Imagine waking up at 3:00 a.m. to a thunderous pounding on your front door. You’re a PhD candidate, someone who spends most of their time thinking about metallurgical engineering and welding technology, not international espionage or federal courtrooms. For Alireza Doroudi, a 32-year-old Iranian student at the University of Alabama, this wasn’t a nightmare. It was Tuesday morning in March 2025.
Federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) didn't just knock; they arrived in force at his Tuscaloosa apartment, taking him into custody while his fiancée, Sama Bajgani, watched in shock. One minute he's a researcher with "extraordinary ability" (as his pending EB-1 visa application claimed), and the next, he’s an inmate at the Pickens County Jail.
The Mystery of the Revoked Visa
Basically, the whole case boils down to a massive contradiction between what the university told him and what the federal government decided behind closed doors. Doroudi arrived in the U.S. in January 2023 on an F-1 student visa issued in Oman. He passed all the checks. He was a "valued member" of the UA community.
Then, about six months after he got here, the State Department revoked his visa. Why? They wouldn't say.
When Doroudi went to the University of Alabama’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) for help, they told him it was no big deal. They literally said his case "was not unusual or problematic" and that he was perfectly fine to stay in the U.S. as long as he remained a full-time student. Honestly, that’s standard advice for many international students. If your visa stamp expires or is revoked while you’re inside the country, you usually have "Duration of Status" (D/S) as long as your I-20 form is valid.
But the Trump administration’s 2025 crackdown changed the rules of the game without telling the players.
National Security or Political Posturing?
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a statement that sounded like something out of a spy thriller. They claimed Alireza Doroudi "posed significant national security concerns."
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Here is the kicker: they haven't produced a single shred of evidence to back that up.
Unlike other students detained around the same time—like Rumeysa Öztürk at Tufts or activists at Columbia—Doroudi wasn't a protester. He didn't write op-eds about Gaza. He wasn't at the campus encampments. His lawyer, David Rozas, has been very vocal about this. The man was a lab rat, focusing on mechanical engineering. Even the University of Alabama's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) issued a statement clarifying that Doroudi had zero involvement with their organization.
So, if he wasn't a political activist, why the "national security" label?
Some think it’s just because he’s Iranian. During this same period, the administration was floating new travel restrictions specifically targeting Iranian nationals. Doroudi might have just been an easy target to "set a precedent," as his lawyer put it.
The Legal Black Hole in Louisiana
After his arrest, Doroudi was moved from Alabama to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile. If you’ve never heard of it, that’s sort of the point. It’s a remote facility often used for detainees the government wants to keep far from the spotlight—and their legal teams.
In April 2025, an immigration judge named Maithe González denied him bond. The reasoning was a classic Catch-22:
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- Because his visa was revoked, he was considered a "flight risk."
- Because the government said he was a security threat (without proof), the judge ruled he failed to prove he wasn't one.
Think about that for a second. Our legal system is usually "innocent until proven guilty," but in immigration court, the burden was on Doroudi to "prove a negative." How do you prove you aren't a secret threat when the government won't even tell you what they think you did?
What Most People Get Wrong About This Case
A lot of the chatter on Reddit and social media lumped Doroudi in with the pro-Palestinian campus crackdown. It makes sense why—the timing was identical. Rumeysa Öztürk was being grabbed off the street in Massachusetts at the same time.
But Doroudi’s case is actually scarier for international students because it’s so... boring.
He followed the rules. He checked with his university. He had no criminal record (well, except for a speeding ticket in 2023 where he was going 25 mph over the limit). If a guy like that can be snatched from his bed at 3 a.m. and labeled a national security threat, then nobody on a visa is truly "safe."
The University of Alabama has been in a tough spot. They’ve released the usual "we value our international students" statements, but they also have to cooperate with federal authorities. It's a delicate dance when you're a state flagship university receiving hundreds of millions in federal grants.
What’s the status now?
As of early 2026, the situation remains a grinding legal battle. A GoFundMe organized by his fiancée raised over $25,000 for his defense, but the wheels of justice in the immigration system turn incredibly slowly. He’s stuck in a cycle of appeals. Meanwhile, his research is stalled, his PhD is in limbo, and he faces a very real threat of being sent back to Iran—a place where, ironically, he could be persecuted just for having lived in the West.
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Actionable Insights for International Students and Faculty
If you're an international student or work with them, this case changed the "best practices" for staying in the U.S.
Never rely solely on university advice regarding revoked visas. Even if the ISSS office is well-meaning, they aren't the ones who will be at your door at 3 a.m. If you receive a notice from the State Department, hire a private immigration attorney immediately to audit your status.
Understand the "Duration of Status" fragility. The idea that you are "legal" just because your I-20 is active is being challenged by the current administration's interpretation of visa revocations.
Keep a digital paper trail. Doroudi had text messages and emails from the university telling him he was fine. While those haven't gotten him out of jail yet, they are the backbone of his legal defense and his claim that he didn't "willfully" violate any rules.
Monitor your SEVIS record. You can ask your Designated School Official (DSO) for a printout of your SEVIS history at any time. If there are any "ghost" flags or comments from federal agencies, you want to know about them before ICE shows up.
The "Alabama doctoral student detained" story isn't just a headline about one guy; it's a warning shot for higher education in the U.S. It shows how quickly "administrative issues" can turn into "national security" crises when the political wind shifts.
For now, Alireza Doroudi remains a symbol of the "constant dread" that many international researchers are currently living through. Whether he'll ever finish that PhD in Tuscaloosa is still anyone’s guess.
To protect yourself or your students, make sure to consult with specialized legal counsel rather than relying on general campus guidelines, especially if you are a citizen of a country currently under heightened scrutiny. Keep your documents updated and maintain a clear record of all communications with immigration officials.