{"id":68703,"date":"2023-08-13T14:39:49","date_gmt":"2023-08-13T14:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/08\/13\/tens-of-thousands-of-afghans-waiting-for-us-visas\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:48:41","slug":"tens-of-thousands-of-afghans-waiting-for-us-visas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2023\/08\/13\/tens-of-thousands-of-afghans-waiting-for-us-visas\/","title":{"rendered":"Tens of thousands of Afghans waiting for US visas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD \u2014 When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan<\/a>, Shukria Sediqi knew her days in safety were numbered. As a journalist who advocated for women\u2019s rights, she\u2019d visited shelters and safe houses<\/a> to talk to women who had fled abusive husbands. She went with them to court when they asked for a divorce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Taliban, who bar women from most public places, jobs<\/a> and education, her work was immoral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when the Taliban swept into her hometown of Herat in western Afghanistan in August 2021 as the U.S. was pulling out of the country, she and her family fled, eventually making their way to Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal? Resettling in the U.S. via an American government program set<\/a> up to help Afghans at risk under the Taliban because of their work with the U.S. government, media and aid agencies.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But two years after the U.S. left Afghanistan, Sediqi and tens of thousands of others are still waiting. While there has been some recent progress, processing U.S. visas for Afghans has moved painfully slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\t