According to a State Department official, there are about 18,000 people who have applied for special immigrant visas to the US. But how fast they can move through the red tape built into the program is unclear, given thorough and years-long investigation that takes place regularly before a visa is granted.
For many people, time can be a matter of life and death.
“Because of the high risk of the Taliban and the target killings, the company I work with has told me not to go to my place of work for a short time. Instead, I stay up at night to see if “someone is trying to plant a bomb around my house, and my wife does it during the day while I sleep,” Khan told CNN in a statement shared by his lawyer Julie Kornfeld.
“I can not go to town to shop and go to hospital for treatment. When I go, I do not wear turban, a mask and glasses around my target,” he added. CNN only uses its middle name for security concerns.
According to Kornfeld, Khan worked for two different U.S. companies contracted by the Department of Defense in Afghanistan three years ago and applied for a special immigrant visa (SIV) three years ago.
“We expect the security situation to deteriorate rapidly for all those who oppose the Taliban. It will certainly include translators and other US government employees,” said Betsy Fisher, director of strategy at the International Refugee Assistance Project.
Thousands of Afghans, including interpreters for the U.S. military and contractors, moved to the United States with the visa. The average time to process the visas is a difficult and lengthy process; in the past year, processing for each approved applicant took more than 500 days, according to State Department data reviewed by CNN.
Abdul, an Afghan citizen, fled his country for fear of being killed because he worked as an engineer for the US government in Afghanistan.
“I left everything,” he told Jake Tapper, CNN. “I left my family and my colleagues and it hurt me a lot.”
Abdul has asked CNN to call him through an alias to protect his identity because he says his life is in danger from insurgents he fears he is still hunting.
‘Eyes and ears’
The US diplomats say the US diplomatic mission in Afghanistan would be impossible without the local partners and translators.
“These are our eyes and ears. They have all the contacts we benefit from. They hold meetings and they know the brokers,” explained one U.S. diplomat who recently served in Afghanistan. “This is also our continuity because the turnover of American diplomats is about 90 percent every year.”
Many of the translators have family members they are also worried about, US diplomats told CNN. It is the fear of their family that has led them to eventually apply for a program they hoped they would never have to use.
“These are resilient and determined people. They thought peace would come, so they did not think they would have to go to the US. Now with the possible return of the Taliban, they have no other option,” he said. a second U.S. diplomat said.
A State Department spokesman said they were well aware of the risks posed by translators and others.
“Everyone involved in this process, whether in Washington or at our embassies abroad, is well aware of the contributions of our Afghan colleagues and the risks they face. As Secretary (Antony) Blinken said, “We are committed to those who have worked with us, and have helped us, whether it was our military or our diplomats, and we are committed to continuing the Special Immigrant Visa program for them,” the spokesman said. .
Severe delays
There were ‘hundreds and hundreds of visas’ that expired because no one could leave the country to come to the US, according to Lindsey Sharp with the International Rescue Committee. The embassy in Afghanistan has finally started processing again a bit and renewing expired visas, Sharp said, but capacity is still limited.
“Covid, for the last year, is a kind of land issue to a halt,” she said. “The backlog is big now.”
According to the foreign ministry, they have now increased resources and taken steps to prioritize the applications of interpreters and translators, with extra consideration for those who helped with combat operations, according to the spokesman. These efforts include a temporary increase in consular staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to help with the visas.
“As people hear of the news that the US is withdrawing from Afghanistan, I receive hundreds of messages, such as Facebook messages, from my friends, from other people who have served as interpreters or translators or contractors in Iraq or Afghanistan,” he said. said. “The people are asking for help.”
Shinwari struggles to keep up with the messages due to the constant stream of “What am I telling them?” he said.
While working as an interpreter in Afghanistan, Shinwari lived on the US base, not only for work, but also as his protection, he explained. Without it, he would be in danger.
“These interpreters are the breadwinner of a large family,” he said. “If the breadwinner dies, the whole family dies.”
Concerns of legislators and others
“Our troops are coming home with the honor they deserve, but if we leave those to die to those who have facilitated our mission, the honor of our country will be indelibly stained,” they wrote in the letter obtained by CNN.
Members of Congress also expressed concern about the future of those who helped the U.S. mission in Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, a dual group of 16 lawmakers from the House, including several who served in the U.S. military and in the State Department, sent a letter to the president urging the government to commit the Afghan people to the United States on the ground assisted.
“We must provide a path to security for those who have worked loyally with US troops, diplomats and contractors, and work with our international partners to provide Afghans who would have a credible fear of persecution if the Taliban come to power. would come, “he wrote. Democratic representatives Jason Crow, Ami Bera, Earl Blumenauer, Jared Golden, Sara Jacobs, Andy Kim, Tom Malinowski, Seth Moulton, Stephanie Murphy and Adam Schiff and Republican representatives. Don Bacon, Neal Dunn, Adam Kinzinger, Peter Meijer, Michael Waltz and Brad Wenstrup.
“This effort promotes our important national security interests by showing the world the way we treat our partners,” said lawmakers, who announced they would form the Honoring Our Promises Working Group, which is focused on drafting of legislation to expand and expedite the SIV program and coordinate with the administration.
Florida Republican Rep. Mike Waltz, who served as a special forces officer in Afghanistan, said he was in a state of panic among Afghans, who had worked with the United States for many years.
“I had an interpreter executed while I was waiting in line for an SIV visa, along with some of his cousins and brothers. So they really take their entire extended family’s lives in their hands, and they become “We’ll go back now. We can go back, you know, whenever we need to after our local partners leave, it’s a lie, it’s just not true,” Waltz added.
Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat and longtime supporter of the SIV program, told CNN he intends to share his concerns with the government.
“I personally feel and will tell them that I hope one of the unintended consequences does not endanger people who literally risked their lives to help Americans as translators, truck drivers … We are obligated to do the right thing. to get, “he said.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, also a longtime supporter of the SIV program, said in a statement that she was “disillusioned with the president’s decision, which I believe not only jeopardizes the hardships in Afghanistan, but also Afghans at risk who were critical partners in supporting the US. ‘
This story was updated with a letter from retired US Army General David Petraeus and former US Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker.