[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 150 (Friday, October 29, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2218-E2219]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            LEGISLATION REGARDING ZOHREH FARHANG GHAHFAROKHI

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 28, 1999

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing private legislation today 
that would grant my constituent, Zohreh Farhang Ghahfarokhi, permanent 
residency in the United States.
  In 1984, Zohreh Farhang Ghahfarokhi's husband, an Iranian citizen, 
brought her and their young daughter, Shahrzad, on a business trip to 
the United States. The trip was successful

[[Page E2219]]

and Ms. Ghahfarokhi's husband secured a succession of legal business 
visas to stay in the United States. A second daughter, Sepideh, was 
born 3 years later in Los Angeles.
  In 1994, Ms. Ghahfarokhi's husband filed an application for permanent 
residency with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) on 
behalf of himself, his wife, and their daughter, Shahrzad. The family 
was interviewed at the INS Los Angeles District Office in March 1996 
and expected to be issued green cards.
  In the summer of 1996, Ms. Ghahfarokhi and her husband obtained 
advanced parole travel documents from the INS and visited Iran. 
According to Ms. Ghahfarokhi, their arranged marriage was often 
strained and, once back in Iran, her husband grew increasingly angry 
and verbally abusive because she had become more independent that the 
more traditional women in Iran. She has indicated that her husband 
confiscated his family's identification cards, his wife's Iranian 
passport, and the advance parole documents for her and their elder 
daughter. In addition, Ms. Ghahfarokhi said that he contracted the 
Iranian Government to formally revoke his permission to allow his wife 
and daughter to leave the country.
  Accoding to Ms. Ghahfarokhi, her husband returned to Los Angeles a 
week later, intentionally abandoning his family in Iran. She said that 
she had no identification papers, very little cash, and nowhere to stay 
in Tehran. She filed a complaint with the Tehran police, whom she said 
located her husband's brother and required him to secure an apartment 
for her and the girls and provide them with money for food.
  In September 1996, Shahrzad turned 18 and was able to apply for an 
Iranian passport without her father's permission. She received her 
passport 2 months later and traveled by herself to the American Embassy 
in Frankfurt, which issued her an advance parole travel document to 
return to Los Angeles. According to Ms. Ghahfarokhi, it took another 
month for her to convince an Iranian judge to override her husband's 
authority and grant permission for her and her younger daughter to 
leave Iran. Finally, in December, Ms. Ghahfarokhi and her younger 
daughter left Iran, obtained advance paroles from the embassy in 
Frankfurt, and returned to Los Angeles.
  According to Ms. Ghahfarokhi, once her husband learned that his wife 
was back in Los Angeles, he closed their joint bank account. Shahrzad 
worked full-time to help pay the rent, which prevented her from 
starting her freshman year at UCLA. Ms. Ghahfarokhi said she believed 
she had no option but to file for divorce. As part of the divorce 
proceedings, the judge ordered her husband to pay alimony and child 
support, which she says he failed to do.
  According to Ms. Ghahfarokhi, her husband approached her a few months 
later to apologize for his behavior in Iran and to try to reconcile 
with her. He promised to support her and the girls financially and 
threatened to withdraw their INS application for permanent residency if 
they divorced. Ms. Ghahfarokhi said she felt trapped because she and 
her daughters were financially insecure and she and Shahrzad needed 
legal immigration status. She said for the sake of her daughters, she 
moved back in with her husband in June 1997 on the conditions that he 
accompany her to marital counseling, provide her with financial 
security by giving her some assets in her own name, and withdraw the 
revocation of his permission for her to travel in and out of Iran.

  In the months that followed, Ms. Ghahfarokhi has indicated that her 
husband broke each of his promises, and she separated from him in the 
summer of 1998. Their subsequent divorce was finalized on March 14, 
1999, and the court is apparently taking steps to ensure that her ex-
husband complies with the agreements on the division of property, 
alimony, and child support.
  According to Ms. Ghahfarokhi, since 1994, she and Shahrzad had been 
assured by the INS office in Los Angeles that their applications for 
adjustment of status were moving forward. The INS advised them that it 
routinely takes 2 to 3 years to process these applications and issue 
green cards. The INS issued Shahrzad an employment authorization card 
in March 1998. In July of that year, however, the INS denied her 
application for advance parole.
  Confused by the denial, Shahrzad went to the INS office and was 
shocked to learn her father had withdrawn the petitions for her and her 
mother on December 13, 1996. Since that time, the INS had supplied Ms. 
Ghahfarokhi and Shahrzad with misinformation about their status and 
issued work authorization cards.
  Over the next few months, Ms. Ghahfarokhi said she and Shahrzad met 
with a number of immigration lawyers, none of whom were able to offer a 
solution. Current immigration law allows for a battered or abused 
spouse of a lawful permanent resident to self-petition for legal 
status, but Ms. Ghahfarokhi was unaware if and when her ex-husband had 
become a permanent resident. Furthermore, since he had never physically 
abused her and the worst incidents of mistreatment had occurred in 
Iran, the lawyers advised her that it would be futile for her to 
petition on her own behalf.
  After Ms. Ghahfarokhi and Shahrzad asked me for assistance, my office 
contacted the INS, which confirmed that the women are undocumented and 
out of status. Further, if they were to leave the United States, they 
would be subject to the 10-year ban on re-entry, as required under the 
1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The 
INS also indicated that there was no administrative remedy available to 
Ms. Ghahfarokhi and Shahrzad and that private legislation would be 
necessary for them to receive relief.
  Subsequently, in August 1999, Ms. Ghahfarokhi's husband's attorney 
contacted Shahrzad to advise her that her father regretted removing her 
from his petition and was willing to re-instate her on the petition if 
the INS would allow it. Shahrzad accepted her father's offer. The INS 
approved her father's application on September 15th and hers on her 
21st birthday on September 21st. Since that time, however, he has 
remained estranged from Shahrzad and her family.
  While Shahrzad has regained her legal status and can pursue her 
dreams of finishing college and attending law school, Ms. Ghahfarokhi's 
situation has not changed, and she and her daughters fear that she will 
be deported. The legislation I am introducing today would grant Ms. 
Ghahfarokhi permanent residency in the United States. She and her 
family have endured a tremendous amount uncertainty and hardship due to 
actions outside of their control. I request that my colleagues support 
this legislation.

                          ____________________