The surprisingly rapid Taliban conquest of Afghanistan this month and the frantic evacuations of Kabul have sparked a national conversation about U.S. efforts to resettle. Afghans who helped American forces during the 20-year conflict.
Offering refuge to Afghans who helped the US war effort is the rare immigration policy broad public support, even between Republicans and Democrats.
But the Biden administration’s plan to transport and relocate allies from the war in Afghanistan faces serious logistical and political challenges, including the U.S.’s rapid military exit from the country on August 31st.
The effort has also raised questions about how many Afghans at risk will be able to evacuate the United States, who meets the requirements for refuge, where those who do so will be relocated, how they will be reviewed, and what will happen to them once they step on American soil.
Special visas for immigrants
According to programs established by Congress with broad bipartisan support, certain Afghans who helped the U.S. war effort could be eligible for a special immigrant visa (SIV), which allows only Approved bidders move permanently to the United States with their spouses and children.
A program is designed to provide a safe haven in the United States for Afghans who served as translators or interpreters for the U.S. military. Another larger program allows Afghans working for the U.S. government, its contractors, or NATO to obtain the special visa if they meet certain requirements.
Although the shortest program for interpreters and translators is permanent, the second classification is temporary and will expire when all assigned visas are issued. In July, Congress added an additional 8,000 visas to the broader classification, bringing the total to 34,500 visas.
Other ways for Afghans to qualify for refugee resettlement
Afghans who are evacuated from Kabul and are not eligible for special visas could still opt for resettlement of U.S. refugees if they wait in third countries and fear persecution if they return to Afghanistan. Earlier this summer, the Biden administration created a new category of refugees for Afghans working with the media and non-governmental groups based in the United States.
Advocates and some lawmakers want to speed up the time-consuming application process to obtain these visas to move people faster before the deadline.
They call on the Biden administration to use an immigration tool known as “humanitarian parole” to allow vulnerable Afghans, such as women leaders, to enter the United States without a visa. Those on parole may be eligible for other immigration benefits such as asylum if they can only get to the United States.
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What are the special immigrant visa requirements?
Special immigrant visa applicants must submit various documents to the State Department, including letters of recommendation and documentation describing their affiliation with the United States and the threats they have received as a result of their work.
Applicants must also submit an application to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Once approved, they must submit additional visa procedures, including eligible family members.
They must then be personally interviewed at a US embassy or consulate and undergo security and medical checks. Then, their visas will be issued and they can travel to the US
What problems has the special visa program faced?
The 14-step Special Immigrant Visa process has long been plagued by chronic and significant delays, making some cases take years to resolve, well beyond the nine-month deadline set by Congress.
A 2018 lawsuit challenged these “irrational” delays and convinced a federal court in 2020 to require the government to file reports on visa applicants whose cases were pending for more than nine months.
In June 2020, the Inspector General of the State Department released a report stating that the delays of months and years were the result of a limited level of staffing and inadequate coordination between the various government agencies involved in the program.
During President Obama’s second term, the United States intensified the processing of special immigrant visas, issuing more than 38,000 visas to Afghan and Iraqi allies. In fiscal year 2017, the U.S. issued a record 18,400 special visas, according to government data.
These figures, however, fell during the later years of the Trump administration, which only granted 7,800 special visas in 2018, 10,000 in 2019 and 8,000 in 2020. In January, the Biden administration inherited 17,000 pending applications. of special visas.
And the coronavirus pandemic, which stopped consular and visa processing last year, exacerbated those long-standing challenges.
Face-to-face interviews at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul were suspended between March 2020 and this past February. After resuming it, the embassy was forced to stop face-to-face interviews this summer due to a coronavirus outbreak. U.S. officials later began virtual interviews.
How are visa applicants processed?
On July 30, two weeks before the fall of Kabul, the United States launched “Operation Allied Refuge,” a plan to airlift special visa applicants and their families from Afghanistan.
The first Afghan allies to enter the United States this summer – who had already completed security tests – were housed at Fort Lee Army Base in Virginia. Forts Bliss and McCoy in Texas and Wisconsin have also begun hosting visa applicants and their families.
Other visa applicants and vulnerable Afghans transferred from Kabul since the country was taken by the Taliban are being sent to US military posts in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Germany. U.S. officials say Afghans who have not yet been subjected to security checks will remain in third countries until the process is completed.
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The Biden administration has not yet said how many special visa applicants for immigrants and Afghans at risk plan to resettle in the United States. He has also been in negotiations with third countries such as Canada, Albania and Colombia who have expressed interest in offering refuge to evacuated Afghans. .
As of Aug. 16, the United States had admitted more than 5,300 immigrants under the special visa program this fiscal year, according to federal data shared with CBS News. In an interview with ABC News last week, President Biden estimated that there are between 50,000 and 65,000 Afghan allies, including their families, who need to be evacuated.
While Biden has vowed to come to the aid of those who helped the United States, many Afghans who are terrified of Taliban retribution are struggling to get to Kabul airport.
What about the resettled in the US?
Afghans entering the United States with a special immigrant visa will receive permanent residency or a green card.
Like refugees, special immigrants can, for a limited time, use government-funded social programs designed to facilitate their integration into American society, including cash and cash aid, case management, and educational services. to learn English.
Non-profit resettlement agencies that work with the government also help them find affordable housing, vocational training and jobs.
Federal officials and resettlement agencies have sent volunteers to military places where evacuated Afghans are housed, who will stay there until they are tested for coronavirus and provide medical checks, work permits, green cards and travel assistance.
California, Utah, Texas, Virginia and Washington are the states that have received the most special immigrants from Afghanistan since October 2020, according to State Department data.