"They just wanted to lay low, make money, get over the trauma they experienced in their own country before coming here, do well for themselves and their kids," Fassihian said. "And then they realized this isn't going to happen . . . unless we became active as citizens in this country."
The political awakening was driven by new security measures after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Among other steps, Congress considered sharply limiting visas for citizens of nations designated as sponsors of terrorism, including Iran. In the end, the State Department simply required more security checks.
But the focus on Iran stunned the immigrants, who realized they were not so far removed from the mullahs in Tehran -- at least in the minds of many Americans.
"The image of an Iranian is someone with a beard, a fanatic in the street yelling anti-American slogans," Babak Hoghooghi said.
Hoghooghi has no beard. He wears a yellow French silk tie and a well-cut suit from Bloomingdale's. He sits in an elegant conference room at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the high-powered Washington firm where he is a lawyer.
"One of our goals is to rebuild the image, so it is a reflection of the reality of who we are," said the 40-year-old Potomac resident, a founder of the Iranian American Bar Association.
Hoghooghi said he isn't opposed to more scrutiny in the visa process to better protect the United States.
"We live here too," he said.
But his group has said that authorities should focus less on the nationality of immigrants than on behavioral or background information that raises questions.
The visa measure wasn't the only concern among Iranian Americans. Several have reported cases of job discrimination. Others, like Fassihian, said they have been denied security clearances because of their travel or personal ties to Iran.
Perhaps the biggest outcry came when the government launched a program in 2002 to register male visitors from two dozen predominantly Muslim countries. Iranians were among the first called to register; hundreds were charged with visa violations and placed in deportation proceedings. Many had relatives here.
U.S. Justice Department officials said the program was necessary to identify visitors from countries where Islamic terrorists had been active.
The Iranian American Bar Association produced a report charging that many detention decisions were made arbitrarily and that immigrants were treated in a humiliating manner.
The lawyers have presented their investigation to dozens of House and Senate staffers and are pressing to get more details about the program, which ended last year.
Some Iranian Americans said they are planning to vote for the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), because of concern about civil liberties. But the community is by no means aligned with one political party.
Many say they prefer President Bush because of his firm stand toward the Iranian government. The Iranian American PAC, which focuses on domestic issues, has given funds to Democrats and Republicans.
Mehdi Bozorgmehr, a professor at the City University of New York who has studied Iranian Americans, said little information is available on their voting patterns.
"What is important is for the first time, you really are seeing a movement in the community to get the vote out," he said.
