'Dream Of Bangladesh' Hits Visa Hurdle Ahead of Global Robotics Showdown
‘DOB Hydrozan’, an underwater robot developed by the emerging Bangladeshi robotics group Dreams of Bangladesh (DOB), has secured an invitation to participate in the prestigious international underwater robotics competition, RoboSub 2025, to be held in Irvine, California, from August 11–17. However, the 23-member student team is now facing an unexpected setback: their U.S. visa applications were rejected on August 3.
Team leader Mahadi Islam called for diplomatic intervention to resolve the issue. “We strongly believe that with state support, diplomatic vigilance, and a respectful process, the youth- and innovation-friendly interim government will help promising teams like ours represent Bangladesh on international platforms,” he stated.
According to the team, they received a group invitation and appointment letter from Cherry Koch Sr., Event Manager at RoboNation Inc., the competition organizer. She also emailed the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka to request onsite visa facilitation. Following this, the 23-member team, including one member—Zahid Hasan Rumel—who had applied for an individual visa, scheduled a group interview at the U.S. Embassy for July 28. Rumel’s interview was rescheduled to match the group’s on July 29.
On August 3, the entire team appeared at the embassy in coordinated dress code. Initially welcomed at Desk 11, team mentors were received warmly. But shortly afterward, members were redirected to desks 7, 8, and 10 for separate interviews. The situation took a turn when an unidentified individual—reportedly not in group dress and holding the RoboNation letter—appeared at one of the desks. Subsequently, all team members were individually interviewed and denied visas under Section 214(b) of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which cites failure to demonstrate sufficient ties to their home country or justify the visit’s purpose.
Despite presenting their competition profiles and invitation documents in full, the young innovators expressed dismay at the rejection. “We’ve spent a year and invested nearly 2 to 2.5 million BDT to develop four versions of our Hydrozan robot,” said team member Mahadi Hasan Sourav. “Our innovation, which identifies colors and fish autonomously underwater, earned us a place in the finals. We’re eager to fly our national flag on this global stage and urgently seek everyone’s support.”
This year, two other Bangladeshi teams also qualified for RoboSub 2025. Brac University’s ‘Duburi’ team, which placed second in the 2023 edition and already holds valid visas, is set to participate. Another team, ‘Tech Autocrats – Bengal Sub’, earned a spot with their underwater robot ‘Hangor’; their 19-member team is also scheduled to attend.
DOB Hydrozan's visa rejection recalls a similar incident earlier this year when the Bangladeshi robotics team was initially denied visas to Greece for the 2024 FIRST Global Challenge. Thanks to active diplomatic efforts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that decision was later reversed.
Team DOB Hydrozan members, including Mridul Hasan, Md. Shahidul Islam Bulbul, Md. Mubassirul Islam, Mahadi Islam, Md. Athar Shihab, Alif Jahan Prachurjo, Kamrul Islam, Tamim Hossain, Mehedi Hasan, Safin Ahmed, Sadman Said, Md. Sifayet Hossain Rohan, Abrar Atif Rahman, Md. Nayeem Hossain, Naimor Rahman, Mohammad Nurul Huda, Asif Mohammad Sami, Mehedi Hasan Robin, Dewan Md. Fayzullah Munim, S.M. Mohsin, Mosammat Liza Begum, Mohammad Masudur Rahman, and Fatema Yasmin, are still hopeful that similar diplomatic efforts will come to their aid this time as well.
