Mohammed Al Zabidi celebrated in 2017 when he learned that he had been selected in the US Green Card Lottery, which picks people at random from a large group of applicants. It was a chance to escape his war-torn Yemen homeland and pursue his dreams in the United States.
“I won! I won!” Al Zabidi cheered. He borrowed money to finance his trip, bought clothes for his new life in America and packed souvenirs for friends there. Without a US embassy in Yemen, he made a grueling trip to Djibouti for his visa interview.
But there, after it was initially approved, his fortune ran out: “CANCELED WITHOUT PREJUDICE,” he read the bold, black, capitalized stamp on his unused visa in his passport, with the Trump administration’s travel ban on several nations with a majority. Muslim, including his own, in his place.
“It simply came to my notice then. … My mother cried; that saddened me the most, “he said.
President Joe Biden’s repeal of the Inauguration Day ban brought a sigh of relief from citizens of the countries covered by the measure. But in the midst of the holidays there are stories of broken dreams, separated families, exhausted savings and missed landmarks, from births to graduations. And for some, there are concerns about whether their opportunities may disappear forever.
The lottery system requires that winners be examined and have visas in hand by September 30 of the year in which they are elected, or lose. So Al Zabidi wonders if he will ever get to the United States to start working there and repay what he borrowed.
“Can we recover our visas? Can we be compensated? ” he said. “We do not know”.
Many of those whose lives have been turned upside down must now ask questions about arrears, taxes paid and travel restrictions due to the pandemic. Immigration and Muslim rights lawyers in the United States welcome Biden’s decision, but also point to future work to get their lives back on track and return to the legacy of the ban.
“The ban has advanced the narrative that Muslims, Africans and other communities of color do not belong in America, that we are dangerous threats,” said Mary Bauer, legal director of Muslim Advocates. “The end of the ban was only the first step towards changing this narrative. The Biden administration must then remove other administrative barriers to immigration that prevent families from being reunited. ”
More than 40,000 visas have been denied because of the ban, according to US State Department figures. These included not only lottery winners, but also people trying to visit family, those traveling for business or personal reasons, and students accepted to US universities.
Biden commissioned a report to address a number of issues, including a proposal to reconsider visa applications for immigrants rejected because of the ban. The proposal will consider reopening rejected applications. He also called for a plan to speed up the examination of these requests.
Many of those affected by the ban are also blocked by an April order by former President Donald Trump to stop issuing green cards to protect the US labor market amid the pandemic.
Biden has not indicated whether he will pick him up, and ending the travel ban will mean little if not, said Rafael Urena, a California lawyer.
“Most of my clients have no reason to celebrate because they are still stuck,” Urena said.
Among them is Mania Darbani, whose 71-year-old mother from Iran was denied a tourist visa to visit in Los Angeles. In the last few days, he checked and was told he still couldn’t walk because of the pandemic order.
“I am so exhausted by this situation,” said Darbani, 36. “I want to ask President Biden to lift all travel bans and help us. Please, please, help us. ”
Many people are worried about long waiting times for visas, said Manar Waheed, a legal adviser and lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union.
“There are embassies closed all over the world because of COVID, so there is a part of it,” Waheed said. “But we’ve also seen so many parts of our immigration system blocked and really gutted by the Trump administration, so it’s about building these reserve systems.”
What is known as a “Muslim ban” or “travel ban” was first imposed in 2017, then reorganized amid legal appeals, until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. It affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families. In 2020, immigration borders have been added that affect several other nations.
Trump and others defended him for reasons of national security, claiming that he would make the United States safer from terrorism. Supporters of the policy have rejected the argument that it has its roots in the anti-Muslim bias, saying it aims to protect the country.
By reversing the ban, the new administration states that it intends, instead, to strengthen the exchange of information with other countries and to apply a rigorous and individualized verification system for visa applicants.
It is unclear if it will be too late for Anwar Alsaeedi, also from Yemen, who hopes to give his two children a better future. He rejoiced in 2017 when he was chosen for the “diversity visa” interview of the lottery only to be considered ineligible due to the ban.
“Our country is involved in wars and crises and we have lost everything,” Alsaeedi said. “Getting to America is a big dream.”
Some whose dreams were shattered ended up looking elsewhere.
Moayed Kossa, a graduate of a Syrian pharmacy hoping to set up a cosmetics company named after him, has been awarded a scholarship to study US business administration after his country’s civil war led his family to flee to Jordan. . Just days before he traveled, the US embassy in Amman summoned him and revoked his visa.
He ended up studying in Italy instead and is not sure if he will apply again for an American visa, even if his brother now lives there.
“It’s not always easy,” Kossa said, “to try to open a closed door.”
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Associated Press writer Julie Watson of San Diego contributed to the report.
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