Hundreds of Afghan allies who risked their lives assisting the U.S. military are now facing the unexpected threat of losing their permanent residency in the United States. Five years after the U.S. military withdrawal from Kabul, many who settled into American communities under specialized visa programs are receiving official notices declaring that the approval for their visas has been revoked.
The affected individuals worked in diverse roles, from frontline interpreters and engineering consultants to custodial staff at the U.S. Embassy. Many brought their families to the U.S. through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which was authorized by Congress in 2009 to protect foreign nationals who assisted American troops and contractors. Of the 160,000 SIVs issued since the program began, more than half were granted following the closure of the Kabul embassy in 2021. Today, many of these families have built new lives—raising children, learning English, and pursuing higher education.
However, an increasing number of green card holders have recently received letters from the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services warning that their underlying visa approvals are no longer valid. Federal officials initiated fraud detection reviews after discovering bribery schemes involving fraudulent employer verification letters sold by bad actors. Because many companies shut down and destroyed employment records following the military withdrawal, verifying legitimate work history has proven exceedingly difficult. Consequently, federal reviews have swept up hundreds of legitimate applicants whose documentation was associated with tainted employers or letter writers.
Immigration lawyers and refugee advocacy groups report an unprecedented surge in these revocation letters. Legal experts note that rescinding visa approvals years after recipients have established residency is virtually unheard of. The situation is exacerbated by recent freezes on alternative legal pathways, including temporary protected status and refugee resettlement programs, leaving affected families with few legal remedies and raising intense fears of deportation.
As families struggle to secure legal aid and contact congressional representatives, advocacy groups like AfghanEvac are urging federal agencies to distinguish between fraudulent brokers and the loyal allies who served alongside American forces. For now, hundreds of Afghan veterans remain in legal limbo, uncertain whether the promises made to them by the U.S. government will stand.