Iranian Applicants to US Grad School: 2026 Rules

Iranian Applicants to US Grad School: 2026 Rules

Entry to the US by Iranian nationals has been suspended since June 9, 2025, and a December 2025 proclamation continued the full restriction from January 1, 2026. It has a few exceptions, such as US permanent residents and dual nationals travelling on another country's passport. Before you write a statement of purpose, decide whether you fall inside one.

The rules that matter for a Fall 2027 application are two proclamations, one 2012 statute on nuclear and energy careers, and an August 2026 sanctions change. Our take: work out first whether you can use a US admission at all, then build your list around the answer. If you can, report your record unconverted and describe your goals exactly as they are. The wider question of whether to keep the US on your list is in should you still apply to US grad school.

Every federal text quoted below was read on October 30, 2026. That day we found no later Federal Register proclamation changing Iran's status under the December 2025 one, which requires a review every 180 days. Recheck before you pay fees.

Status first: the 2025 entry proclamations

This page is about your application, so the entry rules get one short section, quoted from the Federal Register. It gives no visa-process advice.

• June 2025. Proclamation 10949, effective June 9, 2025, says: "The entry into the United States of nationals of Iran as immigrants and nonimmigrants is hereby suspended."
• December 2025. Proclamation 10998, signed December 16 and published December 19, 2025, says the President has "determined to continue to fully restrict and limit the entry of nationals of the following 12 countries", and Iran is on that list. Section 10: "This proclamation is effective at 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on January 1, 2026."
• Reviews. Section 7(a) requires a report "Within 180 days of the date of this proclamation, and every 180 days thereafter" on whether the restrictions "should be continued, terminated, modified, or supplemented." A review is not a change.

Who the text covers

Section 6 of Proclamation 10998 sets the scope. Under 6(a), the suspensions apply "only to foreign nationals of the designated countries who: (i) are outside the United States on the applicable effective date of this proclamation; and (ii) do not have a valid visa on the applicable effective date of this proclamation." Section 6(b) then lists exceptions, including "(i) any lawful permanent resident of the United States" and "(ii) any dual national of a country designated under sections 2, 3, 4, or 5 of this proclamation when the individual is traveling on a passport issued by a country not so designated". Section 8(c) adds: "No immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before the applicable effective date of this proclamation shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation."

Our view: if you are in the last row, do not build a US-only list for Fall 2027. The basis is the text: a full suspension, exceptions that are discretionary and case-by-case, and a review cycle with no promised outcome. Compare a German or other European PhD on the whole offer with the US or European PhD comparison.

The countercase: a US application can still be worth one fee if the program allows deferral, because a 180-day review could change your status before a deferred start. Ask the program, in writing, whether it defers admission for students who cannot arrive, before you pay. And if you are in one of the first three rows, the rest of this page is simply how to apply well.

The nuclear and energy rule in 22 U.S.C. 8771

This statute applies whatever happens to the proclamations. 22 U.S.C. 8771 says:

"The Secretary of State shall deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall exclude from the United States, any alien who is a citizen of Iran that the Secretary of State determines seeks to enter the United States to participate in coursework at an institution of higher education (as defined in section 1001(a) of title 20) to prepare the alien for a career in the energy sector of Iran or in nuclear science or nuclear engineering or a related field in Iran."

Subsection (b) says it "applies with respect to visa applications filed on or after August 10, 2012."

Read the operative words carefully. The test is the career it prepares you for, in Iran: "a career in the energy sector of Iran or in nuclear science or nuclear engineering or a related field in Iran." It is a visa rule applied by the State Department. Admissions committees do not apply it.

What this means for your statement of purpose:

• Write the career goal you actually hold. Your SOP, CV and visa forms are read together. A goal rewritten to sound safer, then contradicted by your past work or your interview, is a misrepresentation problem, which is worse than the original question.
• If your real goal falls inside the text, wording cannot fix it. That is a decision about where to study, not about how to phrase a paragraph.
• If your field only sounds close (for example, power electronics for consumer devices, or climate modelling), describe the actual research questions and the actual career plan in concrete terms. Precision helps every reader, and vague energy language helps none.

Sanctions changes in August 2026

On August 26, 2026, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control published a final rule stating: "Effective August 24, 2026, 31 CFR 560.544, 560.550, and 560.554 are stayed indefinitely." It also suspended Iran General License G, which the rule says authorized "certain academic exchanges and the exportation or importation of certain educational services", and added: "As a result of this suspension, any such transactions are no longer authorized by OFAC as of August 24, 2026."

