CLEVELAND -- The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service has announced a first step toward deporting Cleveland State University soccer star Ali Kazemaini, an Iranian who had been selected for the 1984 U.S. Olympic soccer team.
The INS said Tuesday that Kazemaini, 19, has been in the United States illegally since January 1979 when his student visa expired. Agency officials said they planned to issue an order today that is technically a first step toward deportation.
However, they also said Kazemaini could take advantage of several options, including a request for political asylum, to stay in the United States.
'He's not bothered to tell us what he's doing, or let us know when he's moved,' said Richard C. Smith, assistant director of the Cleveland INS district. 'He's not done anything required of a non-immigrant in the United States.'
The official also criticized Cleveland State for apparently admitting the soccer player on a $5,000-a-year scholarship without determining if he had legal status in the United States.
CSU's foreign student adviser, George Burke, said there have often been delays in INS processing of authorizations for foreign students.
'For Cleveland State not to have reacted isn't necessarily surprising,' he said, but added that the university has begun checking to make sure foreign students, who number between 250 and 300, have student visas before it admits them.
'The only think I can say is, I don't know why it (Kazemaini's visa) hasn't been asked for,' he said. 'It's only recently that CSU has had international students.'
Last month the U.S. Soccer Federation ruled Kazemaini, who made All-America at CSU, ineligible for the Olympic team because he is not a citizen.
'I didn't know I was out of status until the Olympic thing came up,' Kazemaini said.
He said he found out about his status after he began seeking U.S. citizenship to counter the soccer federation's ruling.
