A University of Alabama doctoral student has agreed to voluntarily return to Iran after being held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention for more than six weeks, following a disputed visa revocation.

Alireza Doroudi was detained by ICE agents on March 25 at the Tuscaloosa apartment he shared with his fiancée. According to reporting from WBRC and WSFA, his arrest was based on the revocation of his F-1 student visa.

Doroudi first arrived in the U.S. in January 2023 after receiving a student visa through the U.S. Embassy in Oman. His legal representatives maintained that he remained in good standing under the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and continued his academic progress.

Related: ICE detains Iranian student at the University of Alabama

After being detained, he was transferred to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Jena, Louisiana, where he remained for 42 days. During a master hearing on May 8, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made known its intention to drop the charge related to the visa revocation, acknowledging that it had been filed in error. However, the immigration judge required DHS to submit that decision in writing.

According to both sources, the judge declined to consider a bond redetermination until the formal filing was submitted and instead scheduled a second hearing to address the remaining allegation. In response, Doroudi was granted voluntary departure and agreed to return to Iran to avoid further detention.

Sherri Blevins is a writer for Mountain Valley News and a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].