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Comment by ido | Hacker News Reader

What? You need a US visa to visit Iran as a European?

No. Foreign nationals from countries (including most of Europe) that normally have access to the US through the Visa Waiver Program and ESTA lose that access if they visit Iran or a few other countries. They thereafter need to go through the full US visa application process if they want to go to the US.

One of the cases where at least in Germany you can get a second passport without problems. Another example would be travel to Israel and Arabian countries.

Still requires you to lie on the ESTA form, which is not necessarily a good idea. (i.e. if you lie and get caught, that's worse than going through the visa process)

Sure, simple answer: don't carry both passports at the same time. Pretty sure Iran (an the other countries on the US blacklist) don't exchange travel information with the US.

and don't appear on any travel manifests other countries share, and don't turn up on any other tracking, and ...

Two different passports, only carry the right one: easy. And unless US border police is checking any, potential, Iranian travel data the NSA collected I don't see the problem. Confidently telling those border police officers you've never been to Iran seems to be the trickiest part. But hell, it works just perfectly fine for everyone travelling to Israel and any Arabian country, so...

No it doesn’t. Israel doesn’t routinely ask you if you’ve been to Iran, if they did, you answer tru fully if you know what’s good for you. Same if you go to Saudi.

The US specifically asks you if you have travelled to those countries. You can either lie, and that’s a serious risk at being jailed, deported, banned from ever going again, and having issues going to other countries, or you can tell the truth.

No photos of yourself there, no references to having travelled there anywhere in the Internet….

The question at the border is "Have you ever visited Iran?", Not "Do you have a stamp for Iran in this passport?".

Since passenger lists on flights around the world are pretty much public information, the US immigration services will know exactly where you have visited in the past, and could totally put you in prison for lying when answering the question.

> The question at the border is "Have you ever visited Iran?"

Is that something only people on ESTA get asked? Never heard of people on visas being asked that.

They ask that questions also during student or work visa issuance - and even during the greencard (adjustment of status) and naturalization processes. They don't ask it every time you enter with these visas or statuses however.

But as a US citizen you will never be asked. And better yet if you are a dual citizen like me. Then you can travel on your other passport to the places the US finds to be undesirable.

I think green card and naturalization ask about travel in the last few years. But they don't ask about travel prior to that, and they don't ask about Iran specifically.

True - I think it was 10 (or was it 7?) year of travel history, but I'm sure Iran would raise some flags.

The same is in Norway, although one have to justify it. For example one cannot get a visa to China if one has a stamp from Taiwan. So if one needs to travel to both often, then one can apply for the second passport.

I don’t remember China asking if I’ve been to Taiwan. I’d be surprised too - there’s direct flights between the two. That said I normally visit China on a 168 hour transit visa and fly via Hong Kong, Tokyo or Seoul rather than the hassle of applying for a visa.

> For example one cannot get a visa to China if one has a stamp from Taiwan

I am quite sure that this is not true.

If you have an Iranian passport stamp, I would expect very pointed questions at US immigration. I can't find a specific citation that says you need a visa if you've been to Iran, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

Fun fact - in Poland you can get a second passport for such situations.

You use one passport to visit Iran (etc), and the other to visit US, Israel and so on.

I never needed this, but it’s good to have such an option.

Yes, but if US ever finds out, it could get pretty nasty. US entry ban is pretty limiting career move for programmer.

Just no.

That’s fine for visiting Israel (which rarely stamps nowadays) and Iran.

The US specifically asks “have you ever been to Iran”. You can lie, then get arrested in the US, or you can say “yes”, and have to go through the time and expense to get a US visa. Forever.

> If you have an Iranian passport stamp, I would expect very pointed questions at US immigration

Or any number of things. I know of multiple French citizens born in "suspect" for the Americans places like Algiers and Beirut who have had extensive questioning on arrival at the US, including the mindbogglingly stupid " why were you born there?".

That honestly doesn’t sound like a dumb question to me. People don’t just get randomly born abroad for no reason, it’s typically because their families were doing something there.

It kind of is though, because Algeria was a part of France until 1962, and there are millions of people of Algerian descent who have French citizenship.

Like living there?

Potentially. But, families can also travel to places where they don't live. They can also engage in activities that are of interest to customs officials, regardless of their residency status.

Rather than guessing, it's prudent to simply ask the question, no?

Well when a mummy and a daddy love each other very much...

Its pretty stupid having to explain that to a 50 year old.

I know anAmerican born in Tehran who is white. It is a minefield.

I think they mean that going to Iran voids their eligibility to travel to America in the future without a visa.

If they want to visit the US with a Iranian stamp on their passport.

I think you need a visa to go to the US if you've been to Iran.

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