Nine Indian wrestlers denied visas for U23's by American embassy, deemed "overstay risks"

[RAFWiki]

 

[Pa in Taiwan]

I also posted on this issue, asking if the US is a responsible host. Both your post and my own have been read over 200 times, and curiously enough, neither one has even one comment. I wanted to leave a comment on this post to let you know that I think the entire global wrestling world should be in an uproar over this issue, and the total lack of interaction on this issue is maddening. The attitude of "ignore it and it will go away" is unacceptable. I ask readers to imagine the reaction on these forums if a wrestler from the US were denied a visa in a country holding a UWW competition. The UWW should inform the US government and USAW that future tournaments will not be scheduled in the US if they continue their petty visa refusal policy for age level wrestlers. One can understand US policy in fearing overstays, but the letter from the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) clarifying the issue should have been enough to immediately change the situation.  

I guess we set the precedent during the World Cup in soccer when the athletes from Iran were not permitted to sleep in the US and had to travel back and forth to Mexico between competitions. Sport is supposed to transcend politics and bring people together. 

Congratulations to Iran for taking the U23 team title in both Freestyle and Greco Roman. 

 

Edited October 18 by Pa in Taiwan

[MPhillips]

29 minutes ago, Pa in Taiwan said:

Sport is supposed to transcend politics and bring people together.

Glory days...

[WrestlingRash]

they are legit overstay risks. whats the issue? 

[2001Hokie]

14 hours ago, Pa in Taiwan said:

I guess we set the precedent during the World Cup in soccer when the athletes from Iran were not permitted to sleep in the US and had to travel back and forth to Mexico between competitions. Sport is supposed to transcend politics and bring people together. 

Let's not conflate the two situations.  Iran was approved to stay in the US for training in Tuscon during the WC, with preparations for them nearly complete.  All coach and player visas were approved.  Iran decided at the last minute (relatively speaking) to adjust and stay in Tijuana.  This meant the team had to go back and forth across borders.  It was an odd situation in general.  It's not unusual for teams to travel a day before a game and is well within FIFA rules.  The post-match return is difficult for sure, but given the visas they received based on initially staying in Tuscon, the in/out travel isn't that unexpected.  This is why late adjustments for large group travel is a nightmare, especially internationally.  It's not always as simple as finding a new hotel.  

I once hosted a 3 company set of meetings in Beijing and we had to change hotels 15 foreigners to go to a different city.  Because our intake information stated a specific hotel, we had to notify and be approved for the move.  Relatively painless, but still an inconvenience, and they obviously could have said no.

[BAC]

Someone should resign.  It's just embarrassing. 

Rule number two of visa granting, right after "don't let a terrorist in," is "don't create an international incident by denying someone who was invited by the highest levels of sport/government unless you're 100% sure."   

There are sometimes close calls.  Some coaches/federation officials have been denied visas in recent years based on some questionable rhetoric, and I'm inclined to give US officials the benefit of the doubt. 

But here?  Come on.  This is foolishness.

[bnwtwg]

1 hour ago, BAC said:

Someone should resign.  It's just embarrassing. 

Yes that's it I'm getting there

1 hour ago, BAC said:

I'm inclined to give US officials the benefit of the doubt. 

Ugh need a blue chew

1 hour ago, BAC said:

But here?  Come on.  This is foolishness.

[Pa in Taiwan]

On 10/19/2026 at 9:56 PM, 2001Hokie said:

Let's not conflate the two situations.  Iran was approved to stay in the US for training in Tuscon during the WC, with preparations for them nearly complete.  All coach and player visas were approved.  Iran decided at the last minute (relatively speaking) to adjust and stay in Tijuana.  This meant the team had to go back and forth across borders.  It was an odd situation in general.  It's not unusual for teams to travel a day before a game and is well within FIFA rules.  The post-match return is difficult for sure, but given the visas they received based on initially staying in Tuscon, the in/out travel isn't that unexpected.  This is why late adjustments for large group travel is a nightmare, especially internationally.  It's not always as simple as finding a new hotel.  

U.S. Refusal of Overnight Stays: U.S. authorities declined to allow the Iranian national soccer team to stay overnight in the United States, citing security and safety concerns amid ongoing U.S.-Israel military conflicts involving Iran.

Visa Complications: U.S. officials denied or delayed visas for multiple Iranian federation members and support staff (including federation head Mehdi Taj), leading to the abandonment of their original training camp in Tucson, Arizona.

