U.S. Grants Visa to Iranian-American Brother in Need of Bone Marrow Transplant

Kamyar Hashemi, an Iranian national who needed a visa to help his cancer-stricken brother, was initially blocked by Donald Trump's travel ban but has reportedly received permission to travel to the U.S. Reuters, which first reported on the difficult situation of Maziyar Hashemi, a 60-year-old engineer residing in Massachusetts, announced on Thursday, April 9, citing Mr. Hashemi's lawyer, that his brother had been granted an exceptional visa. Maziyar Hashemi, who has lived in the U.S. since the 1970s, is suffering from a 'rare type of blood cancer,' and according to doctors, the only possible treatment for him is a bone marrow transplant that he can receive from his brother. However, when Kamyar Hashemi, 57, residing in Iran, traveled to the U.S. embassy in Yerevan, Armenia, to apply for a visa last February, he was initially met with a negative response from the embassy. Donald Trump signed an executive order known as the travel ban at the beginning of his presidency, which restricts most citizens of seven countries, including Iran, from traveling to the United States unless in special circumstances. The U.S. State Department does not comment on individual cases, but it seems that this law initially prevented Maziyar Hashemi's brother from traveling to the U.S. The Trump administration argues that the travel ban is necessary to protect the U.S. and its citizens from terrorism and terrorist attacks. In contrast, critics of the travel ban argue that it is merely discriminatory against Muslims, as most countries on the travel ban list have Muslim majorities. Meanwhile, under the law, the State Department can specify exceptional cases and grant visas to individuals based on these cases, such as the need for medical treatment. Kamyar Hashemi, according to his lawyer, successfully obtained an exceptional U.S. visa to join his brother in the U.S. and donate bone marrow. Mahsa Khanbabayi, Mr. Hashemi's lawyer, told Reuters on Thursday that she received a phone call from the U.S. consulate in Yerevan stating that her client's brother could travel to the city to obtain his visa. Doctors in the U.S. have stated that the only possible treatment for Mr. Hashemi's rare cancer is likely a bone marrow transplant from his brother. After Kamyar Hashemi's initial visa application was rejected, Maziyar Hashemi decided to have his brother's bone marrow harvested through an institute and receive it in the U.S. However, this institute later informed him that U.S. sanctions even prevent the import of his brother's bone marrow into the U.S. Maziyar Hashemi told Reuters, 'Can you believe that the cells of an Iranian needed to help an American citizen are subject to sanctions?' According to the U.S. State Department, since the implementation of the travel ban law in December of last year, more than 375 exceptional visas have been issued; however, the department has not specified to which citizens these visas were granted. The department has also not disclosed the total number of rejected applications.