On August 10, 2012, President Obama signed into law the Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Human Rights Act of 2012 [Pub.L. 112-158]. Section 501 of that law provides
(a) The Secretary of State shall deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude from the United States, any alien who is a citizen of Iran that the Secretary of State determines seeks to enter the United States to participate in coursework at an institution of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)) to prepare the alien for a career in the energy sector of Iran or in nuclear science or nuclear engineering or a related field in Iran.
This provision is effective "with respect to visa applications filed on or after" August 10, 2012. The bipartisan legislation, led by the chair and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs
Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), respectively, passed both the House and Senate almost unanimously just before breaking for the August recess
http://www.nafsa.org/resourcelibrary....aspx?id=34163
Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), respectively, passed both the House and Senate almost unanimously just before breaking for the August recess
http://www.nafsa.org/resourcelibrary....aspx?id=34163