{"id":72027,"date":"2023-03-13T20:45:42","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T20:45:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/03\/13\/plan-to-boost-visas-for-afghan-allies-isnt-enough-advocates-warn\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T15:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T15:08:15","slug":"plan-to-boost-visas-for-afghan-allies-isnt-enough-advocates-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2023\/03\/13\/plan-to-boost-visas-for-afghan-allies-isnt-enough-advocates-warn\/","title":{"rendered":"Plan to boost visas for Afghan allies isn\u2019t enough, advocates warn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The White House budget plan<\/a> to provide 20,000 more visas for Afghan allies left behind doesn\u2019t go far enough fast enough, according to advocates for the tens of thousands left in dangerous legal limbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They insist that Congress needs to act now, by voting to cut the red tape slowing the entry of those individuals to the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe proposed visas would go a long way to help,\u201d said Chris Purdy<\/a>, director of Veterans for American Ideals and Outreach. But until Congress passes legislation to reduce the backlog of Afghan cases awaiting review, he said as many as 130,000 Afghan allies will remain mired in months or years of State Department paperwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates like Purdy say the slow progress at getting Afghan allies to safety damages the U.S. reputation globally as a promise not kept to those who who risked life and limb for U.S. and NATO<\/a> forces in 20 years of war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since August 2021, when U.S. military forces withdrew as Taliban forces took control, nearly 80,000 Afghans at risk have been evacuated from the country. But many living in the United States face uncertain residency status, and fear of being forcibly deported. And tens of thousands more former Afghan allies are stuck inside Afghanistan, many unable to even start the application process until they find a way out. Or they have escaped, but they are burning through cash and temporary visas in third countries as refugees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Joe Biden\u2019s budget plan<\/a> for next year, released last week, calls for a 20,000 increase in the cap on the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghan citizens. The visa program allows fast-track immigration help for individuals who aided U.S. forces in Afghanistan during the 20-year military mission there. Advocates said raising the cap by 20,000 is a positive signal of support for the larger effort, but speeding up processing times by updating some immigration requirements would make a more significant impact for families awaiting answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\t