A huge number of Afghans who helped the US war effort in Afghanistan and applied for a resettlement programme are still there waiting in the Taliban-ruled country, according to a report that lays out the challenges with a programme aimed at aiding the American allies in the two-decade-long conflict.
More than 8,40,000 Afghans who applied for the resettlement programme in the US are still waiting in their country.
The report released on Thursday (August 31) by the State Department's inspector general mentions the steps taken by the department to better the processing of special immigrant visas for Afghans. But the challenges still remain even two years after the US exit from Afghanistan and Taliban returned to power.
The visa programme was kicked off in 2009 to help Afghans who helped the Americans and confronted the risks of doing so. There is a similar programme for the Iraqis. However, both programmes have been criticised for their slow progress, thus leaving the applicants in dangerous limbo. Notably, the number of people applying for visas has skyrocketed after the US left Afghanistan in 2021.
According to the report, there were a little less than 30,000 applicants in October 2021, but by December 2022 that number had grown to roughly 1,55,000.
The figures do not include the family members who are allowed to resettle if their application is approved.
The State Department estimates that as of April of this year, more than 8,40,000 applicants for the special visa programme and their family members remain in Afghanistan, the report said.
Not everyone’s application is accepted; the State Department noted that about 50% of applicants do not qualify when their applications are reviewed at a key stage early in the process.
The department said that since the start of the Joe Biden administration in January 2021 to August 1 this year, it has issued nearly 34,000 visas to Afghan applicants and their family members. It called the numbers a substantial increase from previous years.
The report said the department has hired more staff to process applications, coordinated with the Pentagon to verify applicants' employment, and eliminated some of the steps required of applicants. However, the report said, there was more it could do.
(With AP inputs)
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