Small Wars Journal

Where Are the Visas for the Afghans Who Helped American GIs?

Sat, 11/12/2016 - 3:28am

Where Are the Visas for the Afghans Who Helped American GIs? By Juliana Goldrosen and Ari Hoffman, Wall Street Journal

Qismat, a young Afghan who bravely served as an interpreter alongside American troops in the hills of Tora Bora, spent Veterans Day as a target of ISIS, in mortal danger due to his service to the U.S.

Also on Veterans Day, members of Congress honored the men and women who nobly served our country. What you may not hear in their speeches and news releases, however, is an acknowledgment that, unless Congress acts, it will abandon to their fate more than 10,000 Afghans who worked alongside these veterans, including Qismat.

The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program, traditionally a popular and bipartisan measure, provides a path for Afghans who worked as interpreters or in other critical positions for U.S. military forces and diplomats to seek refuge in the U.S. Because of their service to our country, these Afghans face extreme persecution and constant danger.

Until this year, Congress has reauthorized the SIV program with little controversy. Yet the current version of the fiscal year 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, the usual vehicle for SIV allocation, would authorize no additional visas. That means that once the remaining 2,500 visas are allocated, the 10,000-plus Afghans awaiting visas will be stranded…

Read on.