Hundreds of SIV Visa Holders from Afghanistan Face the Risk of Green Card Cancellation

Hundreds of Afghans who worked with US troops in Afghanistan and came to the US with SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) and received green cards have recently begun to receive notifications from the federal government that their visas and green cards are at risk of cancellation. "We are trying to work, study, raise our children and build a normal life in the United States," said M., who asked to be mentioned only by her initials because she was concerned that making a statement to the media could affect her green card, in the news article published on the NPR news portal with the signature of Ximena Bustillo. "But now we're also trying to find lawyers, contact congressional offices, and figure out what might happen to our green cards. It's a very stressful situation because even immigration lawyers have different opinions." In this period when refugee programs are suspended, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) is abolished and deportation policies are toughened, Afghans who are preparing to become US citizens and establish a new order with their families are experiencing great uncertainty and fear of imprisonment/deportation. The United States has suspended other legal immigration pathways available to Afghans, including the refugee resettlement program, which Trump halted on the first day of his second term, and the processing of other types of visas. Those who were already in the country through programs such as TPS were also stripped of their permission to stay.