Iran International:

US senator’s proposal to bar all Iranian students from American universities is due to pile another obstacle in the way of aspiring scholars already effectively blocked from entry by Trump administration travel restrictions.

Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville introduced legislation that would ban Iranian and Chinese nationals from studying at US universities, arguing students from adversary states pose a national security threat and displace American applicants.

The so-called Student Visa Integrity Act would restrict visas from Iran, cap overall international student enrollment and increase penalties for visa fraud.

"We want to do away with Iran ... nationals getting into this country and learning how to destroy the United States of America and our allies," Tuberville said on Fox News on Friday. “We are funding our own demise.”

Tuberville, from Alabama, serves on Senate committees focused on education and immigration.

Hopes 'shattered'

Even before the proposal, many Iranian students faced steep barriers to studying in the United States. Zanko, a PhD‑bound software engineer living in Iran whose identity Iran International is concealing for his safety, was accepted into a top American university, with classes scheduled to begin in August 2024.

He completed his visa interview last year at a US embassy in a nearby country— a costly, logistically challenging trip from Iran, where there is no US embassy — in hopes of fulfilling his dream.

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