This is the visa that Afghans are looking for while waiting in Colombia

August 20, 2021 – 11:36 pm

The possibility of Colombia temporarily receiving 4,000 Afghans who would leave their country as a possible target of the Taliban for collaborating with the US government has been known since Friday morning. In the afternoon, President Iván Duc confirmed this measure, although he did not make it clear how many refugees Colombia will receive temporarily.

Duc, who highlighted the 200 years of diplomatic relations between Colombia and the United States, stressed that Afghan refugees will only be temporarily in the national territory, as their destination is the United States. It will hardly be the time it takes for the US government to register and relocate them. This process will be while the special immigrant visa (SIV) is issued, the document that covers Afghans and Iraqis who formally worked for the US military. UU. Or at the embassy. Normally only 50 people can access it.

As the Center for Strategic and International Studies recalls, the fact is key because for the past 20 years, the United States has enlisted the help of Afghans who have served “as interpreters, translators and other officials to support its efforts. military, diplomats and development in the region. Those who have helped the United States are the most vulnerable to retaliation and selective attacks by the Taliban, as evidenced by the recent execution of 22 surrendered Afghan orders. “

You can read: Afghanistan: Parents hand over their children to save them from the Taliban

The program was created since the Iraq war and was established in 2008. Although at the time 100,000 people could aspire to the document, the United States only aired 2,000. The process to acquire it is now complex for Afghans as it is fraught with difficult requirements to meet. “Afghanistan’s SIV process covers Afghan nationals employed by or on behalf of the United States government or the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). There are currently about 20,000 Afghans awaiting an SIV, while up to 70,000 Afghans – including applicants and their immediate relatives – can apply, “the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

They add: “In order to be eligible, applicants must have been employed in Afghanistan for at least two years. Many are caught up in the process of completing a lengthy application. , collect documents and request verification of employment. While they wait for the situation to be updated, SIV applicants are in immediate danger. “

To obtain a visa, Agfans will have to pass 14 steps in which six different US agencies come into play: the National Visa Center, the Afghan VIS Unit (ASIV), the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. (USCIS), the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, the Office of Consular Affairs, and U.S. intelligence agencies.

The United States has said it is not charging Afghans for evacuations. However, the process ahead for the United States is long, so it is unknown how many refugees there will be in Colombia. In fact, when Joe Biden took office there were 17,000 active applications. When nearly 2,000 people were evacuated from Kabul last week, before the arrival of the Taliban, the US government decided to halt these processes to focus on the emergency.

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