[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.6″ background_image=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/CSUF_vivid.jpg” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” global_module=”3513″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.6″ animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”300ms” animation_delay=”1600ms” animation_speed_curve=”ease-in”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/newnextgenlogo2018_transp.png” show_bottom_space=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.6″ custom_margin=”|||20px” custom_padding=”|||20px” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”right” animation_duration=”300ms” animation_delay=”1600ms” animation_intensity_slide=”90%” animation_speed_curve=”linear”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.6″ header_font=”|600|||||||” header_font_size=”36px” custom_margin=”30px|||” custom_padding=”30px|||” animation_style=”fade” animation_delay=”1900ms” animation_speed_curve=”ease-in”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.6″ custom_padding=”32px|0px|11px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.6″ custom_padding=”1px|0px|12px|0px|false|false”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_post_title date=”off” categories=”off” comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”3.6″ title_font=”Oswald|||on|||||” title_font_size=”48px” meta_font=”Roboto|600|||||||” meta_text_color=”#b32017″ meta_font_size=”24″][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|off%22%22″ admin_label=”Explainer Text” _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Roboto||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.9em” custom_padding=”30px|||”]Adjusting to a new place can be a challenge for anyone, let alone a new country. In this story, Hedieh Khajavi shares how she felt being immersed in American culture but, keeping Iran close to her heart. <\/b>
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/49u-E6aPPwA” admin_label=”Video: Explainer” _builder_version=”3.6″][\/et_pb_video][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Story Hero Image” _builder_version=”3.6″ background_color=”#000000″ background_image=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/Madeline_art_web.jpg” custom_padding=”100px||1776px||false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.0.51″ custom_padding=”4px||50px||false|false”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”12px|0px|0|0px|false|false” admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.6″][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|off%22%22″ admin_label=”Story Text” _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Roboto||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.9em” custom_padding=”30px|||”]Twenty-seven-year-old Hedieh Khajavi arrived in Houston on July 28, 1998. That day, she worried she might not be allowed to enter the United States. Was she going to start a new life in America or have to fly back home?<\/p>\n
At the airport, Khajavi made her way to the front of the line. She was eager to get final entry from the customs officer. When the man in the blue uniform looked at her passport and visa, he paused momentarily before throwing it to the next lane for secondary inspection.<\/p>\n
Khajavi was nervous and confused in this new strange place. And in her rush to queue up, she had gotten in the wrong line. He told her she would have to be questioned separately.<\/p>\n
Khajavi was afraid of what might happen. While she waited to be interviewed, she was seated next to a man in handcuffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was afraid. I said, \u2018Oh my Gosh, what\u2019s going on here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Khajavi reflects that she could have taken this as a \u201cbad sign.\u201d But she lost all worry when she was finally cleared to enter the United States and reunite with her brother.<\/p>\n
Khajavi\u2019s trip would have been impossible today. Iranian citizens can\u2019t get tourist visas to come to the United States anymore.<\/p>\n
Within weeks of President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration, the administration created a ban that restricts travel to the United States by people from seven predominantly Muslim countries. That ban has been challenged in court and has taken several iterations, according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even in newer versions, Iran has stayed on the banned list each time.<\/p>\n
Now, 20 years after Khajavi first touched down in Houston, she and her brother are both U.S. citizens. The travel ban doesn\u2019t affect their status, but it does affect the siblings\u2019 ability to bring their 80-year-old father to live in the U.S. with them.<\/p>\n
Their father is the only member of her immediate family still living in Iran. The two siblings make trips to Tehran as often as they can. In the past year and a half since their mother died, Khajavi and her brother have visited their father about five times.<\/p>\n
