A physician who is a dual citizen of Iran and Canada spent more than four months unable to re-enter the United States after an alleged glitch at the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, according to a lawsuit.
Dr. Behnoosh Dashti, 52, a resident of Maine since 2022 and an employee at Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital, crossed into Canada on April 8 for what she expected to be a brief visit. Dashti, who legally entered the U.S. on an H-1B work visa valid through 2029, sought to renew her driver's license. The lawsuit claims the Maine BMV could not see the extension of her visa in its system, leading to the rejection of her license renewal.
According to the complaint, BMV officials advised Dashti to cross into Canada, a short drive from her home in Presque Isle, to attempt to update her immigration status in the system. After entering Canada, she attempted to return to the U.S. a few minutes later but was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers. She alleged being held for 10 hours before being released back into Canada and barred from re-entering the U.S.
During her detention, Dashti claimed CBP agents questioned her about her Iranian heritage and her mother's employment with the Iranian government in the 1980s. She stated to agents that her family opposed the Iranian regime and that she fled Iran in 2008 to escape its dictatorship. The lawsuit also stated she expressed gratitude for the death of Iran's ayatollah, calling it a gift to the Iranian people, and described the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran as 'sad' but 'necessary.' Despite possessing a passport and a valid work visa, agents informed Dashti she was inadmissible to the U.S. due to lacking proper documentation, the lawsuit alleged. She also claimed her request to contact a lawyer was denied.
Dashti spent the following months living in hotels and rented accommodations in Canada, unable to work. She was also separated from her husband and two children, aged 22 and 13, as they feared being stranded in Canada themselves if they crossed the border. She was reportedly readmitted to the U.S. late on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Department of Secretary of State told the Press Herald that federal law mandates the BMV to verify the legal status of individuals applying for a REAL ID. "If something appears to be missing in that federal system, we are prohibited from issuing a REAL ID driver's license," the spokesperson stated. "In those situations, which are not uncommon, individuals are advised to check with their attorney or USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)."
Dashti's lawsuit against U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security has since been dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. She described the experience as one of the most significant hardships she has ever faced, stating, "It was unpredictable and uncertain. And those elements add to the difficulty of the situation."