We do not interpret sanctions law, and neither should an applicant guide. The practical step: before you pay an application fee, a test fee or a deposit from inside Iran, ask the university's graduate admissions office how it handles applicants ordinarily resident in Iran. Do not ask a relative or agent abroad to pay in a way that hides where the money comes from.

Tests and fees from inside Iran

English tests are a school-by-school rule, and the three schools below do not agree. Checked October 30, 2026:

Two cautions. We did not verify which tests can currently be taken inside Iran, so check availability on each test owner's own site before you register. And the UIUC row matters for PhD applicants: a teaching assistantship may need a TOEFL or IELTS score later even if Duolingo got you admitted.

Fee waivers are narrow for international applicants at many schools. Berkeley's waiver is for "U.S. citizens or current permanent residents who demonstrate financial need or have participated in an eligible program". See PhD fee waivers for international applicants for programs that publish other routes.

Reporting a GPA out of 20

If your transcript reports your average out of 20, enter it out of 20. Stanford's graduate admissions FAQ says: "Enter your GPA as it appears on your transcript. Do not convert your GPA to a 4.0 scale if it's reported on a different scale." UCLA asks that records include "a complete description of the institution's grading scale" and "if rank is determined, rank in the total class or group."

The full method, including what to do when a portal will not accept a scale of 20, is in converting foreign grades to a GPA for US grad school. If your university grades harder than its reputation suggests, see explaining strict grading in an SOP.

Constructed example: the form entry and one line of context

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. Context (invented): Sara Ahmadi has a bachelor's in civil engineering. Her transcript shows an average of 17.12 out of 20 and states her rank in her entering class.

Form entry: GPA 17.12, scale 20. Uploaded transcript with the university's grading key and its official English translation.

One line in the SOP or additional-information field: "My average of 17.12/20 placed me 4th of 63 students in my entering class, as shown on my transcript."

The line adds the one fact a US reader cannot get from the number, the rank, and points to the document that proves it. It does not convert, does not explain the Iranian system at length, and stays out of the paragraphs about research.

Questions from Iranian applicants

Can I defer until the rule changes?

Only if your program allows it. Deferral is program policy, not federal policy. Ask before you accept or pay a deposit, and get the answer in writing.

Will mentioning my field hurt my admission?

The federal rule quoted above is a visa rule: "The Secretary of State shall deny a visa". It does not tell admissions committees how to read applications. Describe your field accurately; how a given department reads it is not published.

Does the 2026 proclamation apply if I am already studying in the US?

Section 6(a) limits the suspension to people who were outside the US and had no valid visa on January 1, 2026. Section 8(c) says visas issued before that date are not revoked under the proclamation.

Should my SOP mention sanctions or the travel ban?

No. Faculty read your statement for research fit and preparation. Practical constraints belong in a conversation with the admissions office.

Get a free review of your statement of purpose

Get a free Quick Review of your statement of purpose against GradPilot's general PhD statement of purpose rubric. It reads whether your statement presents a clear research direction, shows how your prior work prepared you to pursue it, and explains why the program and faculty fit your goals. For a master's, use the general MS statement of purpose rubric, or start from the PhD SOP review page.

More guides for applicants affected by US entry rules:

• Proclamation 10043 and US grad school applications: the separate rule for some Chinese graduate students.
• SOP for masters in USA from Nigeria or Ghana: Nigeria's partial restriction under the same December 2025 proclamation.
• Fully funded US PhDs for international students: how funded offers work if you can take one up.
• Graduate school essays hub: every master's and PhD SOP guide in one place.

Sources

Retrieved October 30, 2026, except where noted.

• Federal Register, Proclamation 10949: Restricting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats (June 4, 2025; effective June 9, 2025): Iran suspension.
• Federal Register, Proclamation 10998: Restricting and Limiting the Entry of Foreign Nationals To Protect the Security of the United States (December 16, 2025; effective January 1, 2026): Sections 1(g), 2, 6, 7, 8(c) and 10.
• Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 22 U.S. Code § 8771: the nuclear and energy exclusion and its 2012 applicability date.
• Federal Register, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (final rule, August 26, 2026): stay of 560.544, 560.550 and 560.554 and suspension of General License G.
• UC Berkeley Graduate Division, Requirements (no year stated): accepted tests, Iran row, fee-waiver eligibility.
• MIT Office of Graduate Education, International Applicants and ELP Exemptions (no year stated): accepted tests and exemption countries.
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate College, International Applicants (no year stated): Duolingo for admission, not for teaching assistants.
• Stanford Graduate Admissions, FAQ (no year stated): enter GPA on its original scale.
• UCLA Graduate Division, Required Academic Records (no year stated): grading-scale description and class rank.