after judges in Washington and Minnesota ruled that it was too overreaching and was based on religious discrimination.
The ruling was appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sided with the states Thursday.
That cleared the way for Mahmoud to receive a green card and return to the U.S.
“I was in stress for two weeks,” Mahmoud Shirazi said. “I feel good that the courts blocked that executive order, and I can arrive in the United States and continue my studies and research.”
The brothers moved to Orlando together three years ago to pursue doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from UCF. They both applied to several universities in the United States, but UCF was the only institution to accept both of them. The Shirazis receive financial aid from the school.
The offices of U.S. Reps. Stephanie Murphy, D-Winter Park, and Darren Soto, D-Orlando, worked on getting Mahmoud Shirazi back to UCF. Soto’s district director Alex Barrio was at the airport Monday in case Mahmoud had any issues with customs or security. He didn’t have any.
“This is what a congressional office should be doing,” Barrio said. “When people bring us problems and issues it’s really good to see us really work hard and resolve them.”
Mojtaba said it was difficult for him to focus on his own research, knowing his brother was working to keep up from their family’s home in Shiraz, Iran.
With his brother back in Orlando, they hope to complete their studies in about a year.
“It was very hard,” Mojtaba Shirazi said. “He’s exhausted, so he needs to rest … all of my friends were waiting for this moment. Tonight or tomorrow we’re going to get together and celebrate this.”
Barrio said he was thankful the situation was resolved quickly because immigration issues sometimes can take months.
“These are exactly the kind of people we want in our country,” Barrio said. “To try and build a wall and say because these people are from a certain country or ethnicity they aren’t welcome here, neglects the contributions they can bring … these are good people and are the kind of immigrants we want.”
Officials from UCF could not be reached for comment.
You can email Ryan at rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com, follow him on Twitter @byryangillespie and follow his coverage on Facebook @byryangillespie.
Brother of UCF Ph.D. student stuck in Iran: ‘This is not the solution’ »
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