Photo: Scott L from Los Angeles, United States of America | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Revokes Green Cards and Moves to Deport Relatives of Iranian Officials Including Masoumeh Ebtekar and Qassem Soleimani
U.S. authorities this week revoked green cards and visas of several Iranian nationals connected to Tehran — including Hamideh Soleimani Afshar (a niece of slain general Qassem Soleimani) and her daughter, relatives of 1979 hostage‑crisis spokeswoman Masoumeh Ebtekar (Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi and their son), and Fatemeh Ardeshir‑Larijani and her husband — and have arrested some in Los Angeles, placing them in ICE custody pending removal. The State Department and DHS say the individuals publicly supported the Iranian regime, allege Afshar’s 2019 asylum grant was fraudulent after repeated trips to Iran, and point to internal USCIS vetting failures and recent visa actions against Iranian diplomats as background for the moves.
📌 Key Facts
- The U.S. has revoked green cards or visas for at least four Iranian nationals connected to current or former Iranian government officials, and moved to deport some of them.
- Named individuals affected include Hamideh Soleimani Afshar (niece of Qasem Soleimani) and her daughter Sarinasadat Hosseiny; Fatemeh Ardeshir‑Larijani (daughter of late Iranian security official Ali Larijani) and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi; and relatives of 1979 hostage‑crisis spokeswoman Masoumeh Ebtekar — Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son.
- Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter had their lawful permanent resident status terminated, were arrested by ICE late Friday and are in ICE custody; DHS alleges Afshar’s 2019 asylum claim was fraudulent, citing at least four trips back to Iran, and officials say Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the U.S.
- Fatemeh Ardeshir‑Larijani and her husband have had their status terminated and have left the United States; the Ebtekar relatives detained in Los Angeles (who entered on visas issued in 2014 and gained green cards via the Diversity Visa Program in 2016) are professors at The Chicago School and are in ICE custody pending deportation.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked a rarely used authority to revoke lawful permanent resident status, publicly describing Afshar as an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks and called the U.S. the "Great Satan," and saying the U.S. should not become a home for anti‑American terrorists or their families; he linked the move to prior uses of the authority against pro‑Palestinian activists (some actions now tied up in lawsuits).
- A March 30 USCIS internal review found prior screening and vetting measures were "wholly inadequate," acknowledging that some individuals who "should not have been" approved or naturalized were admitted; USCIS has placed holds and ordered comprehensive re‑reviews (and possible reinterviews) of pending asylum and immigration‑benefit applications from "high‑risk" countries, starting with applicants who entered on or after President Biden took office.
- Government statements and reporting tie the revocations to vetting gaps that allowed relatives of Iranian security figures to gain status, and cite factors used in the revocations including alleged regime propaganda, celebration of attacks on U.S. forces, and officials’ characterization of a "lavish lifestyle" in Los Angeles.
- Policy and legislative fallout is underway: Rep. Tom Tiffany introduced the SAFER Act to bar or strip asylum for foreigners who voluntarily return to the country they claimed to have fled, and the reporting ties these revocations to ongoing political efforts to end the Diversity Visa Program (a Trump ban was struck down in 2020 and reissued in December 2025); separately, the State Department in early December revoked or declined to renew visas for several Iranian diplomats at the U.N. (including a deputy ambassador), saying that December action was unrelated to later protests or the war.
📊 Relevant Data
In the Diversity Visa Lottery for fiscal year 2016, 4,501 individuals from Iran were selected as entrants eligible to apply for immigrant visas.
DV 2016 - Selected Entrants — U.S. Department of State
According to a 2024 national public opinion survey, Iranian Americans were nearly evenly divided in their preferences for the 2024 presidential election, with 45% supporting Kamala Harris and 41% supporting Donald Trump.
PAAIA Unveils 2024 National Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans — Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA)
From 2016 to 2020, the Executive Office for Immigration Review opened just seven investigations into asylum fraud across all cases.
Fact Sheet: Asylum Fraud and Immigration Court Absentia Rates — Forum Together
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
Should Immigration Policy Discriminate Toward Better Countries?
"The piece argues that immigration policy ought to be selective by country — backing tougher vetting and preferential admission for nationals of well‑governed states while treating 'high‑risk' origin countries more restrictively — and treats recent USCIS/State Department revocations and re‑reviews of Iranian‑linked cases as evidence supporting that approach."
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
April 11, 2026
3:48 PM
U.S. set to deport family of Iranian propagandist "Screaming Mary"
New information:
- CBS identifies the detained relatives of Masoumeh Ebtekar as Seyed Eissa Hashemi, Maryam Tahmasebi, and their son, notes they were professors at The Chicago School in Los Angeles, and confirms they are in ICE custody ahead of deportation.
- Article details their immigration history: arrival on a visa issued in 2014 and receipt of lawful permanent residence in 2016 via the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program.
- It adds on‑the‑record condemnation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, quoting his statement that 'America can never become home for anti-American terrorists or their families.'
