Senator Coons, colleagues introduce bipartisan legislation to allow Afghan allies in U.S. to apply for permanent legal status

Bipartisan legislation would also improve and update the Special Immigrant Visa process for Afghans who served alongside U.S. service members

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) reintroduced the bipartisan, bicameral Afghan Adjustment Act, which would allow Afghans who sought refuge in the United States due to the 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops to apply for permanent legal residency after undergoing additional vetting processes by the U.S. government. Currently, Afghans who were admitted on temporary humanitarian status can only gain permanent legal status through the asylum system or Special Immigrant Visa process (SIV), which face severe backlogs and long processing times. Allowing Afghan allies to apply for permanent legal residency will help provide certainty as they build their lives in the United States.

“We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Afghan people for the ways they supported U.S. forces for almost 20 years, often at great personal risk,” said Senator Coons. “The Afghan Adjustment Act is a first step toward keeping our word as a nation and honoring that debt. This bipartisan legislation would provide a pathway to lawful permanent status for certain Afghan civilians, offering them a way out of legal limbo and the looming threat of deportation with great risk to their personal safety, and after failing to pass this bill last year, we should take it up and pass it swiftly now. Congress has a track record of passing similar legislation on humanitarian grounds, and it is shameful that we have not done so yet.”

The Afghan Adjustment Act would also improve and expand the SIV process, such as broadening SIV eligibility to include groups that worked alongside American forces like the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command and the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan. Companion legislation is being led in the House of Representatives by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa).

Modeled after bipartisan bills that Congress has passed in the wake of other humanitarian crises and the Vietnam War, the Afghan Adjustment Act would:

• Allow Afghans on humanitarian status who submit to additional vetting – including an in-person interview – to apply for permanent legal status. For these Afghans, the primary options under current law to gain permanent status are through our asylum system or the burdensome SIV process;
• Expand the SIV program to include previously omitted groups, including the Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, the Afghan Air Force, and the Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan; and
• Establish a task force to develop and implement a strategy for supporting Afghans outside of the United States who are eligible for SIV status and require the Department of State to respond to congressional inquiries about SIV applications.

In addition to Senator Chris Coons, the legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Senator Coons previously introduced the bill in the 117th Congress.

The legislation has received the endorsement of many groups, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Blue Star Families, and more.