Woman adopted from Iran as toddler faces deportation after 53 years in U.S.
Feb 21, 2026·Location: California, CA
Country of origin: Iran

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
Sources
- A U.S. veteran adopted an orphan from Iran. Decades later, ICE is trying to deport her
NPR·Feb 24, 2026·archived copy
opb.org·Feb 24, 2026·archived copy
news.wfsu.org·Feb 24, 2026·archived copy
- A U.S. veteran adopted an orphan from Iran over 50 years ago. ICE is trying to deport her
nbcchicago.com·Mar 2, 2026·archived copy
- Seattle Times
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