He escaped an abusive father, wrote scientific papers by flashlight during power outages, and scored a university scholarship — all before turning 18.

But now, Pooya Karemi, a once-homeless Iranian teenager with dreams of changing the world, is seeing them shattered by Trump’s travel ban.

‘We, the Iranian students, are the youth who never had a childhood,’ Karemi told Daily Mail in an exclusive interview from inside Shiraz, Iran. 

After a year of meticulous preparation of crafting university applications and pouring his heart into personal essays—Karemi finally received his golden ticket: admission to Pittsburg State University’s polymer chemistry program in April this year.

‘In a country crushed under unbearable economic, social and political pressures, I managed, despite all hardships, to publish two scientific papers, something that might be ordinary for many people my age around the world, but for a young Iranian like me, it is nothing short of a miracle.’

Just a few months later, the travel ban was announced, and Karemi’s world was turned upside down. 

Iran is among a dozen countries included in that travel ban signed by President Donald Trump in June. 

Unlike the travel ban implemented during Trump’s first term, this version includes no exceptions for admitted students. 

Experts suggest the move is tied to Trump’s campaign rhetoric and ongoing regional tensions, particularly the conflicts involving Israel and Iran. Iran’s support for proxy groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis—widely seen as contributing to Middle East instability—further underscores the policy’s geopolitical context. 

Besides Iran, the countries include: Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. 

Pooya Karemi, a once-homeless Iranian team with dreams of changing the world, is blocked by Trump’s 2025 travel ban

Karemi was admitted to Pittsburg State University in Polymer Chemistry after preparing his university applications, taking the required standardized tests and writing personal essays. Something he had been working on since this time last year

Karemi was admitted to Pittsburg State University in Polymer Chemistry after preparing his university applications, taking the required standardized tests and writing personal essays. Something he had been working on since this time last year

The restrictions apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, though they differentiate between the two groups. 

A study of US State Department data shows a sharp decline in F-1 visa approvals for Iranian students in 2024, with some applicants reportedly incurring more than $3,700 in application and related visa expenses.

According to U.S. government figures, the number of F-1 visas issued to Iranian students in fiscal year 2024 dropped by 42% compared to the average of the previous two years.

The State Department referenced a list of narrow exceptions to the ban, including visas granted to ethnic and religious minorities persecuted in Iran, individuals adopted by American citizens, and those taking part in certain major international sporting events. 

The State Department responded to the Daily Mail with a statement in reference to the story.

They said, ‘The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, Secretary of Homeland Security and Director of National Intelligence, determined that a number of countries were deficient with regard to screening and vetting information and that the unrestricted entry of its nationals would be detrimental to U.S. national interests. This was serious enough to warrant a partial or full suspension of admission to the United States.’

After Karemi’s father—battling severe mental illness—cast his wife and children from their home, they scraped together borrowed money from financially strapped relatives to rent a cramped 40-square-meter basement on Shiraz’s outskirts.

To get by, Karemi’s mother and six-year-old sister sold their modest collection of jewelry to fund a single university application fee.  His mother’s sacrifice of her precious gold jewelry became a defining moment for Karemi, as he realized the profound devotion of his mother sustained him through unimaginable hardship.

‘With a bitter smile, she told me, ‘These were never my dreams, they are your future. That was the first time I cried, not for myself, but for my mother, who sacrificed everything she had for me,’ he recalled.

Night after night, as his six-year-old sister trembled beside him in their pitch-black, centipede-crawling basement, Karemi hunched over his ancient laptop, editing research articles by the dying light of his phone. Every unanswered email to foreign professors felt like a dagger to his hopes.

His one salvation was a small rechargeable fan he’d won in a research competition—his family’s only relief from suffocating heat in their electricity-free home, powered by connecting its USB cable to his decade-old donated computer.

Iran is among a dozen countries included in a travel ban signed by President Donald Trump in June. Unlike the ban from his first term, this version does not allow exceptions for admitted students

‘Sometimes I wonder if all this effort will be in vain. Will I, like countless other Iranian youth, end up frozen in place, with no escape? In those moments, I look at my mother’s trembling hands as she washes dishes, or my little sister who asks: ‘Brother, when will you go abroad to study?’ and I have no answer. I just smile, hiding my tears behind that smile’

‘I stayed awake, drenched in sweat, editing my research in those conditions. Every once in a while, my heart would sink again when thinking about the high costs of applications and exams, knowing that no matter how hard I worked, I might never save enough,’ he said.

In January 2025, Karemi began earning small amounts of money by helping students with academic papers, hoping to save money for the remaining application fees. 

He also started collaborating with a researcher from Israel on a study combining agriculture and chemistry to improve the quality of agricultural products.

Then the Iranian government called.

Karemi says he received a phone call from a governmental organization of the Islamic Republic, through a private number, threatening Karemi, saying that if he continued this collaboration, he would be banned from education for six years.

A few days later, Karemi’s high school contacted him, temporarily suspending him.

‘Sometimes I wonder if all this effort will be in vain. Will I, like countless other Iranian youth, end up frozen in place, with no escape?,’ he asked. 

He added, ‘Leading universities and advanced countries either refuse our visas or impose impossible conditions. We live with one of the weakest currencies in the world, with no way out. And now, because of the 2025 travel ban, we are once again deprived of studying in the United States.’

Pitt State sent Karemi details on his scholarship upon acceptance, noting that the tuition deposit would be refunded if his visa was denied

The aspiring student says that two of his own friends have already taken their own lives as a result of a similar situation.

Karemi tells Daily Mail he wants to share his story before the 90-day review deadline of the travel ban, which falls on September 2. During that time, the process will reportedly be ‘re-assessed’ and as well as every 180 days afterwards.  

Karemi waits in hope before the review.

‘I am not just one student. I am the voice of all the young people here who never had a childhood, who see no future, and who find refuge only in books and dreams. If this small flame is extinguished, nothing of us will remain.’

Iranians declined from university due to the travel ban have been taking to academic blogs, posting their stories anonymously. 

Many Iranians fear retaliation from their government, who have historically punished, jailed, tortured and even killed those who speak against the regime. By sharing his story publicly, and details of the government’s retaliation for his research, he effectively puts his himself in danger.

Karemi says he is fully aware of the situation, and decided to speak up exclusively to Daily Mail, even though he fears for his livelihood. 

Daily Mail reached out to the White House for a response on Karemi’s future.

A senior administration official said the Trump administration is ‘protecting our nation’ by revoking visas when potential security concerns arise, but declined to provide specific numbers or address Karemi’s individual case.