An Iranian-born woman who was adopted by an American family as a toddler now faces possible deportation from the only country she has ever known.

Brought to the United States at age two, she grew up on a Midwestern farm in a household steeped in church life, patriotism and stories of her father’s service in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. Now in her 50s and living in California, she says she has always considered herself fully American.

But a recent notice from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) informed her that removal proceedings have begun because she is not a U.S. citizen.

Speaking anonymously out of fear that publicity could affect her case, the woman described her shock and confusion. She believed her adoptive parents had secured her citizenship when she was a child. It was only decades later, when she applied for a U.S. passport after paying off her student loans and planning international travel, that she discovered something was wrong.

Immigration officials informed her that her naturalization had never been completed, making her deportable to Iran.

Her case highlights a gap in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which grants automatic citizenship to many internationally adopted children. However, the law does not cover adoptees who were already adults when it took effect or those who entered the country on certain types of visas.

The woman was brought to the U.S. on a tourist visa, a practice that was once common in adoptions from countries without formal intercountry adoption systems. In such cases, children’s temporary visas often expired before their legal status was fully adjusted.

Although some adoptees in similar circumstances have faced deportation after committing crimes, the California woman has no criminal record and says she does not know why her case was flagged.

Her attorney argues that her situation reflects systemic failures, particularly given her father’s military service and her lifelong ties to the United States.

The prospect of being sent to Iran terrifies her. She is a practicing Christian, and advocacy groups rank Iran among the most dangerous countries for Christians.

She does not speak Farsi and has no known relatives there. Deportation would also send her into a country facing significant political unrest and international tensions.

Advocates say the exact number of adoptees without citizenship is unclear. Some only discover their status in adulthood, when correcting it becomes far more complicated. Missing paperwork and decades-old bureaucratic errors can make proving eligibility extremely difficult.

The woman says she has spent tens of thousands of dollars trying to track down documents, including evidence that her father sought replacement citizenship papers. A local newspaper clipping from her childhood mentioned her parents’ efforts to secure her citizenship, reinforcing her belief that they tried to complete the process.

Since receiving the DHS notice, she has curtailed her daily life, working remotely and limiting public outings. She shares her location with friends in case she is detained. With a hearing scheduled before an immigration judge, she says she wants to resolve her legal status once and for all.

Despite her fear, she draws strength from her late father’s legacy as a decorated veteran and former prisoner of war. She sees her fight to remain in the United States not only as a battle for her own future, but also as a defense of the life her father believed he had secured for her.