U.S. Doctor Stripped of Citizenship for a Ridiculous Reason

The irony in this story is so thick that you may need a scalpel to cut through it, something that a Northern Virginia doctor may not be able to wield any longer.

Siavash Sobhani, aside from a few years of his childhood when his family moved to Turkey, was born, attended school, and practiced medicine for more than thirty years right here in the United States. He practices internal medicine, having earned degrees from George Washington University and Boston College before attending Georgetown Medical School.

Thinking ahead, Sobhani applied for a new passport in February since his was set to expire in June. He needs the passport in order to attend his son’s wedding in Portugal next July. This isn’t the first time that he has renewed it. Over the years he has done so several times, each time establishing the fact that he was a U.S. citizen.

So imagine his shock when he received a letter from the State Department informing him that he never should have been granted citizenship at the time of his birth because his father was a diplomat from the Iranian Embassy. Instead of receiving a passport, he was directed to a website where he could apply for citizenship. In an interview with the Washington Post, he shared his disbelief:

This was a shock to me. I’m a doctor. I’ve been here all my life. I’ve paid my taxes. I’ve voted for presidents. I’ve served my community in Northern Virginia. During covid, I was at work, putting myself at risk, putting my family at risk. So, when you’re told after 61 years, “Oh there was a mistake, you’re no longer a U.S. citizen,” it’s really, really shocking.

The same administration that has thrown open our southern border and laid out the welcome mat for millions of illegal aliens, cartels, drug pushers, rapists, and murderers is persecuting a viable U.S. citizen over a bureaucratic technicality.

This leaves Sobhani in a true state of limbo. Having just turned 62, he and his wife have started thinking about retirement. So the first question is, will his earnings over all these years count toward his Social Security benefits? Can he legally still practice medicine? For that matter, will this nightmare be over in time to attend his son’s wedding?

The letter pointed out that his citizenship was revoked for bureaucratic reasons, stating:

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. As such, you were born not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Therefore, you did not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth.

Sobhani was distressed as he read the letter, stating, “But I did, they gave it to me.”

For obvious reasons, when dealing with an illogical administration, you must tread lightly. Very often, spitefulness goes hand in hand with a lack of logic. For that reason, Sobhani is reluctant to speak about his situation. He definitely doesn’t want to do anything that would jeopardize reinstating his citizenship or delay the issuing of his passport. Since this dilemma began, he has spent more than $40,000 on legal fees with no end in sight.

A frustrated Sobhani told the Post, “I’m waiting for an interview, but does that mean I wait another year for an interview? Then another three years for the next step? Then another 10 years before I can travel outside of the country?”

Looking for assistance, he reached out to Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) requesting their help, stating that he had “the utmost respect for the laws governing this country.” He also pointed out that he has dedicated his career to helping people in Virginia and the D.C. region and has 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.”

Connolly did respond and penned a letter to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USIC). He wrote, “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. Our office is respectfully requesting all possible consideration in expediting this case in accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.”

For Sobhani and his family’s sake, I truly hope this ridiculousness comes to an end sooner rather than later. The paradox between what this administration allows and even promotes at the border when compared to this gentleman’s case is absurd. His citizenship needs to be restored immediately, his passport needs to be renewed as soon as possible, and all legal fees need to be refunded to him as well.

This can’t be chalked up to just a clerical error. It doesn’t take this long — or $40,000 — to clear up a clerical error. Someone at the USIC has their head firmly planted in their lower digestive tract, and common sense needs to override this embarrassing lunacy quickly.

Good Luck, Dr. Sobhani; here’s to you toasting your son in July.