Visa to U.S. is 'useless now': Iranian in Saskatoon cancels business trip
The Canadian Press | Posted: January 29, 2017 8:58 PM | Last Updated: January 29, 2017
Blocked traveller says airline employee handling his refund upset with Trump
A Saskatoon man from Iran, who had a valid visitor's visa for an upcoming trip to the United States, says his plans have been scuttled following Donald Trump's move on Friday to curb foreign entry to that country.
Mohammadreza Tayfeh, who is also a doctoral student, had just received a visa for the trip.
"Useless now," he wrote on Twitter.
Tayfeh said when he called the airline about a refund, he found himself comforting a Delta Air Lines employee who was upset with the situation.
"She apologized for Trump. Then cried," he said.
"I said, 'It's all right. It's going to be fine. Don't worry about it.' She was so upset," Tayfeh added in an interview from Saskatoon.
Tayfeh, an engineering student living in Canada for seven years, had been invited to San Diego to meet with investors for his telecom business. While he had a visitor's visa, he missed the cutoff to travel by hours.
He decided not to risk flying from Saskatchewan in case he was detained on arrival in the United States. He said an Iranian friend who has been living in the U.S. and working at NASA for years was detained at the Doha airport in Qatar late Friday.
"You don't want to put yourself in that situation, to go there and they ask you questions and just deport you," he said.