Faramarz and Mitra Elghanian - Page 8

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               Petitioner’s father moved to the United States in 1979.                
          Petitioner’s father’s green card was renewed at that time.                  
          Petitioner’s parents have lived in the United States since 1979.            
          In April or May 1979, petitioner’s father asked his son-in-law,             
          Alex Ebrahimzadeh (Ebrahimzadeh), to retrieve the family’s green            
          cards from petitioner’s father’s office in Tehran and bring them            
          to him in New York.  A U.S. Customs inspector confiscated those             
          green cards when Ebrahimzadeh brought them into the United                  
          States.                                                                     
               2.   Petitioner’s Imprisonment and Escape From Iran                    
               Petitioner completed 2 years of service in the Iranian                 
          military around May 1, 1979.  He intended to leave Iran at that             
          time, but the Iranian government prevented petitioner from                  
          leaving.  Habib Elghanian, petitioner’s uncle, was executed on              
          May 29, 1979.  The Iranian government expropriated petitioner’s             
          family businesses and property.                                             
               On June 1, 1979, petitioner was arrested, blindfolded,                 
          interrogated, and imprisoned.  He was released on July 1, 1979,             
          He reasonably feared for his life in Iran, and on July 13, 1979,            
          he fled from Iran under an assumed name.  He has not returned to            
          Iran since then.                                                            
               3.   Petitioner’s Travels in 1979                                      
               After leaving Iran, petitioner went to London to see Shirley           
          Elghanian and Roya.  He stayed there for a few weeks.  On August            






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