The Northern Virginia doctor knows at least that much about his situation. He knows he is no longer considered a citizen of the United States — the place where he was born, went to school and has practiced medicine for more than 30 years — and that he also belongs to no other place.
A letter from a State Department official informed him that he should not have been granted citizenship at the time of his birth because his father was a diplomat with the Embassy of Iran. The letter directed Sobhani to a website where he could apply for lawful permanent residence.
There’s a fairly simple fix, as you allude to. Making immigration a less intentionally abrasive, broken process and offering citizenship would fix most issues going forward. Running the process without the portions tacked on by overtly racist administrations reduces costs, increases efficiency, and produces a functional system. Definitely test them, but stop shooting yourself in the foot while, before, and after doing it.
I’m all for this. Getting rid of all the vultures preying on people to extract hope and money from them in the process. Guest worker programs, whatever. And going after the employers that exploit illegal labor and threat them like disposable labor.