His travels across the United States eventually took him to San Francisco, where he spent several months.In the course of studying Hajj Sayyahʼs life, Dr. Ali Ferdowsi recently discovered through State Department documents that Hajj Sayyah had become a US citizen on May 26, 1875, the first persian to do so.Upon returning to Persia in July 1877, Hajj Sayyah became politically active and was imprisoned for having instigated a clandestine letter writing campaign to the monarch and clergy regarding the unbearable living conditions in Persia.