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When 15-year-old Melbourne High School student Pouya Ghadirian turned up to Melbourne's US consulate on Monday morning for a visa interview, he already feared something might go wrong.
Pouya, who was born in Australia but holds dual Iranian-Australian citizenship by descent, had plans to travel to the US for a school space camp, but had read about President Donald Trump's temporary visa ban at the weekend.
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It's now looking like better news for Pouya Ghadirian, who is hoping to travel to the US for a school space camp. Photo: Vince Caligiuri
"I had a feeling, I wasn't angry by the decision because I sort of expected it," he recalled on Tuesday, after it appeared the ban had caught him in its tentacles.
"Mainly I was disappointed."
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Consulate officers were confused about what Trump's ban meant for Australians such as Pouya with dual citizenship. They told him they had "terrible news" and that the rules had changed.
"[My dad] was upset as well because he was saying, 'Look we've had no criminal record and we've done nothing wrong'.
"I have an Australian citizenship. I was born here. It doesn't make sense and it can't be right."
On Tuesday morning he fielded phone calls and requests from photographers across the country as he made his way to school to start Year 11.
But as Pouya walked into class, he learnt that Australian dual-nationals won't be affected by Trump's ban as part of a deal secured with the White House.
"It's great, if it works out," he said of the update.
Pouya has chosen not to comment on how he feels Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has handled the ban.
"I don't want to get into politics of any sort. If what just happened is true, and Malcolm Turnbull has made it so Australian dual-nationals won't be affected, then that's a good thing I guess."
And so a day after he assumed he had been rejected, the teenager walked into school feeling more positive about being able to go with his friends on his school trip later this year.
- with Amber Wilson, AAP
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