Embassy in Baghdad Announces Visa Program for Iraqis Who Helped the U.S.

We were surprised and pleased to see on Thursday that the U.S. embassy in Baghdad announced the launch of a program that will provide 5,000 special immigrant visas each year for the next five years to Iraqis who worked for the U.S. military or private contractors for at least a year since 2003 and are experiencing or have experienced an ongoing serious threat in Iraq as a result of their employment.

This program, of course, is mandated by the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, which President Bush signed into law in January 2008. (The Embassy press release references legislation in June, but that was simply an amendment that clarified that the new SIV program would be open for business in FY 08 and not FY 09.) Implementation of the law has been incremental - often but not always for legitimate logistical reasons - and so the public commitment of the State Department and Embassy Baghdad are welcome steps.

Notable media coverage last week:

• New York Times
• Los Angeles Times
• Washington Post
• Associated Press
• Reuters UK
• CNN

An important distinction, sometimes missed by reporters, is the difference between the U.S. refugee resettlement program and the SIV program. Both programs provide paths for Iraqis to come to the U.S. and eventually establish permanent residence here - though it takes months and even years for the relevant applications to pass through all stages of adjudication and security clearance - but the routes are distinct. The U.S. set a goal of bringing 12,000 Iraqi refugees here in FY 08 (10/1/07 - 9/30/08) through the refugee resettlement program. The 12K is out of a total of 28,000 for the Near East/South Asia region, and a global cap of 80,000. Separately, the U.S. will make available 5,000 SIVs each year for five years to Iraqis who worked with the U.S. government or contractors (and additional visas for their immediate family). An earlier SIV program, under a different law, provided visas for Iraqi and Afghan translators. (State Department FAQs on that program can be found here.)

And like all immigration applications, these are rigorously reviewed by U.S. government agencies - an application is by no means a guarantee of admission to the U.S.

Other helpful resources on the SIV program that was mandated by the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act:

• State Department FAQs on the SIV program
  
• USCIS fact sheet on the SIV program (July 9)
• USCIS fact sheet on immigration options for Iraqis (July 15)
• I-360 instructions (updated May 27)
• DHS guidance on SIV program adjudication (July 7)
  
• State Department guidance on SIV adjudication (June 18)
  

Lack of Presidential Leadership - or Insubordination? Important Legislation for Iraqis Still Not Implemented

The New York Times had a great feature on May 14 about Iraqi translators who worked for the US military. It focuses on several of their most passionate advocates – veterans and active duty members who say that they owe their lives to their translators. The article highlights two excellent organizations that we regularly work with, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a non-partisan veterans’ advocacy organization, and the Checkpoint One Foundation, which provides temporary financial assistance and other support for Iraqis and Afghans in the US who assisted the US military during wartime.

The piece paints a poignant picture of the danger that Iraqi translators face in their own country as a result of their work for the US. It also describes the additional challenges they must overcome to flee to the US – challenges that could be dismantled if the US State and Homeland Security Departments would implement the programs to help them that have already been mandated by law. The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act (Title XII, Subtitle C, §1241-1249 of Public Law 110-181 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008) was signed by President Bush on January 28, 2008. It reflects a strong bipartisan consensus that the US has a moral obligation to support Iraqis who have helped us – it provides for 5,000 additional Special Immigration Visas for Iraqi translators each year for the next five years and requires the US government to set up inside Iraq to process Iraqi refugees who cannot make it out of the country, among other provisions.

However, State and DHS have not yet implemented these important programs. The NYT article says:

Gordon D. Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said the government’s hands were
initially tied by the lack of federal legislation allowing special visas for
interpreters. Now that more visas have been made available, he said, President
Bush has directed Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and the homeland security
secretary, Michael Chertoff, to “make sure the visa process for translators and
others moves as quickly as possible.”

That’s news to us – check out Refugee Protection Program director Eleanor Acer’s subsequent letter to the editor in the NYT. It’s been almost 4 months since the legislation was passed (and the language of the legislation had been circulated many months previous to that, giving the relevant officials ample time to prepare), and there is no process yet in place for Iraqi translators to apply to the new SIV program. The relevant USCIS form, called the I-360, does not contain instructions for applicants to the new program, and we’ve heard no guidance as to how the program will be implemented. The old SIV program, which provided the “special visas for interpreters” cited by Mr. Johndroe, has been in place for a year; the visas simply ran out due to the enormous need.

Additionally, despite the millions spent on the war each day, and the new $700 million US Embassy slated to open in Baghdad at any moment now, State and DHS have not yet set up the in-country processing so desperately needed by Iraqis affiliated with the US. The US Embassy, unlike embassies in many countries, accepts visa applications in only a limited number of categories (and sends most Iraqis seeking to come to the US to their counterparts in Amman (or elsewhere) – disregarding the fact that travel to Amman is costly and it’s often impossible for Iraqis to gain entry, even if they have an appointment with the US Embassy there.

We hope that Mr. Johndroe was indeed correct when he expressed the president’s commitment to Iraqi refugees who helped the US. But actions speak louder than words. President Bush must exercise real leadership by making clear to Secretary of State Rice and DHS Secretary Chertoff , and all other officials involved, that he expects them to move forward quickly to make SIVs available to Iraqi translators and to set up processing for Iraqi refugees inside Iraq, as the law requires - and the need demands.