U.S. lawmakers provided an additional 12,000 Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) for Afghans supporting the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in a $1.2 trillion spending bill, extending the program through the end of 2025. 20,000 less than they asked for.
President Joe Biden signed long-awaited spending bills into law on Saturday, hours after Congress approved them, averting the possibility of a partial government shutdown.
Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of refugee resettlement agency Global Shelter, wrote in a statement that it was “encouraging” to see bipartisanship in Congress.
“But it is deeply concerning that the Biden administration and Congress are acting on the brink of a government shutdown.”
The SIV program is a congressionally mandated program, and the number of SIVs available is capped at 38,500. It provides a path to permanent residency and ultimately U.S. citizenship. The SIV application process, including decision-making and approval, takes an average of three years, while resettlement through refugee programs can take up to five years. Applications for both programs begin outside the United States.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the additional 12,000 SIVs were a “great response” to the commitment to evacuate Afghans working for the U.S. government in Afghanistan.
“Well, we promised them we would get them out,” McCaul said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday. “The Afghan partners, the interpreters, we left them behind. Behind.” “Afghanistan withdrawal. I think 12,000 SIVs is a good response and a good start.”
The Biden administration and Senate Republicans have requested 20,000 SIVs.
Shawn VanDiver, president of US NGO #AfghanEvac, wrote in a statement: “These visas are critical to giving our wartime allies the opportunity to resettle in the United States and will ensure the SIV program It continues to work.”
The United States and its allies left Afghanistan in August 2021 after nearly 20 years of war, evacuating nearly 130,000 people amid last week’s chaos in Kabul. Through Operation Welcome Allies, approximately 88,500 Afghan nationals arrived in the United States and resettled in communities across the country.
VanDiver said there is still work to be done, including passing the remaining provisions of the Afghanistan Allies Protection Act (AAPA) of 2023 and the Afghanistan Adjustment Act, which would provide tens of thousands of Afghans admitted to the United States with access to permanent residency. The pathway, for humanitarian reasons, will take place in 2021 and 2022.
“While this is not enough to help all of our Afghan allies, it gives us some breathing room and will signal to our partners in America’s longest war that we will not leave them behind,” Vandiver wrote. .”
Wignaraja said that if the remaining provisions of AAPA and the Afghanistan Adjustment Act are in place, it will reduce the need for special immigrant visas for Afghan evacuees seeking long-term stability in the country.
“Expanding Afghan visas is a welcome stopgap measure, but as fiscal year 2025 budget negotiations have begun, we call on Congress to continue working to provide protections for vulnerable Afghans who need to seek asylum in the United States so they are not impacted “Don’t live in limbo with the law,” she added.
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