A U.S. program to relocate former Afghan interpreters and contractors could come to an abrupt end within months as the number of available special immigrant visas dwindles.
Activists are urging Congress to approve the additional visa, known as SIV, amid a backlog of applications that has exceeded 120,000 and currently has fewer than 8,000 available.
“If more visas are not approved, the program could run out of visas by late summer, which could be a death knell for the program,” said Andrew Sullivan, advocacy director for No One Left Behind. SIV beneficiaries in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The United States has ramped up SIV processing, issuing a record 39,000 SIVs in 2023. Still, demand far outstrips supply.
Last year, the U.S. State Department asked Congress to approve more structured investment vehicles. The proposal has the support of some lawmakers. In July, Senator Jeanne Shaheen celebrated a “landmark victory” when an amendment authorizing 20,000 new SIVs was included in the State Department appropriations bill.
However, it is unclear whether SIV will be included in the final version of the bill, which must be approved by the House and Senate by March 22 to avoid a partial government shutdown.
“For two decades, the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan has relied on trusted Afghan allies fighting alongside U.S. forces. We are committed to protecting them—just as they do for us; however, as the Taliban continue to hunt many of our allies, we are at serious risk of leaving them. We need to do more to help them and deliver on our promises — which is why I secured an additional 20,000 SIVs in the Senate’s bipartisan appropriations bill, which I will Continue working to get these visas included in the final package,” Shaheen told VOA in 2019. Written Statement.
VOA sought comment from House Speaker Mike Johnson but has not yet received a response.
“We are approaching the annual cap,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller warned last week. “We need statutory approval to raise the cap.”
Roughly 2 1/2 years after the United States withdrew its troops from Afghanistan, the exodus of former contractors continues amid fears of Taliban retaliation.
The Taliban’s de facto authorities say the amnesty they provide protects former U.S. collaborators from harm.
“Anyone who questions the atrocities of the Taliban is wrong,” Sullivan told VOA. “We have documented more than 200 targeted retaliatory killings by the Taliban.”
Since 2008, the United States has issued nearly 120,000 SIVs to Afghans.
Afghanistan is excluded
Since withdrawing troops in 2021, the U.S. government has largely excluded Afghanistan from its policy priorities. Washington refuses to recognize the Taliban regime but also refuses to support opposition groups.
President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last week did not mention Afghanistan, a topic that has previously figured prominently in U.S. policy discussions.
As Biden spoke, one man shouted “Monastery Gate, Monastery Gate,” referring to the entrance to Kabul Airport, where a massive explosion killed more than 100 Afghans and 13 U.S. military personnel in August 2021.
Congressman Brian Mast, who served in Afghanistan as an Army bomb disposal expert, wrote on page, but in my opinion not”.
Republican lawmakers have frequently criticized Biden’s handling of the chaotic withdrawal. However, some activists accuse the Republican-led House of Representatives of doing nothing on the Afghanistan Adjustment Act, which would provide a legal path to permanent residency for tens of thousands of Afghans who enter the United States for humanitarian reasons in 2021 and 2022.
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