Alireza Doroudi, a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama, has decided to voluntarily leave the United States after spending six weeks in a federal detention center in the state of Louisiana. This decision comes as the U.S. government has dropped one of the two charges brought against him.
Doroudi had been in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) since the early hours of March 25, 2025. The U.S. government stated that the revocation of his visa was due to “serious national security concerns.” One of the main allegations was the “precautionary” cancellation of his visa, which, according to the government, would not take effect until his departure from the country.
The presiding judge in the case, Maite Gonzalez, denied a request for his temporary release on bond, stating that the risk of flight was high due to his lack of family and social ties in the U.S. Doroudi’s attorney, David Rozas, claimed that his client was the victim of an unjust process and had been forced to choose between indefinite detention or voluntarily leaving the country.
According to reports, Doroudi had previously co-authored scientific papers with two security-affiliated professors, Hamid Omidvar and Ali Shamsipour, which had military applications. These professors reportedly have backgrounds of cooperation with intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic.
Doroudi has now decided to end the legal process and awaits deportation to Iran. The U.S. Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security have declined to comment further on the details of the case.