Commuting Rule: Although Iran's group-stage matches were scheduled in U.S. cities (Los Angeles and Seattle), the team was required to commute across the border from Tijuana and fly back to Mexico immediately after each match rather than lodging on U.S. soil.

 

 

 

 

 

[2001Hokie]

51 minutes ago, Pa in Taiwan said:

U.S. Refusal of Overnight Stays: U.S. authorities declined to allow the Iranian national soccer team to stay overnight in the United States, citing security and safety concerns amid ongoing U.S.-Israel military conflicts involving Iran.

Visa Complications: U.S. officials denied or delayed visas for multiple Iranian federation members and support staff (including federation head Mehdi Taj), leading to the abandonment of their original training camp in Tucson, Arizona.

Commuting Rule: Although Iran's group-stage matches were scheduled in U.S. cities (Los Angeles and Seattle), the team was required to commute across the border from Tijuana and fly back to Mexico immediately after each match rather than lodging on U.S. soil.

Again, the initial decision by Iran was to stay in Tuscon, AZ.  They negotiated with FIFA a few weeks out from the WC to move their training and stays in Tijuana.  This caused everything to change, and could have complicated their visas.  As I said, late changes between countries with poor or unstable relationships can really muck up travel plans.  That's not shocking, and the decision to switch locations was made by the Iranian team.  

They also were allowed to enter 2 days before for the last game.  The other two games were held in LA...not exactly a heavy trek.  As for support staff, that sucks but visas get denied.  Considering the relationship between nations, having people denied visas that are somewhat integrated into the government will certainly raise flags.  You seem to want this to be a left vs right political thing, but realistically it's not unusual given the circumstances.  The actual unusual part is that the WC happened to be here, which allowed outlier situations to be amplified.

[ionel]

3 hours ago, Pa in Taiwan said:

U.S. Refusal of Overnight Stays: U.S. authorities declined to allow the Iranian national soccer team to stay overnight in the United States, citing security and safety concerns amid ongoing U.S.-Israel military conflicts involving Iran.

Visa Complications: U.S. officials denied or delayed visas for multiple Iranian federation members and support staff (including federation head Mehdi Taj), leading to the abandonment of their original training camp in Tucson, Arizona.

Commuting Rule: Although Iran's group-stage matches were scheduled in U.S. cities (Los Angeles and Seattle), the team was required to commute across the border from Tijuana and fly back to Mexico immediately after each match rather than lodging on U.S. soil.

source? 

[JWC]

Listen… don’t argue with carneys, mouth breathers, instigators, or morons. All result in being a Mark Twain quote. 

[alex1fly]

I don't completely understand the situation but it reads like either an administrative blunder or a flex to try and rig the competition. The context of competing in an international tournament plus requiring documentation of their re-entry to India should have nullified any concerns of overstay. The video cites an automated risk profile, so maybe AI derailed the thing and no human was willing to exercise their contextual knowledge to override a glorified computer program.

The same thing could easily happen with American wrestlers heading overseas.

Edited October 21 by alex1fly

[JMill]

21 hours ago, ionel said:

source? 

“Hey, Alexa”

[ionel]

48 minutes ago, JMill said:

“Hey, Alexa”

"Alexa" is not a source.  

[2001Hokie]

10 hours ago, ionel said:

"Alexa" is not a source.  

Don't tell 'her' that.  She could be listening...

[BigRedFan]

16 hours ago, alex1fly said:

The same thing could easily happen with American wrestlers heading overseas.

And yet...

[JMill]

11 hours ago, 2001Hokie said:

Don't tell 'her' that.  She could be listening...

She always knows what I need before I even ask… 

Edited October 22 by JMill

[GreatWhiteNorth]

On 10/21/2026 at 6:45 PM, ionel said:

"Alexa" is not a source.  

...yet she is listening. And recording and reporting back. (As are the rest of them.)

Sooo it becomes a bit tricky. Whatever Alexa reports back to is obviously a source.

Does that mean Alexa is an indirect source? And is that somehow better?

Much more importantly, why are we allowing international spy-grade intelligence gatherers into our houses, onto our phones, and into our computers?

I know I'm not.

But why are so many others allowing it?

Because it's easier to be blissfully ignorant than it is to try to comprehend what is happening to us.

1984... but in 2026.