Tens of thousands of Afghans worked as interpreters and in other capacities in support of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. Many of them have been targeted - and in some instances killed - by the Taliban and other militias due to their U.S. affiliation. As the United States begins its rapid and complete withdrawal from the region, these Afghan partners will face even greater risk of being targeted. 

The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program provides a pathway to safety for those who have provided faithful and valuable service to the United States and have come under attack because of it. However, thousands of Afghans are stuck in the backlog and the majority of them have been waiting for much longer than the congressionally-mandated nine months. Given the United States’ withdrawal, this dangerous situation has become untenable. 

The U.S. government must act immediately to protect its partners, or it risks repeating the mistakes made at the end of the Vietnam War, when the U.S. government abandoned thousands of its partners. We therefore call on the State Department to speed up processing of these vulnerable partners and on Congress to enforce the processing timeline and to continue to authorize visas needed to bring SIV applicants to safety. 

We need your help! Make your voice heard and sign this petition to ensure that those who helped protect our U.S. military and diplomats in Afghanistan will be able to reach safety. It’s time to keep our promise!