What is the Special Immigrant program for Afghans and Iraqis? 

The Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghan and Iraqi nationals is a set of two visa programs: SI visas, for Iraqi and Afghan translators, and SQ visas, for Iraqis and Afghans employed on behalf of the United States government or the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). There have been a total of 3,996 immigrants that have obtained SI visas and 105,477 immigrants that have obtained SQ visas.

The SI visa program was first signed into law in 2006 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which authorized the issuing of up to 50 visas per year to those who qualify (called principals). 

Who qualifies for this program? 

SQ visas were issued through two Special Immigrant Visa programs for Iraqi nationals and Afghan nationals. The requirements to qualify are almost the same for both programs. The program for Iraqi nationals was signed into law with the NDAA of 2008, and for Afghan nationals the following year as part of the Afghan Allies Protection Act. The deadline to apply for the Iraqi program was in September, 2014, but the Afghan program will accept applications until December 31, 2023. The remainder of this brief will refer to the Afghan program, as it is the only active program of the two.

 To qualify for these programs, one must:

• Be a national of Iraq or Afghanistan, 
• Have been employed for one year by the U.S. government or allied missions
• Have received a letter of recommendation, and
• Have experienced or be experiencing an “ongoing serious threat” as a result of the previous employment by the United States

What is the process to obtain this visa?

In order to obtain an SQ visa as an Afghan, the USCIS lists five steps:

1. Apply for Chief of Mission (COM) Approval: This step requires certain documents, including verification of employment by the U.S. government, a letter of recommendation (LoR) from a direct senior supervisor, evidence of Afghan nationality, and a statement of threats received as a result of employment by the United States.
2. File a Petition with the USCIS: This step requires submitting an I-360 Form, the COM approval, the previous LoR, and a passport copy (and a translation if not in English).
3. Prepare for Visa Application: After receiving confirmation from the National Visa Center via email, the applicant must fill out more forms in order for the center to process the visa and schedule a visa interview.
4. Visa Interview: The applicant must attend a personal interview, conducted in English, with all family members applying for visas. Interviews used to be conducted at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, but the embassy suspended operations on August 31, 2021, so any remaining applicants must apply at an embassy or consulate in another country. 
5. Arrival in the United States: From this point on, the process resembles that of refugees entering the United States. Afghan SIV recipients are eligible for the benefits refugees receive, and are resettled in a similar manner.

The process looks mostly the same for an SI visa applicant, except they do not need to complete the COM approval step. 

What does this program look like now?

There are many obstacles to applying for SIV status now that the United States has withdrawn from Afghanistan and the Taliban has taken control of the country. Because interviews can no longer be processed in Kabul, many individuals are traveling to other countries like Pakistan in order to apply. Despite the effort it takes to apply, many have nothing to show for it, as over 1,300 SIV applicants were denied from October to December of last year, often for lack of documentation, failure to prove service to the U.S. government, or derogatory information associated with the principal. There are currently 50,000 SIV applications being evaluated, but only 16,515 still remaining slots unless Congress approves more. Applicants also experience lengthy wait times.

The Biden administration recently attempted to ease requirements for SIV applicants, including allowing those who have worked as civil servants or paid for public services under the Taliban regime controlling Afghanistan, either prior to 2001 or after August 15, 2021, to be issued visas. Yet, requirements still remain vague. For example, if an applicant’s LoR was written by a non-U.S. citizen, they are asked to have the letter cosigned by a U.S. citizen, despite that not being listed as a requirement. This added complication makes it harder for SIV applicants to receive visas.

After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August of 2021, 76,000 Afghans were brought to the United States through Operation Allies Welcome, with over half of those holding or qualifying for SIV status. President Biden issued an order defining Afghanistan as a temporary protected status (TPS) country, which prevents an Afghan national from being removed from the United States and allows them to access employment authorization. However, this does not provide a pathway to legal permanent residence, and the TPS designation is set to expire in November 2023. This leaves half of those brought to the United States without a guarantee of permanent residence outside of applying for asylum, a program with a grant rate of about 14% for the year 2021.  

What changes could be made to the SIV program for Afghans?

One possible solution to the limitations of the SIV Afghan program is to pass an adjustment act, which would allow Afghans that do not qualify for SIV status to apply for permanent status after a year of residing in the United States. This kind of program has been implemented previously for refugees from Vietnam, Cuba, and Iraq. The Biden Administration called on congress for a program like this to be included with a recent bill focused on providing aid to Ukraine, but the bill passed without such a program.

Supporters of an “Afghan Adjustment Act” say this program will alleviate the previously mentioned backlog of applications within the SIV program as well as the over one million case backlog in the asylum system, while providing our Afghan partners with a guarantee of permanent status. They also cite the many levels of screening and security vetting that all Afghan immigrants go through prior to entering the United States as proof that it is safe to implement this program. 

Critics of an Afghan adjustment act express concern over gaps in the vetting process. One critical lawmaker cited reports from the Department of Defense Inspector General, which state that thousands of Afghans were not screened completely using all of the department’s data prior to arrival in the United States. The lawmaker calls on the Biden Administration to address possible issues with vetting prior to enacting a large readjustment program. A response to mitigate this criticism is that Afghans seeking to adjust their status would be required to undergo additional screening.