- The piece ties these revocations to President Trump’s long‑running effort to end the diversity lottery, recounting his 2020 ban that was struck down by a federal judge and his reissued ban in December 2025.
- It confirms that the status of Fatemeh Ardeshir‑Larijani and her husband has also been terminated and that they are no longer in the United States.
2:42 PM
ICE detains relatives of 1979 Iran hostage crisis figure after Rubio revokes their legal status
New information:
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he has revoked the lawful permanent resident status of family members linked to Masoumeh Ebtekar, the spokeswoman for militants who seized the U.S. Embassy in Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis.
- Rubio states that these individuals, who entered on visas reportedly granted in 2014 and obtained green cards via the Diversity Visa Program in 2016, have been taken into ICE custody pending removal from the United States.
- This case connects the current revocation push to one of the most symbolically potent episodes in modern U.S.–Iran relations, highlighting that relatives of a prominent former hostage‑crisis spokesperson were living in the U.S. as LPRs.
April 09, 2026
4:11 PM
GOP lawmaker introduces bill to strip asylum from fraudsters who vacation in countries they 'fled'
New information:
- Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., has introduced the SAFER Act ('Stopping Asylum Fraudsters Enforcement and Removal Act') to bar asylum grants to any foreign national who voluntarily returns to their home country after claiming persecution.
- The bill would authorize DHS and the attorney general to terminate asylum status and denaturalize asylees who return to their home country while living in the U.S., except where the State Department certifies a legitimate transfer of power and resolution of the original threat.
- Fox reiterates DHS reporting that Hamideh Soleimani Afshar’s 2019 U.S. asylum grant is now viewed as fraudulent in part because she took at least four subsequent trips back to Iran.
April 07, 2026
2:12 PM
Major national security vulnerability exposed as DHS reveals how relatives of terror architect allowed into US
New information:
- USCIS issued a March 30 alert saying an internal review found prior screening and vetting measures were 'wholly inadequate' and that 'many applicants for naturalization and lawful permanent residence were not sufficiently vetted.'
- USCIS acknowledged that some individuals were approved and naturalized who 'should not have been.'
- In response, USCIS has placed a hold and review on all pending asylum and immigration‑benefit applications filed by aliens from 'high‑risk countries' and will conduct a comprehensive re‑review and potential (re)interviews for all such applicants who entered the U.S. on or after the day Joe Biden took office, with authority to extend this to others.
- The Fox report explicitly links these vetting gaps to how Qasem Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and grandniece, Sarinasadat Hosseiny, were able to gain lawful permanent status before their recent arrests in Los Angeles.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s public statement is quoted more fully, including his description of Soleimani Afshar as an 'outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime' who 'celebrated attacks on Americans and referred to our country as the "Great Satan."'
April 04, 2026
7:49 PM
Family of Iran military leader Soleimani has U.S. residence visas revoked
New information:
- DHS now publicly alleges Hamideh Soleimani Afshar’s 2019 asylum claim was "fraudulent," citing at least four trips back to Iran after she obtained a green card.
- The article confirms Afshar’s lawful permanent resident status has been terminated and that she and her daughter were arrested Friday night and are currently in ICE custody.
- The State Department says Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the U.S.
- The piece details government rhetoric that Afshar promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks on U.S. forces, denounced America as the "Great Satan," and lived what officials describe as a "lavish lifestyle" in Los Angeles.
- Secretary Marco Rubio explicitly links this action to his use of the same rarely used authority last year against several pro‑Palestinian activists, including Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, and notes those efforts have been partially stalled by federal lawsuits alleging First Amendment violations.
- The article adds background that top Iranian security official Ali Larijani was killed in an airstrike last month and that his daughter Fatemeh Ardeshir‑Larijani and her husband have left the United States.
7:28 PM
US revokes green cards and visas of several Iranian nationals connected to Tehran government
New information:
- Confirms that at least four Iranian nationals connected to the current or former Iranian government have had either green cards or U.S. visas revoked, not just Soleimani’s niece and daughter.
- Names additional affected individuals: Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, an academic and daughter of former Iranian national security adviser Ali Larijani, and her husband, Seyed Kalantar Motamedi, whose visas were also revoked.
- Clarifies that the actions against Soleimani’s niece Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were taken 'this week' when Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined they were no longer eligible for lawful permanent residency, leading to their late-Friday ICE arrests.
- Adds State Department characterization that Afshar and her daughter had been living a 'lavish lifestyle' in Los Angeles while publicly supporting the Iranian government and anti-American attacks, and quotes Rubio’s X post labeling Afshar an outspoken supporter of the regime who called the U.S. the 'Great Satan.'
- Reveals that in early December the State Department revoked or declined to renew visas for several Iranian diplomats and staffers at Iran’s mission to the United Nations, including the deputy ambassador, and that State says that move on Dec. 4 was unrelated to later protests or the war.