Iranian granted U.S. visa to aid brother with cancerMarch 30, 2018 - 10:11 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. State Department granted a visa to a man in Iran hoping to donate bone marrow to his U.S. citizen brother with blood cancer, obtaining a rare waiver to President Donald Trump’s travel ban, the family’s lawyer said on Thursday, March 29, Reuters reports. Mahsa Khanbabai, a lawyer based in Massachusetts, said she received a call on Thursday from the consulate in Yerevan, Armenia where Kamiar Hashemi had applied for a visa in February after he learned he was a rare 100 percent match for a transplant that could potentially save his brother’s life. The status of the visa application was “refused” on the Department’s website but Khanbabai said she was told on the call that a waiver had been granted, two days after Reuters first reported on the case, and that Hashemi should make arrangements to travel to Armenia to pick it up. The State Department through a spokeswoman said it was unable to comment on a specific visa case. Trump’s travel ban, which the U.S. Supreme Court allowed to go into effect on Dec. 8 after months of legal wrangling, puts permanent bars on most travelers to the United States from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as certain government officials from Venezuela. Although the ban allows for case-by-case waivers to be granted, attorneys and applicants say the process is opaque with few clear guidelines on how to apply and why waivers are, or are not, granted. Since the ban took effect, the State Department revealed more than 375 waivers have been approved, but declined to say for which countries and out of how many applications. “It’s unfortunate that so much effort had to go into getting just one, clearly urgent, visa approved,” said Khanbabai. “There are thousands of people are stuck, also with urgent cases, with no idea what is happening.” Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Macron says France commemorates 109th anniv. of Armenian genocide Today France commemorates the 109th anniversary of the Armenian genocide of 1915, Macron says. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. |