(WXYZ) — An Irianian man who planned to get his PhD at Michigan State University was detained at Detroit Metro Airport before voluntarily flying back to Iran.
Alireza Yazdani, 27, arrived in Detroit on Monday with plans to attend Michigan State's agricultural sciences doctoral program. he was admitted to the university in September and the U.S. reportedly granted him a student visa earlier this month.
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol issued a statement saying that he applied for entry but was later deemed inadmissible.
"On January 26, Alireza Yazdani applied for entry into the United States, and was later deemed inadmissible, at which time he withdrew his application for admission into the United States," the statement said. "The traveler was not arrested, rather held until a return flight could be arranged to his place of departure."
On Monday, Yazdani flew home after he told his attorneys he faced six hours of questioning.
Michigan State University told CNN that they were working with federal agents, Michigan congressional delegation members and Yazdani's lawyers to get him through the situation.
Amy Doukoure, an attorney for CAIR Michigan told 7 Action News that as a result of political differences between the United States and Iran, young students such as this are being unfairly denied entry into the U.S. to continue their education.
7 Action News Reporter Simon Shaykhet will have more on this story on 7 Action News at 6 p.m.
