Special Immigrant Visas for Iraqis and Afghans

Visa programs for people who risked their lives working with the United States.

Who qualifies

Congress created Special Immigrant Visa programs for Iraqis and Afghans who worked for or on behalf of the U.S. government, often as interpreters and translators, and who faced danger as a result. The first, for translators, came in 2006. Larger programs followed in the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2008 and the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009.

Not refugee status

Special immigrants arrive as permanent residents rather than refugees, but they receive many of the same resettlement benefits. Processing has often been slow, and Congress has repeatedly extended the programs.