US revokes Green Cards of 2 Soleimani relatives amid Iran conflict

The US has revoked the legal residency status of two relatives of slain Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Qasem Soleimani. According to the the State department statement on Saturday stated that Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered the termination of lawful permanent resident status for Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, identified as Soleimani’s niece, and her daughter. Both were subsequently detained and are now in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).The department said Afshar had expressed support for Iran’s leadership and the IRGC, which Washington designates as a terrorist organization. It also cited her social media activity, alleging that she promoted Iranian government messaging and praised attacks on US personnel and military facilities in the Middle East. US officials also said Afshar’s husband has been barred from entering the country.

Until recently, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter were green card holders living lavishly in the United States.

Afshar is the niece of deceased Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani. She is also an outspoken supporter of the Iranian regime who celebrated attacks on…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 4, 2026

Acting Assistant Homeland Security Director Lauren Bis said the two women entered into the U.S. at separate times in summer 2015, the mother on a tourist visa and her daughter on a student visa.Afshar Soleimani, according to Bis, filed a naturalization application in 2025 where she “disclosed she traveled to Iran already four times” since she was issued a green card. “Her trips to Iran illustrate her asylum claims were fraudulent,” the assistant director wrote. Bis added, “If we have reason to believe a green card holder poses a threat to the U.S., the green card will be revoked.”
In a separate measure earlier this month, Rubio also revoked the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of former Iranian National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, and her husband Seyed Kalantar Motamedi. Both have since left the US and are prohibited from reentry, according to the statement. The department said that the administration would not allow individuals who support what it described as anti-American terrorist regimes to reside in the US. 
Its actions also come amid the US-Israel war on Iran, now in its second month. According to Iran's Foreign Ministry, the US bears "definitive international responsibility" for the January 2020 assassination of Soleimani and his associates in a drone strike outside Baghdad Airport.The arrests come days after President Donald Trump, in his address on Thursday, spoke at length about his decision to kill Qasem Soleimani during his first term in office. He suggested the current situation in Iran would have looked very different had Soleimani remained alive.