Advocates urge US Congress to prevent termination of Afghan special visa program

The US program to resettle former Afghan interpreters and contractors is at risk of ending soon due to a shortage of Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), with less than 8,000 remaining out of over 120,000 applications, VOA reported in an article.

Activists are urging Congress to authorize more SIVs to prevent the program from running out of visas by the end of summer, the article added.

The US has issued a record 39,000 SIVs in 2023, but the demand still exceeds the supply. The State Department asked Congress to authorize additional SIVs, with a proposal for 20,000 new SIVs receiving some support.