Afghan allies lose pathway into the United States

The U.S. State Department told Congress, in a report first seen by WORLD on Monday, that no Special Immigrant Visas, or SIVs, have been issued to applicants from Afghanistan wishing to enter the United States in 2026. The report was released this month, but the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment asking for the specific date it was sent to Congress. The report said that an executive order President Donald Trump signed late last year prevented State Department officials from allowing any Afghan SIV applicants into the United States so far this year.

What is a Special Immigrant Visa? The SIV program is an immigration pathway only available to Afghan and Iraqi individuals who worked with U.S. forces in their home country for at least one year, according to the State Department. All SIV applicants had to provide a favorable written recommendation from the U.S. military general or admiral in charge of the military unit they worked with, or from the chief of mission in charge of the U.S. Embassy that the individual worked alongside.

Are people still applying for SIVs? The State Department said in its report to Congress that more than 23,000 Afghans had completed their applications and were waiting for approval to enter the United States as of the end of January. Roughly 132,000 more Afghans were also still working their way through the program but had not yet completed their applications, the State Department said. AfghanEvac, a nonprofit that advocates for Afghan individuals who worked with U.S. military personnel and government officials in their home country, notes that the SIV program still exists—but it has essentially been phased out.

Why is the Trump administration no longer letting these Afghans into the country? President Trump, in his executive order late last year, said individuals from Afghanistan—and from dozens of other countries—could not be properly vetted by U.S. officials. The poor recordkeeping practices in their home countries prevented U.S. officials from knowing the full background of individuals seeking to come to the United States, according to the president. But AfghanEvac argues that the SIV program is one of the most secure immigration programs in modern U.S. history.

Dig Deeper: Read my report in Compassion about the Afghan national who shot two U.S. National Guard members just down the street from the White House, and how the White House responded.