Travel ban: Melbourne schoolboy, born to Iranian parents, denied US visa; hopes for a review

A schoolboy from Melbourne affected by US President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban is hoping his US visa application will be reviewed. This comes on the heels of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement that Australians holding dual-citizenship will be exempted from the ban.

Fifteen-year-old Pouya Ghadirian, born to Iranian parents, was seeking a non-immigrant tourist visa for a school camp in the US. However, upon arriving at the US Consulate for an interview on Monday, he learned his application for a visa had been rejected on presidential orders.

Following Turnbull’s announcement, Pouya said he hopes the US Consulate will review the decision of rejecting his application. The space camp he desires to travel to the US for will be held in March.

Speaking with AAP (via News Corp), he said, "I am happy about this decision but I can't really tell (if I'll be able to go to the US) until I go to the consulate again. We are contacting them now."

The controversial travel ban comes after Trump signed an executive order which denies entry to citizens from seven countries – Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen – entry to the US for 90 days. The space camp will involve visits to Orlando, Washington and the US Space & Rocket Center in Alabama.

“They [the US Consulate] gave me no further instructions, but said realistically I won’t be going on the trip,” Pouya said. “I was really upset when I found out that I couldn’t go and had been looking forward to it for around a year.”

He added, “I have an Australian citizenship. I was born here. It doesn’t make sense and it can’t be right.”

Turnbull spoke about the possibility of Pouya’s application being given a go-ahead in the wake of US officials exempting Australians holding a dual citizenship. "There may be other factors, but that is really an individual case," Turnbull said, speaking with Sky News (via the ABC). According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the teenager’s case had been referred to the US Embassy in Canberra.

Meanwhile, astrophysicist Dr Katie Mack has said she is willing to help Pouya in fulfilling his desire of going to the space camp. "I'm an American and while I can't do anything about my government or make the president change his mind, if I can make things a little bit less bad for one person that would be nice," Mack said.