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Mohammad Sharafoddin, left, and his wife, Nuriya, right, show a photo of their niece in Afghanistan who won't be able to travel to the U.S., under the new travel ban, during an interview at their home in Irmo, S.C., on Saturday, June 7 2025. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

IRMO, S.C. – Mohammad Sharafoddin, his wife and young son walked at times for 36 hours in a row over mountain passes as they left Afghanistan as refugees to end up less than a decade later talking about their journey on a plush love seat in the family's three-bedroom suburban American home.

He and his wife dreamed of bringing her niece to the U.S. to share in that bounty. Maybe she could study to become a doctor and then decide her own path.

But that door s

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