A 61-year-old Virginia doctor who was born in the US has been stripped of his citizenship – all because of his late father’s status as an Iranian diplomat at the time of his birth.
Siavash Sobhani became stateless when he tried to renew his passport in June this year – with officials telling him that he never should have been granted American citizenship in 1960, according to the Washington Post.
The State Department informed him that babies born in the US to parents with diplomatic immunity – which his father enjoyed as an Iranian Embassy employee at the time – shouldn’t automatically acquire citizenship.
Typically, all babies born in the US are given citizenship.
The State Department’s move comes despite Sobhani being a respected doctor, sporting an impressive roster of 3,000 active patients after gaining degrees from George Washington University, Boston College and Georgetown Medical School.
He’s lived in the US – Virginia and DC – for his entire life, apart from a small portion of his childhood when his family relocated to Turkey. His brother Rob Sobhani, 63, even ran for Senate in Maryland in 2012.
Siavash Sobhani (pictured), 61, became stateless when he tried to renew his passport in June this year – with officials telling him that he never should have been granted American citizenship, according to the Washington Post
Sobhani (pictured as a child) has lived in the US – Virginia and DC – for his entire life, apart from a small portion of his childhood where his family relocated to Turkey
Sobhani sad he can’t safely live in Iran because of his brother’s political ties to the US, and because he himself has spoken out against the government.
‘As a member of your parent’s household at the time of your birth, you also enjoyed full diplomatic immunity from the jurisdiction of the United States,’ a State Department letter to Sobhani seen by the Post read.
‘As such, you were born not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore, you did not acquire US citizenship at birth.’
Sobhani was bamboozled by the letter – and the shock notice prompted him to start sleuthing through his family history. He said since his father is dead and his mother has dementia, this was a challenge.
But Sobhani soon discovered that his older brother, who was born in Kansas when their father was a military student, had an illness that required surgery as a baby.
Because of his need for medical care, their father obtained a temporary job at the Iranian Embassy to extend their stay in the US through October and November 1961 – the month Sobhani was born at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
They went on to live in Turkey for several years, until returning to DC where Sobhani attended Georgetown Preparatory School.
Sobhani has penned letters to Virginia Sen. Mark R Warner and Rep. Gerald E Connolly appealing to them for help.
His letter said he has ‘the utmost respect for the laws governing this country’ and noted that he has committed his career to helping people in Virginia and the DC region.
The State Department informed Sobhani (pictured) that babies born to parents with diplomatic immunity – which his father enjoyed as an Iranian Embassy employee – don’t automatically acquire birthright citizenship
Sobhani said he’s been ‘directly involved in the care of tens of thousands of lives, currently with an active patient panel of over 3,000 patients’
Sobhani has no idea when he might regain his citizenship, or whether it’s guaranteed
Sobhani said he’s been ‘directly involved in the care of tens of thousands of lives, currently with an active patient panel of over 3,000 patients.’
‘I can only hope that the impact I’ve made in caring for our community of Virginians, your constituents, for the past 30 years will hold some weight in swaying your decision to intervene on my behalf,’ he noted.
Connolly wrote back to express his sympathies and promised to prioritize the case.
‘I trust that you can imagine how difficult it must be to believe that you were a citizen of the U.S. your entire life, just to find out you actually were not,’ Connolly said in the letter.
‘Our office is respectfully requesting all possible consideration in expediting this case in accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.’
But Sobhani has no idea when he might regain his citizenship, or whether it’s guaranteed.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk