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Woman adopted from Iran as toddler faces deportation after 53 years in U.S.

Feb 21, 2026 · California, CA, Iran

Woman adopted from Iran as toddler faces deportation after 53 years in U.S.

A woman adopted from Iran at age 3 by a U.S. Air Force officer and raised in the Midwest for 53 years is facing deportation to Iran, a country with which the U.S. has no diplomatic relations and is currently at war. She was excluded from automatic citizenship under the 2000 Child Citizenship Act due to overstaying a visa as a 4-year-old in the 1970s, a discrepancy she discovered in 2008 when applying for a passport. Her adoptive parents legally completed her adoption with a birth certificate and U.S. citizen parents listed, yet she lacks proof of citizenship. She fears deportation to a country she does not remember and where she has no family or language connections.

Timeline

Feb 21, 2026Woman's deportation case becomes public; she faces potential removal due to visa technicality
2026Deportation proceedings initiated against woman despite lifelong U.S. residence
2002Woman adopted from Iran at age 2 and brought to the United States
2000Child Citizenship Act enacted, but woman's visa type excludes her from automatic citizenship coverage

Sources

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