Fact Sheet: Overview of the Special Immigrant Visa Programs SIVs are available to individuals who have worked as translators, interpreters, or other professionals employed by or on behalf of the United States government in Afghanistan or Iraq Those who are eligible for these visas and their dependents can apply through one of two SIV programs As special immigrant categories, these programs are designed to benefit our allies by providing a direct
Fact Sheet: Overview of the Special Immigrant Visa Programs What are the two Afghanistan SIV programs? There are two SIV programs available to those in Afghanistan The first, the SI visa class category, is meant specifically for translators or interpreters who have worked with U S military forces The second, the SQ visa class category, is available to any other Afghan national who was employed by or on behalf of the United States government in the
Fact Sheet: Pathways to Protection for Afghans at Risk The SIV process includes the following steps, which take approximately two to three years from start to finish (SIVs are legally required to be processed within nine months, but a lack of resources and visa slots have caused significant delays and backlogs)
Explainer: Options for Evacuated Afghans - National Immigration Forum What are the options for evacuated Afghans to stay in the U S ? Afghan parolees do have some options to stay in the U S beyond their initial two-year grant of parole, including applying for re-parole, initiating an asylum claim, continuing an SIV application, and transitioning to Temporary Protected S tatus (TPS) Some evacuated Afghan children may also be eligible for Special Immigrant
Bill Summary: The Afghan Adjustment Act of 2023 The Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) of 2023, S 2327 H R 4627, is a bipartisan bill that would provide a path to permanent status to tens of thousands of Afghans who were evacuated to the U S following the fall of Kabul in August 2021 The legislation expands on reporting and vetting provisions in earlier iterations of the Afghan Adjustment Act and establishes an authorization for appropriations
Temporary Protected Status (TPS): Fact Sheet Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is a government protection granted by the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to eligible foreign-born individuals who are unable to return home safely due to conditions or circumstances preventing their country from adequately handling the return When can the DHS Secretary designate a country for TPS? The Secretary
Legislative Bulletin — Friday, January 24, 2025 Congressional Research Service (CRS): Iraqi and Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Programs; Publicly released January 15 th, 2025 This report examines US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs for Afghan and Iraqi nationals who held specific jobs such as translators, interpreters, and US government employees
Explainer: Humanitarian Parole and the Afghan Evacuation Due to the inadequacy of the SIV and P-2 programs in the context of an emergency evacuation, on August 23 the administration announced it would be using its humanitarian parole authority to process in evacuated Afghans who do not already have visas This explainer will define humanitarian parole and describe how it is being used in the ongoing evacuation It will discuss the eligibility and
Explainer: What We Can Learn from Prior Adjustment Acts and What They . . . Introduction On August 31, 2021 President Biden announced the U S military had withdrawn from Afghanistan, ending America’s twenty-year involvement in the country Over 120,000 individuals, including U S citizens, citizens of U S allies, and others were airlifted out of Afghanistan, including more than 70,000 Afghan allies of the U S This population includes Special Immigrant Visa (SIV