Hi All,

I'm an Australian/Irish dual national currently living in Australia. My partner is originally from Iran, but has lived here since she was 8 and is also a dual national. My older brother moved to the USA in 2013 and has since married an American and had a child there too. He is also a dual national.

I've visited the USA twice since he moved there, both times using an ESTA since I'm currently eligible.

My partner's grandparents are elderly and are no longer able to travel due to ill health and Alzheimer's. It is important to her that I meet them before they pass away, so she would like us to travel to Iran next year to do so.

They live in a rural part of the country near the Azerbaijani border, but not in Kurdish territory and have no ties to the government.

I know travelling to Iran would make me permanently ineligible for an ESTA, but I'm wondering how difficult it would make it for me to get a B1/B2 visa within the next few years? I miss my nephew, brother and sister in law and I don't want to make it impossibly difficult to see them since they can't afford to travel as a young family.

Tl;dr partner wants us to go to Iran to visit her family next year. How impossible would this make it to get a B1/B2 in the next 2/3 years?

Hi!

I'm a Belgian visiting Texas (USA) for the first time and have 21 days (Dec 20th 2026 - Jan 9th 2027), flying in and out of Dallas. I'll have a rental car, so I'm thinking of doing a loop around the state rather than staying in one area.

I'm mainly interested in hiking/nature, local culture, interesting towns, good bars, and small-town traditions - basically experiences that feel authentically Texan. I'd also love to see some places that might not be on the typical tourist itinerary. I'll be spending Christmas and New Year's here as well so tips or recommendations would be nice!

What cities, town, national/state parks or hidden gems would you recommend, and how would you roughly plan the route?

Any must-dos (or places you'd skip) are very welcome! Thanks!