[mnglkhn2]

Thank you for your personal story. It is interesting the angle of the father being the one who abandons the family. Did your father have the option of coming with you at the same time and he chose not to? The father in the New Yorker article seems to have stayed behind in order to allow for the other to get the visa, the implication being that otherwise they wouldn't have crossed over.

Was the situation the same in your case? Or did your father simply chose to stay behind out of his personal comfort?

[civilitty]

According to the US State Department, anyone who visits Iran and stays for longer than a year requires an exit permit to leave the country. I don't know much about the politics of Iran but I'd imagine that applies to everyone born there. Due to that exit permit requirement it's probably much easier for women and children to leave than for the father.