Article Author:
Reuters
WASHINGTON—Both houses of the U.S. Congress will introduce bipartisan legislation that will allow thousands of Afghan refugees admitted to the U.S. on temporary immigration status to obtain U.S. citizenship. , the sponsor announced on Tuesday.
The bill would also extend Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) eligibility beyond Afghans who worked for the U.S. government to those who fought with the U.S. military as Special Forces or Air Force personnel, and special immigrant visas (SIVs). to include women who have served on counter-terrorism teams.
An identical version of this bill ends the final U.S. troop withdrawal and the longest war in the United States, and his disorganized evacuation from the Taliban's seizure of Kabul. It was submitted a few days before the one-year anniversary.
"We must maintain our commitment to providing safe and legal shelter to those who risk their lives to support the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Republican Peter Meyer said in a statement.
Her three minority Republicans, including Sen. introduced to increase the likelihood of approval.
Still, a congressional aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the bill was likely to face "resistance" from anti-immigration Republicans.
Many of her 76,000 Afghans flown in last year's evacuation operation entered the United States on humanitarian parole.
The law would allow these evacuees to apply for permanent legal status after undergoing additional background checks.
In general, these Afghans can only obtain permanent legal status in the United States by applying for asylum or through SIV, a program plagued by major backlogs. (Reporting by Jonathan Randay, Editing by Sam Holmes)
