Last year, after an Afghan national shot two National Guard members in Washington, DC, killing one, President Trump paused the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program that provided a legal pathway to residence in the United States for Afghans who had worked with the U.S. government and U.S. troops during the long war against the Taliban. Congress has now approved a package of spending bills that does not authorize any new visas for the program, effectively killing it.
“They’re just slamming the door shut,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations. “Stranding vetted SIV applicants or sending Afghan families back into the hands of the Taliban isn’t about security; it’s a betrayal of the promises we made to those who risked their lives for the United States.”
It is unclear if or when visa issuances might be resumed for those with pending applications under the program.
