Important Notice for Applicants Affected by U.S. Sanctions on Iran

Effective August 24, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) suspended a general license that had previously authorized U.S. universities to process applications, accept application fees or tuition payments, and issue offers of admission or scholarships for individuals in Iran or ordinarily resident in Iran. As a result, the University of Pennsylvania is not currently able to complete these steps for affected applicants.

"Ordinarily resident in Iran" means your current, habitual home is in Iran. This is about where you actually live, not your citizenship. If you're an Iranian citizen but currently live and have documented residency somewhere else you would generally not be considered "ordinarily resident in Iran" for purposes of this restriction. If your current address is in Iran, this restriction applies to you regardless of your citizenship.

What this means for your application

• If this restriction applies to you, Penn is not able to process your application, collect your application fee, or issue a decision at this time.
• This limitation comes from federal law, not from Penn's assessment of your qualifications. It does not reflect a decision about your candidacy.

If you're not sure whether this applies to you

Sanctions law in this area depends on specific facts about your location, residency, and citizenship, and public guidance is still developing. If you apply and have Iranian citizenship, including dual citizenship, but are not currently residing in Iran, we will reach out to request additional documentation to help us determine whether we can process your application.

We understand this is a difficult and unwelcome situation for many talented applicants, and we're monitoring it closely.