After a long week of uncertainty, HSPRD’s client Sarvin Haghighi was finally able to return home this weekend. Haghighi, a green card holder, was born in Iran and currently resides with her U.S. citizen husband Andrew Culley in the West Loop of Chicago. She is known as a talented Chicago artist whose work is displayed across the city.
As mentioned in the Chicago Tribune, Haghighi was vacationing in Australia when President Trump signed the Executive Order that halted immigration and travelers to the U.S. from seven countries, including Iran. Due to the great deal of uncertainty as to whether the Executive Order applied to lawful permanent residents like her, Haghighi had skipped her initial flight home to have the time to better understand the order. “It was really hectic, as you can imagine, because we went through a whole week of not knowing what would happen,” Haghighi said. Haghighi and Culley consulted with HSPRD partner, Kalman D. Resnick, who explained that the Trump Administration had changed its initial interpretation of the Executive Order and decided that it did not apply individuals who were already lawful permanent residents. Based on Mr. Resnick’s advice, Haghighi rebooked her flight and headed home. While on layover stopped in Dubai, Haghighi got word that a federal judge in Seattle had issued a Temporary Restraining Order barring enforcement of the Executive Order, further easing her worries. With the moral support of her family and the guidance from HSPRD’s attorneys, Haghighi was able to safely return home during this frightening situation.
