During diplomatic deals, US-Iran tensions decreased. Iranian could travel more freely to other countries. Also, tourists felt safer about going to Iran. But after rising tensions, circumstances changed again. The Us government has issued a restriction rule. Due to this rule, travelers who visited certain countries cannot travel to the US without a visa (citizens of 38 countries can go to the US without a visa). Iran is one of these countries. But Iran governments didn’t want to lose foreigner tourists because of such rigorous regulation. So they issued a new rule.
A New Rule on Stamping Passports
Most nationalities need Iranian visa to enter Iran. But pay attention that getting an Iranian visa for US citizens is a little bit different. Every tourist has an authorization number that confirms he/she has got the visa.
But for facilitating travels to Iran without possible long term consequences, Iran tourist authorities ordered to waive visa stamping. First, it was a pilot project for about a year. From January 2019, the stamping visa is officially stopped. So your entry and exit stamp will be put on authorization number instead if passport.
You can enter Iran without stamping passport at Tehran, Mashhad, and Shiraz international airports.
JhonnaLou, from UAE, on TripAdvisor
My friend recently visited Iran, they don’t stamp your passport anymore. They just print your visa on a small piece of paper. He got it on arrival. Not sure if the same procedure applies to other kinds of applications.
Can I go to America if I’ve Been to Iran?
If you are planning to travel to Iran, there is no more passport stamp for tourists right now. So nothing is registered in your visa, and you can visit the US without any problem.
Ken, from CA, on TripAdvisor
I’m currently in Iran right now, they don’t stamp your passport and you can travel to USA anytime you want. You have to apply for a visa on arrival online, when approved you can print the paper and present it upon arrival. They’ll only save your info online and you must keep that paper with you ?Iranians and nice & you should definitely visit Persia.
If you’ve been in Iran before, you can’t enter the US without a visa. In other words, visiting the US is possible. You should go to the US embassy nearby and apply for the visa. According to other travelers who have been to Iran and then asked for the US visa, it’s not a complicated, time-wasting process.
Mufajel75, from UK, on TripAdvisor
2019, I am a UK citizen and have just returned from a visit to Iran and then applied for a USA tourist visa (my visit to Iran nullified my existing ESTA) the guy at the US Embassy in London was interested in why I visited Iran and where I went and once it was clear my travels were purely for tourism and that I was pretty well traveled I got a 10-year multi-entry tourist visa to the US. Entry to the US was also easier than with an ESTA with less questions etc on landing than when I had traveled on an ESTA. My advise is to be completely honest and upfront and they should have no reason to deny entry to the USA. Both countries are great for visiting and neither should be missed due to misinformation!
For more assurance, use airlines that don’t have a data-sharing agreement with the US like Iranian, Chinese, or Russian airlines. In this way, the US government cannot access passengers list automatically.
Ausmochic A, from Australia, on TripAdvisor
…You are correct, there are passenger manifests, but NSA can only access the data within their own country. They could request such from another country but those country must has data sharing agreement with the US. For example if you fly to Iran via Russia, Turkey or China, USA can not access passenger list automatically.
