The other route for Afghan evacuees is to apply for asylum. Around 74,000 such applications - both from Afghan allies in the US and those still in Afghanistan - have yet to be processed, senior Biden administration officials said last month. To obtain lawful permanent residency, Afghans who were allies to the US government can apply for a special immigrant visa. Even that's not promised, which has thrown Afghan evacuees into legal limbo. It could take many years, decades possibly, until applications are approved.

But the American immigration system - slow-moving and complex under the best of circumstances - is backlogged. They are currently under temporary legal status and can seek permanent residency. That question hangs over more than 77,000 Afghans who arrived in the US last summer. The other, major problem is their legal status: Will these Afghans, many of whom served alongside American troops in the 20-year war, soon become undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation? Yet that's only one crucial part of the job. They have resettled around 1,400 Afghans in Virginia since November, when Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, a resettlement group, opened a facility in the area. Noori assembled a 30-member all-Afghan team to execute the task, to much success. Khalis Noori has been helping Afghans resettle in the United States. Starting a new life in a foreign place is immensely difficult: you must find housing, get a job, apply for health insurance, enroll your children in school, buy a car.įor many Afghans who fled their home country when the Taliban seized power a year ago, the process also involves learning English and navigating American culture.

Panic mode hacked