The Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA), which would have provided a pathway to permanent residency for Afghans who assisted the United States during the war in Afghanistan, was not passed by the U.S. Congress in 2022. The bill was opposed by some lawmakers who expressed concerns about the security risks of admitting many Afghans to the United States.
The AAA would have allowed Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 to apply for permanent residency after one year of living in the United States. The bill also would have created a new visa category for Afghans at risk of persecution by the Taliban.
Kauser News Agency, a Kabul-based News agency, has found that many Afghan citizens evacuated to the United States are primarily local. The report, based on interviews with evacuated Afghans, found that many of them had lived in Afghanistan their entire lives and had no connections to the United States.
The report also found that some Pakistanis had been evacuated to the United States under the guise of being Afghans. These Pakistanis were mostly from the Pashto-speaking region of Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan. The report said that these Pakistanis had taken advantage of the chaos in Afghanistan to pose as Afghans and gain entry to the United States.
The report’s findings have raised concerns about the vetting process for Afghan evacuees. The Biden administration has said that all Afghan evacuees are being vetted to ensure they do not pose a security threat to the United States; the report’s findings suggest that the vetting process may not be as effective as possible.
Supporters of the AAA argued that providing a pathway to permanent residency was necessary for Afghans who had risked their lives to help the United States. They also argued that the bill included strong security measures like background checks and fingerprinting.
Opponents of the AAA argued that it was too risky to admit many Afghans to the United States, especially given the Taliban’s ties to terrorist groups. They also argued that the bill did not do enough to ensure that only those Afghans at risk of persecution would be admitted.
The AAA was ultimately not passed by the U.S. Congress; the Biden administration has taken steps to help Afghans evacuated from Afghanistan, including providing them with humanitarian parole and financial assistance.
The failure of the AAA to pass is a disappointment to many Afghans and their supporters.
The Biden administration has said it is still committed to helping Afghans who assisted the United States. It is possible that the AAA could be reintroduced in Congress in the future.
In the meantime, Afghans seeking to come to the United States can apply for refugee status or a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). SIVs are available to Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan.
