Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested a former sniper for the Iranian military who was living in Alabama.
In an exclusive report, Newsweek said Ribvar Karimi was taken into custody Sunday in Locust, Alabama.
The 26-year-old Iranian army veteran served his country from 2018 to 2021. He entered the U.S. in October on a K-1 fiancé visa, but never got around to adjusting his immigration status.
Morgan Karimi, 30, told Newsweek that her husband’s delay in changing his immigration status was due to concerns about their first child — due in August — having fluid in his lungs and heart.
She said the two met online while playing the video game “Call of Duty” in 2020. They got married in January.
She insisted that her new husband loves America and President Donald Trump and that he even supported Trump’s stance on immigration.
“My husband himself, even being from Iran, supported Trump, his immigration policies, and understood he was trying to protect the American people and was praying he helped free the Iranian people,” she said.
“He believed in him as well. My husband is from the Kurdish region of Iran, where the people are good people and desperate for freedom from the regime.”
She said Ribvar Karimi’s service in the Iranian army was mandatory. “In Iran, if you don’t serve in the military, then you can’t get a passport to ever leave your country,” she said.
She also expressed fear that Ribvar could face death or imprisonment if he is deported to Iran, because of his opposition to the country’s current regime and his support for the U.S.
“This man wears the American flag proudly, and it’s a shame that someone who is so proud to be here is at risk of being robbed of building the life he has dreamed of for so long. His groom’s cake at our wedding was an American flag cake,” she said.
LOCUST, Ala. — We arrested Ribvar Karimi for an immigration violation June 22. He reportedly served as an IRANIAN ARMY SNIPER from 2018 to 2021.
????He had an Islamic Republic of Iran Army identification card in his possession when we arrested him!
His failure to adjust his… pic.twitter.com/KOq3uI3YZB
— ⁿᵉʷˢ Barron Trump ???????? (@BarronTNews_) June 25, 2025
On Tuesday, DHS announced eleven Iranians, including Karimi, had been arrested over the weekend.
DHS said Karimi “entered the U.S. on a K-1 visa, which is reserved for aliens engaged to be married to American citizens, in October 2024 under the Biden administration. Karimi never adjusted his status — a legal requirement — and is removable from the United States. He’s currently in ICE custody, where he’ll remain pending removal proceedings.”
Anyone who’s seen “90 Day Fiancé” knows it’s common to get engaged or married for a green card. That is why it’s a show.
People protesting Ribvar Karimi’s detention because he “got married” leave out that he moved here as a card-carrying Islamic Republic of Iran Army sniper. pic.twitter.com/AWW5grNjU5
— Hank Campbell (@HankCampbell) June 25, 2025
Justice must be blind. Trump supporter or not, patriot or otherwise, we must all adhere to the rule of law.
The situation seems one that will garner sympathy, but why did Ribvar Karimi wait so long after getting married without filing the necessary paperwork to update his status?
His wife told Newsweek they were not given a deadline for updating his status — they were just told that they must marry within 90 days of his arrival.
“This would be much easier to understand if there was a deadline issued for the adjustment of status, but there wasn’t. We thought we had time. I am a rule follower and believe in doing the right thing. I never would’ve put my husband in this position, especially this close to our child being born,” she said.
ICE and DHS have a responsibility to the American people first, especially at a time when authorities are concerned about undercover Iranian terror cells.
Karimi could be the most pleasant and America-loving immigrant to come here, but he should be required to follow the rules and requirements, just like anyone else.
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