Khajavi knows others that have faced similar hardships with their families. She says she\u2019s met Iranians who are political asylees and can never return to Iran under the current regime. Thankfully, her father could apply for a special waiver (I-130, Petition for Alien Relative form). As a U.S. citizen, Khajavi\u2019s brother is sponsoring their father\u2019s application to come the U.S. They believe their father\u2019s American education aided them in meeting the waiver criteria.<\/p>\n However, his waiver is still being reviewed by the United States Embassy after his file was completed. Khajavi\u2019s father had an interview with the United States consulate in Armenia and received the news that he qualifies. Now, it\u2019s a waiting game for the Khajavi family.<\/p>\n According to Yusra Khafagi with the immigration department at Council of American-Islamic Relations Los Angeles, these types of waivers are often denied unless it\u2019s an extreme case, like life-threatening illness.<\/p>\n \u201cThe terms for the I-130 form\u2019s approval is vague,\u201d said Khafagi.<\/p>\n Khajavi is uncertain about how the process will end.<\/p>\n \u201cThe scary part about immigration is the constant changes in law,\u201d said Khajavi. \u201cWhich [is] the unpredictability of it.\u201d<\/p>\n The near unattainable documents requested and strict deadlines have Khajavi convinced that the process was designed at this level of difficulty to push applicants to give up before they\u2019ve received their waivers.<\/p>\n Filling out the documents discouraged her, at times, from following through with the process.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes a reason for giving up for me was mainly the documents\u2026 I was like are you kidding me, who sat down to even request these,\u201d said Khajavi. \u201cThey didn\u2019t make any logical sense to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Khajavi doesn\u2019t want her father to feel the loneliness that she had felt when she first came to America.<\/p>\n \u201cI was not able to go back to Iran, because if I would have left the United States, I was not able to reenter,\u201d said Khajavi. \u201cIt took 10 years for me to get my green card. That\u2019s how I was able to go back. So for 10 years, I didn\u2019t see my family, my parents.\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from the obstacles Khajavi encountered during her immigration process, she remains optimistic and hopeful regarding her father\u2019s status receiving the immigration waiver. She hopes to see her father arrive at an American airport, like she did 20 years ago, and get to reunite with his family. FOLLOW US<\/span> #NEXTGENRADIO<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”3.6″ border_radii=”on|100%|100%|100%|100%” background_layout=”dark”][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/officialnextgenerationradio\/” _builder_version=”3.6″ bg_color=”#3b5998″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]<\/p>\n Facebook<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”twitter” url=”https:\/\/twitter.com\/nextgenradio” _builder_version=”3.6″ bg_color=”#00aced” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]<\/p>\n Twitter<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”instagram” url=”https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/explore\/tags\/nextgenradio\/” _builder_version=”3.6″ bg_color=”#517fa4″ follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]<\/p>\n Instagram<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Source Sans Pro|on|||” text_text_color=”#666666″ text_font_size=”18″ text_line_height=”1.4em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_margin=”||8px|”]<\/p>\n ABOUT NEXTGEN RADIO<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Source Sans Pro||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_line_height=”2.2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px|||” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n About the program<\/a> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ column_padding_mobile=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/calstatelogo_web.png” url=”http:\/\/www.fullerton.edu\/” admin_label=”Image: CSUF” _builder_version=”3.6″ animation_style=”fade” animation_direction=”left” animation_duration=”500ms”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Source Sans Pro||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” text_line_height=”2.2em” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” custom_padding=”0px|||”]<\/p>\n
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_audio audio=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/FINAL-MADELINE.mp3″ title=”\u2018Am I Going To Make It Here?\u2019” artist_name=”Madeline Gray” album_name=”Next Generation Radio | California State University, Fullerton | January 2019″ image_url=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/jpeg.jpg” admin_label=”Audio Option 2″ _builder_version=”3.6″ background_color=”rgba(93,103,153,0.15)” background_layout=”light”][\/et_pb_audio][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/csuf2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2019\/01\/IMG_9412.jpeg” _builder_version=”3.6″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|off%22%22″ admin_label=”Caption Text” _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Arial||on||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.9em” custom_padding=”30px|||”]Hedieh Khajavi uses a Persian rug coaster that she bought in Iran from a recent trip back home. Khajavi had always planned on immigrating to America to study. But, coming to terms with her new environment turned out to be the hardest lesson of all. <\/em>
\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0|0px|26.859375px|0px|false|false” _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ parallax=”off” parallax_method=”on”][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|off%22%22″ admin_label=”Story Text” _builder_version=”3.6″ text_font=”Roboto||||||||” text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.9em” custom_padding=”30px|||”]\u201cI know people that their parents passed away in Iran. They were not able to see their parents and go to their funerals because of fear of prosecution\u2026 So I\u2019m one of the fortunate ones that I\u2019m able to go back,\u201d said Khajavi.<\/p>\n
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