Mohammed Al Zabidi celebrated in 2017 when he learned that he had been selected in the U.S. green card lottery, which randomly chooses people from a large group of candidates. It was a chance to escape his war-torn homeland, Yemen, and pursue his dreams in the United States.
“I won! I won!” Al Zabidi applauded. He borrowed money to finance his trip, bought clothes for his new life in America, and packed souvenirs for friends there. Without a US embassy in Yemen, he made an exhaustive trip to Djibouti for the visa interview.
But there, after it was initially approved, his luck ran out: “CANCELED WITHOUT PREJUDICE,” said the stamp in capital letters and bold on the unused visa in his passport with the Trump administration’s travel ban in several Muslim-majority nations, including his, in place.
“My family pinned their hopes on me. … My mother cried; it saddened me more, ”he said.
President Joe Biden’s repeal of the Induction Day ban brought a sigh of relief to the citizens of the countries covered by the measure. But in the midst of the celebrations there are tales of broken dreams, separated families, spent savings and lost milestones, from births to graduations. And for some, there are concerns about whether their opportunities could end forever.
The lottery system requires winners to be checked and visas in hand by September 30 of the year they are chosen, or they will lose. So Al Zabidi wonders if he will ever arrive in the United States to start working there and pay back what he borrowed.
“Can we recover our visas? Can we be compensated? ” he said. “We do not know.”
Many of those whose lives have been turned around now have to deal with issues of delays, fees paid and travel restrictions due to the pandemic. Defenders of immigration and the rights of Muslims in the United States welcomed Biden’s decision, but also pointed to the work ahead to put lives back on track and reverse the ban’s legacy.
“The ban promoted the narrative that Muslims, Africans and other black communities do not belong to America, that we are dangerous threats,” said Mary Bauer, legal director at Muslim Advocates. “Ending the ban was only the first step in changing this narrative. Then, the Biden government must remove other administrative barriers to immigration that are preventing families from reuniting. ”
More than 40,000 were refused visas because of the ban, according to US State Department figures. They included not only lottery winners, but also people trying to visit family, people traveling on business or personal reasons, and students accepted to US universities.
Biden commissioned a report to address a number of issues, including a proposal that guarantees a reconsideration of immigrant visa applications denied due to the ban. The proposal will consider reopening denied applications. He also called for a plan to speed up the analysis of these applications.
Many of those affected by the ban are also being blocked by an April order from former President Donald Trump to suspend the issuance of green cards to protect the U.S. labor market amid the pandemic.
Biden has not indicated whether he will suspend it and ending the travel ban will mean little if he does not, said Rafael Urena, a California lawyer.
“Most of my clients have no reason to celebrate because they are still in prison,” said Urena.
They include Mania Darbani, whose 71-year-old mother in Iran was denied a tourist visa to visit her in Los Angeles. In the past few days, she checked and was told that she was still unable to go because of the pandemic order.
“I am so exhausted by this situation,” said Darbani, 36. “I want to ask President Biden to lift all travel bans and help us. Please help us. “
Many people are concerned about the long waiting times for visas, said Manar Waheed, a senior lawyer and lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union.
“There are embassies closed around the world because of COVID, so there is that part,” said Waheed. “But we have also seen many parts of our immigration system paralyzed and truly eviscerated by the Trump administration, so it is about rebuilding those systems.”
What is known as the “Muslim ban” or “travel ban” was first imposed in 2017, then reworked amid legal challenges, until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. It affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, as well as North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families. In 2020, immigration restrictions that affect several other nations were added.
Trump and others defended him on the basis of national security, arguing that it would make the United States more protected from terrorism. Supporters of the policy rejected the argument that it was rooted in anti-Muslim prejudice, saying the aim was to protect the country.
In reversing the ban, the new government says it intends, instead, to strengthen information sharing with other countries and to apply a rigorous and individualized verification system for visa applicants.
It is unclear whether it will be too late for Anwar Alsaeedi, also from Yemen, who hoped to provide a better future for his two children. He rejoiced in 2017, when he was chosen for the lottery’s “diversity visa” interview, only to be considered ineligible due to the ban.
“Our country is involved in wars and crises and we have lost everything,” said Alsaeedi. “Getting to America is a big dream.”
Some whose dreams were dashed ended up looking for them elsewhere.
Moayed Kossa, a graduate of the Syrian pharmacy university who hoped to open a cosmetic company named after his family, won a scholarship to study business administration in the U.S. after the civil war in his country led the family to flee to Jordan . A few days before his trip, the United States Embassy in Amman summoned him and canceled his visa.
Instead, he ended up studying in Italy and is not sure whether he will apply for a visa to the United States again, although his brother now lives there.
“It’s not always easy,” said Kossa, “to try to open a door that was closed.”
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Associated Press writer Julie Watson of San Diego contributed to this report.
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Associated Press religious coverage is supported by Lilly Endowment through The Conversation US. AP is solely responsible for this content.