As the supply of Special Immigrant Visas is running low, the United States’ initiative to resettle former Afghan translators and contractors may come to an abrupt stop in a few months.
With less than 8,000 SIVs available out of a backlog of over 120,000 applications, activists are pushing Congress to approve more of these visas.
According to Andrew Sullivan, director of advocacy for No One Left Behind, a group that supports SIV beneficiaries in Iraq and Afghanistan, “the program will likely run out of visas by the end of summer, which might be a death knell for the program” if fresh visas are not allowed.
With increased SIV processing, the United States will issue a record 39,000 SIVs in 2023. Demand still much exceeds supply.
The US Department of State requested that Congress approve more SIVs last year. A few MPs gave their support to the initiative. Senator Jeanne Shaheen declared July’s inclusion of an amendment permitting 20,000 new SIVs in the State Department’s funding bill a “landmark success.”
To prevent a partial government shutdown, the bill must be adopted by the House and the Senate by March 22. It is still uncertain, though, whether the SIVs will be included in the final version.
The success of the American military effort in Afghanistan for two decades depended on dependable Afghan partners who fought alongside American forces. We pledged to safeguard them, as they defended us; now, with the Taliban still searching for them, we run the serious risk of abandoning many of our allies. In a written statement, Shaheen told VOA, “We need to do more to aid them and honor our promise. That’s why I secured an additional 20,000 SIVs in the bipartisan Senate-passed budget measure and I’ll continue to fight to get those visas included in the final package.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson was contacted by VOA for comment, but he did not respond.
Mathew Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, issued a warning last week: “We are approaching the annual quota.” “The statute must be approved in order to raise the cap.”
About 2.5 years after the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, ex-contractor evacuations are still underway due to concerns about Taliban retaliation.
According to de facto Taliban authorities, former U.S. collaborators are shielded from danger by their blanket amnesty.
Sullivan told VOA, “Anyone who questions the Taliban’s savagery is mistaken.” “We have evidence of nearly 200 Taliban targeted retaliation deaths.”
The United States has given Afghans around 120,000 SIVs since 2008.
Afghanistan was omitted
Afghanistan has been mainly left out of the U.S. government’s agenda since the pullout in 2021. Not only does Washington not recognize the Taliban government, but it also stops supporting opposition parties.
Afghanistan was not mentioned at all in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech last week, despite the fact that it has historically been a hot topic of conversation regarding US policy.
One man yelled, “Abbey Gate, Abbey Gate,” as Biden was speaking. This man was referencing to the airport entry in Kabul, where a huge explosion in August 2021 killed over 100 Afghans and 13 US military soldiers.
Former Army bomb disposal expert and member of Congress Brian Mast wrote on X that Biden “may try to turn the page on Afghanistan after his negligence cost American lives, but NOT ON MY WATCH.”
Republican legislators frequently fault Biden for how he managed the disorganized retreat. The Afghan Adjustment Act, which aims to provide tens of thousands of Afghans allowed to the US for humanitarian reasons with legal pathways to permanent residency, has been the target of criticism from campaigners, who blame the Republican-led House for its inactivity.
