When it comes to table tennis, the United States is not exactly a world power. It has never won an Olympic medal. The most visible players in the country are not stars but weekend warriors: Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and the actress Susan Sarandon. At the elite level, immigrant talent has long been welcomed. The entire American team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was born in China, a dominant power in the sport.
Mariann Domonkos
Afshin Noroozi of Iran sought an "extraordinary ability" work visa based on his table tennis skills. He finished 65th at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and achieved a ranking of 284th in the world.
But an immigration case involving an Iranian table tennis player has raised question about exactly what status an international athlete must achieve before being granted preferential entry into the United States. Is it enough to be the best in your own home country? Or must you also be among the best in the world?
On Wednesday, a Federal District Court judge in New York affirmed a decision by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to deny an "extraordinary ability" work visa to Afshin Noroozi, 27, the first table tennis Olympian from Iran. Noroozi had sought the visa on the ground that he was a top international player, having finished 65th at the 2008 Olympics and gained a ranking of 284th in the world.
The Immigration Act of 1990 allows employment visas to be given to those who possess "extraordinary ability" in the sciences, arts, education, business or athletics. Winning a Nobel Prize, for instance, would signal exceptional achievement. Finishing dozens of places behind the winner in Olympic table tennis apparently makes a less convincing case.
While Noroozi's proficiency was "impressive and commendable, and surely bespeaks years of dedication and practice," Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote, the immigration service was "well within its discretion to conclude that Noroozi's standing fell short of making him 'one of that small percentage who have risen to the very top of the field of endeavor.' "
John Assadi, Noroozi's New York-based lawyer who specializes in immigration cases, said he might appeal Wednesday's decision. Assadi said he believed the immigration service interpreted "extraordinary ability" more narrowly than the law had originally intended.
"Hopefully the government will change its stance and be more liberal in attracting talent," Assadi said. "Even if he is not 1 or 2 in the world, he would be able to contribute in the U.S. Why they want to keep him out, I don't know."
Assadi said he did not believe that the tense political situation between the United States and Iran influenced the immigration service's opposition to Noroozi's visa. "I think, in a way, they may not consider table tennis as a major sport, and maybe that has something to do subconsciously in the thought process," Assadi said.
A month before competing for Iran at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Noroozi came to the United States to participate in Ping-Pong diplomacy as part of a State Department-sponsored program to promote cultural and athletic exchanges, Assadi said.
In 2010, Noroozi applied for an "extraordinary ability" visa, and his petition was granted by the immigration service.
"I can assume he liked what he saw in 2008, and he felt the U.S. was where his contribution could be meaningful," Assadi said of his client.
From there, though, the case paddled back and forth in a game of legal Ping-Pong. The immigration service implemented new rules — some might say a more challenging one — about granting visas based on extraordinary ability. In 2011, Noroozi's visa was revoked. He filed another visa petition and it was denied.
The immigration service ruled that Noroozi did not sufficiently establish himself as a singular talent. Among his accused deficiencies: he did not demonstrate that he played a leading or critical role in Iranian table tennis. His achievements were not reported in major publications. And he did not show how his presence would benefit the United States.
Last November, Noroozi sued federal officials, including Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Among his arguments were that the immigration service discriminated against Iranian applicants. On Wednesday, though, Noroozi lost his case.
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