Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Special Immigrant Visa Afghanistan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee hears House Joint Resolution 13 seeking renewed U.S. special immigrant visa efforts for Afghans
Summary
House Joint Resolution 13 asks federal authorities to reinstate or expedite special immigrant visa processing for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces; sponsor and staff described the historical SIV program and asked the committee to support an appeal to the federal government; the resolution was set aside for later consideration.
The Senate State Affairs Committee on May 15 heard House Joint Resolution 13, which urges federal authorities to reinstate or accelerate the special immigrant visa (SIV) program for Afghans who provided vital support to U.S. forces and now face danger under Taliban rule.
Representative Will Stapp, sponsor, described the resolution as an appeal to the federal administration to "reinstat[e] the program" that once allowed interpreters and other allies to come to the United States with their families. "So many afghan interpreters and service members that assisted our forces during Operation Enduring Freedom... ended up leaving many of those individuals who had approved special immigrant visas behind," Stapp said during the presentation.
Staffer Henry Thompson summarized the program's statutory history: an SIV program for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters began in 2006, expanded in 2008 and 2009, and the Afghan principal visa pool ultimately accounted for tens of thousands of approvals for principal and derivative visas. Thompson said processing and transport delays following the rapid collapse of the Afghan government impeded getting applicants and visa-holders safely to the United States.
During questioning, the sponsor acknowledged that vetting is rigorous and that many applicants must demonstrate service with U.S. forces; he and his staff said records sometimes exist in U.S. files even when applicants destroyed physical documents. The committee did not receive public testimony in the hearing and set the resolution aside for a future meeting.
The resolution asks federal authorities to review program processing and to consider measures to reunify Afghans who supported U.S. missions with their families in the United States.
