Do regular immigration laws apply to the Afghan population that is now in the United States?

For the most part yes. There are roughly 132,000 Afghan immigrants living in the United States today. Most of those Afghan immigrants are still fairly new to the country, with the majority emigrating from Afghanistan since 2010.

An estimated 50,000 more Afghans will be brought to the United States in the coming years as a direct result of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and the ensuing evacuation.

More than half of those 50,000 – approximately 34,000 – are currently residing at various NATO and U.S. facilities in Europe or the Middle East. The other roughly 26,000 are spread out at military bases on U.S. soil.

Special Immigrant Visas

The Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program was passed by the U.S. Congress in the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009. The July 30, 2021, Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act increased the number of SIVs by 8,000 to a total of 34,500.

What About Evacuated Afghans Who Don’t Qualify for an SIV?

This is the complicated question. We know from extensive reporting of the evacuation that many SIV holders and people in the process of obtaining an SIV through the notoriously slow application bureaucracy were left behind in Afghanistan, yet the number of people we pulled out far exceeded the number of SIVs available.

Many of the 65,000 Afghans who were evacuated will be put through a process known as Humanitarian Parole. The Afghanistan evacuation is not the first time Humanitarian Parole has been used by the United States. It was previously used in a similar way during the ‘90s when some Iraqi Kurds who helped the U.S. in the Gulf War were evacuated after fleeing Iraq for Turkey.

There are a variety of other historical special parole programs with similar humanitarian roots, including family reunification programs for Cuban and Haitian refugees and Central American minors.

Afghans currently outside the United States can request Humanitarian Parole to enter, but parole is only granted on a case-by-case basis. You should visit the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services page for more information.

Is Humanitarian Parole Easy to Obtain?

There are a lot of security checks and other procedures Afghans will need to undergo in order to qualify for a Green Card or Visa in the United States. They also need to prove they are in imminent danger of reprisals if they stay in Afghanistan.

As we’ve seen with many migrants from Central America, simply living in a dangerous place and being at a high risk for being caught in the crossfire isn’t necessarily enough to convince courts on humanitarian grounds.

Afghan immigrants seeking humanitarian parole also need to find a sponsor who signs an Affidavit of Support. That essentially means the sponsor agrees to provide financial support while you’re in the United States. Sponsorship can take many forms. Humanitarian parolees with adequate financial resources may be able to self-sponsor, or they can get multiple sponsors, or they can find an organization to sponsor their application.

Humanitarian parole is generally not considered to be an alternative to asylum but in rare circumstances like this it can be used to quickly move many refugees through the immigration process. It’s important to note that humanitarian parole is temporary. Most refugees will need to attempt to obtain asylum or legalize their status through other immigration processes like family reunification.

Priority of Refugees

Different refugees from Afghanistan will fit into one of three priority statuses. Priority 1 refugees are those who urgently require resettlement for imminent threats to their safety and are generally granted through UN referrals. Priority 2 refugees have special humanitarian concerns. The Biden Administration recently announced that many Afghans who don’t qualify for SIVs are eligible for Priority 2 status, which includes people like women in leadership positions or activists who are at risk of being targeted by the Taliban.

Priority 3 status is generally given to family members of Afghan immigrants and refugees.

Are You or Your Loved One’s Eligible for Humanitarian Parole?

If you have questions about the immigration process or believe you or a loved one qualify for humanitarian parole or one of the other U.S. Immigration parole programs, contact The Cotto Law Group.

Duluth attorney Isaac F. Cotto has more than 20 years of experience in immigration law and is committed to helping people who face threats of violence or persecution find a new, safer home in the United States.



Call us at (770) 817-7581 to request an appointment.