This blog previously discussed the complexity of meeting the U.S. immigration needs of Afghan evacuees, estimated at 65,000 to 199,000 less than two weeks ago.[1] This analysis has been underscored by John T. Medeiros, an experienced U.S. immigration attorney and the Chair of the Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.[2]
According to Medeiros, this subject was the focus of a recent conference call with nearly 100 immigration lawyers across the U.S.
He noted that he and many other immigration lawyers have been focused on assisting “family members and friends of Afghan allies in applying for humanitarian parole, which the federal Immigration Service says “is used to bring someone who is otherwise inadmissible to the United States for a temporary period of time due to an emergency.”
This conference call emphasized the following current status of this situation:
- “Within the past two months there have been over 17,000 applications for humanitarian parole filed with the USCIS.”
- “Each application includes a filing fee of $575; in the past two months the USCIS has received an estimated $9.8 million in fees.”
- “While there is an option to request a fee waiver, almost all applications filed with a fee waiver have been rejected by the USCIS.”
- “For the pending 17,000 applications there are a total of six USCIS adjudicators.”
- “Since Sept. 1, USCIS has not processed any applications for individuals still in Afghanistan.”
- “Since that same date, USCIS has processed ‘a handful of applications’ for Afghan nationals displaced in a third country.”
- “USCIS is expected to soon announce its plans to adjudicate those applications that remain pending, with priority given to individuals who are not physically in Afghanistan. The rationale for this decision is that third-country nationals would be able to obtain the required travel permission in the form of a visa at a U.S. consular post in the third country, while visa services have been suspended within Afghanistan.”
- “It is unclear if [U.S.] visas will be issued to displaced Afghan nationals who are not in possession of a valid passport.”
This horrible situation, said Medeiros, caused the participants in this conference call to demand the following actions:
“[We] call on Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to immediately allocate sufficient resources to the USCIS for the swift adjudication of the pending 17,000 applications for humanitarian parole and to approve applications for fee waivers for applicants who meet the eligibility criteria.”
“After these applications have been approved, we call on Secretary of State Antony Blinken to expedite the vetting process and the issuance of visas to displaced Afghan nationals, including those who are not in possession of a valid passport.”
“[We] call on the office of the White House to authorize the U.S. Department of Defense to send military flights to countries with concentrations of displaced Afghan nationals, and evacuate those with valid claims to asylum, Special Immigrant Visas or any other immigration benefit.”
“[We] call on Congress to swiftly pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a path to permanent residence for those Afghan evacuees who have risked their lives in support of U.S. military efforts. It is the least we can do to honor the sacrifices our Afghan allies have made for the benefit of American democracy.”
Conclusion
These recommendations are endorsed by this blogger, who is a retired lawyer who did not specialize in immigration law, but who in the mid-1980s learned certain aspects of immigration and asylum law and then served as a pro bono lawyer for asylum seekers from El Salvador and other countries.[3]
This endorsement is also buttressed by my current service on the Refugee Co-Sponsorship Team at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church, which is now co-sponsoring an Afghan family with the assistance of the Minnesota Council of Churches. [4]
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[1] Immense Problems Hampering U.S. Efforts To Resettle Afghans, dwkcommentaries.com (Oct. 22, 2021).
[2] Medeiros, We’re still failing Afghan allies. Why no outrage?, StarTribune (Nov. 2, 2021); John t. Medeiros [Biography]; American Immigration Lawyers Association, Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter.
[3] Becoming a Pro Bono Asylum Lawyer, dwkcommentareis.com (May 24, 2011); My Pilgrimage to El Salvador, April 1989, dwkcommentaries.com (May 25, 2011); Teaching the International Human Rights Course, dwkcommentaries.com (July 1, 2011).
[4] Schulze, Campbell & Krohnke, Our Sojourners Have Arrived, Westminster News, p.7 (Nov. 2021).
