Human Rights First Applauds Emergency Funding to Evacuate Afghan Allies, Speed Visa Processing

Human rights group calls on Biden to sign this urgent funding bill

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Congress passed a measure that will provide funding and additional visa allocations to Afghan allies who served with U.S. forces and now face increasing danger as the United States finalizes its troop withdrawal.

“The president should see this as a message of Congress’ overwhelming support for immediately evacuating all our Afghan allies,” said Jennifer Quigley, senior director of government affairs at Human Rights First. “We thank the House and Senate for addressing the urgent need for funding and visa requirements, helping to keep our promise to the Afghans who served beside us for nearly two decades of war.”

The new law includes:

• $1 billion for an evacuation
• 8,000 additional visas for the program
• The medical exam waiver
• Reduces the employment requirement from two years to one year
• Other fixes to the program to improve eligibility and efficiency

This follows passage of a House bill that also provided for an additional 8,000 Special Immigrant Visas for Afghans who served with the U.S. military.

“We thank Senators Leahy, Shelby, and Shaheen and all their colleagues who acted swiftly to provide much-needed funding for fixes to the SIV program and the evacuation of these allies from danger. In the House, Representatives Crow, Moulton, Hoyer, and DeLauro showed great leadership on behalf of our allies, and we thank them for their work. We now urge President Biden to sign this bill,” said Quigley.

For more about our evacuation plan, visit http://evacuateourallies.org.