‘All I want is to get married’: Vallejo woman whose fiancé is stuck in Iran laments travel ban

Christina Rogers and Mostafa Rezazadeh want to get married at the historic chapel in Las Vegas featured in the movie Viva Las Vegas But as a Plan B the couple will get married at San Francisco City Hall As a Plan C they will make an appointment at San Jose City Hall And for Plan D Rogers will expedition thousands of miles to meet Rezazadeh in the republic of Georgia Christina Rogers's fiance Mostafa Rezazadeh is stuck in Iran due to President Donald Trump's expedition ban while he is waiting for a visa Christina Rogers Rezazadeh who was born and raised in Tehran Iran where he now owns a food manufacturing company has been waiting months to receive a K- visa which allows people to come to the United States then requires them to marry within days Afterward they can apply for permanent residency Rogers explained in an interview The couple s hopes for a U S wedding been thrown into more uncertainty following President Donald Trump s passage ban and intensifying military strikes between Iran and Israel leaving the couple s future in flux It s hard It s very hard Rogers announced Because you re still processing it you don t want to give up you don t want to think it s impossible but you re also trying to see how it will be attainable The passage ban which targets countries primarily in the Middle East and Africa including Iran indefinitely bars residents of those countries from entering the United States The ban has exemptions for lawful residents of the United States and specific others Last week Israel struck Iran in a move that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed was meant to eliminate Iranian nuclear capabilities Since then the two countries have attacked each other with missiles and Trump has publicly revealed that he was considering direct U S involvement in the broadening war Christina Rogers wears her engagement ring on Thursday June in Vacaville Calif Rogers fiance Mostafa Rezazadeh is right now in Tehran Iran and unable to trip to the United States due to the current trip ban Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group Rogers a resident of Vallejo who works at her church and is pursuing a master of social work degree is now channeling her own stress and anxiety into finding a way for Rezazadeh to come to the United States She mentioned she is working with Rep John Garamendi s office to figure out what comes next and has also reached out to the U S embassy in Ankara Turkey where Rezazadeh applied for his visa and other establishment offices This is something I ve made one of my jobs and missions she added I m working on this as though I m an immigration lawyer She stated she was not sure whether hiring an immigration attorney would have any impact under the progress ban The couple could apply for a waiver but Rogers noted she was not optimistic because of the low rate of success with only about of applications for waivers approved after Trump s first tour ban in Garamendi s office has called on the Trump administration to reverse the ban mentioned Cameron Niven communications director for the congressman whose district includes portions of Contra Costa and Solano counties The U S State Department and the U S embassy in Ankara did not respond to requests for comment Rogers and Rezazadeh met more than two years ago when Rezazadeh s cousin in the Bay Area set them up to meet online Rogers declared They without delay hit it off and began dating she added texting video chatting and trying to keep each other as much in the loop as they could The couple first met in person two years ago and got engaged while traveling together in Turkey a minimal months later Rogers filed the petition for Rezazadeh s K- visa in December she mentioned In May the petition was approved and in November he traveled to the embassy in Ankara for his interview Things were genuinely going pretty smoothly Rogers explained The next step in the visa approval process was completion of a background check she revealed That was eight months ago Rogers revealed That s something I ve learned is typical for Iranian cases There s no definitive time when his situation will be out of administrative processing We were hoping he d be here by Christmas she revealed adding that her mom had bought the couple matching pajamas as a Christmas gift Rogers first heard rumors of a new ban in April but Rezazadeh remained optimistic she mentioned Two months later their fears were realized when Trump revealed the new restriction Rogers who disclosed she was freaking out after news of the ban broke put her strength into finding tactics to bringing her fianc to the U S before world events again threatened their ever-changing plans she revealed At this point I m not even as worried about the passage ban I m more worried about the conflict escalating Rezazadeh and his family hear the bombs going off in Tehran at night Rogers revealed He sends her videos of fires and missiles flying over the city Because I m able to see that he s taking the video and he s not being harmed it makes me feel better she added It s hard to watch Rezazadeh is a caretaker for his parents helping his father after he suffered a stroke and his mother while she recovers from knee replacement surgery Rogers revealed His siblings will take over their care if he leaves for the U S she added It s not something they want to do unless they absolutely have to Rogers stated I don t know exactly if he s in imminent danger and so that s stressful for me Rogers added that she worries about the impact the United States potentially entering a conflict with Iran would have on the ability of Iranians to immigrate here But for her and her fianc the challenges are personal I m invested in him I m invested in his safety I m invested in getting him to the finish line Take all the politics out and people are people she added Just like I have no control over my administration he has no control over his authorities We are just trying to live our lives and make the the greater part out of a intricate situation All I want is to get married she commented for my fiance to come to America for us to get married and start our life together and wear our matching PJs