Afghan Community Support

Know Your Rights Document for Afghans Available

Penn State Law's Center for Immigrants' Rights Clinic, PARS Equality Center, and Khanbabai Immigration Law have produced a Know Your Rights pamphlet for Afghan Nationals, Parole and Beyond for Afghan Nationals. This document is available in Dari and Pashto. This document discusses humanitarian parole, how to apply, and extending parole.

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program currently offers 3 Priority levels through which Afghans and others in protracted situations can access the program:

P1 - An individual referral-based priority, with referrals primarily coming from the UNHCR.

P2 - A group access priority that has been expanded to include Afghans who have worked with the U.S. Government, or American media, or NGOs in Afghanistan. Applicants must be referred into the program by an eligible employer. Detailed requirements, including required documents, can be found here:  SIV/Iraqi & Syrian P-2 — Refugee Processing Center (wrapsnet.org) World Relief is not an eligible employer for this group and is not able to make referrals.

It is important to note that:

• Applicants cannot refer themselves or submit referral packages on behalf of the employer
• Once referred, processing can take 12 to 14 months.

P3 - A family reunification priority through which refugee and asylees who have arrived in the U.S. can apply for qualifying family members to join them.

SIV - Afghans with a valid SI Visa from a U.S. Embassy may wait for travel to be booked on their behalf through the U.S. resettlement program, or travel independently to the U.S. and request resettlement benefits upon arrival.

Contact our Congresswoman's office: 

If you live in the 5th Congressional District, use the following link to contact Cathy McMorris Rodgers office:

Contact Cathy | Cathy McMorris Rodgers (house.gov)

Fill out the Repatriation Form:

The US Embassy in Kabul has created a form to collect information on those with immigrant visas or pending immigrant visas.  The purpose is to gather information of those who need visa appointments and those who may want to access repatriation flights.   These is no guarantee of when or if charter flights will be available or when visa interviews and processing may take place.  Filling the form only guarantees that you are identified as someone with a visa option who needs assistance. 

You should fill out the Repatriation Assistance Request form (updated 8/22/2021) if: 

• You are a US Citizen or LPR 
• You have a pending LPR application with an approved petition and you have submitted all the required documents to the National Visa Center or you have been interviewed and the case is pending at the Embassy at Kabul. 

Only immigrant visa holders or pending immigrant visa applicants that meet the specifications will be contacted.  You may be contacted if a flight option is available. Travel costs will be incurred. 

Eligibility Requirements: 

• If you have a valid immigrant visa you may be eligible for travel access assistance.  If your family members do not have US Citizenship, LPR status or a valid visa or meet the pending application eligibility, they are not eligible to travel with you. 
• If you have submitted all your documents to the National Visa Center or you have been interviewed and your case is pending, you may be eligible. You must have an approved USCIS petition and should provide the NVC case number with the request and have a valid passport for travel. 
• You must have valid, unexpired travel documents for entry into the U.S.. In addition, you should have copies of all documents that are relevant for your immigrant visa case. 

Please meet with a legal representative for the best options for your case. If our office cannot support your case, we will provide you with a list of other partner service providers. 

The Department of State is considering options and arrangements for cases that have not yet been interviewed or had a visa granted.

Humanitarian Parole -

Humanitarian Parole is a temporary permission to enter the United States without a pre-approved visa, during a time of emergency. If humanitarian parole is granted it gives the parolee permission to remain for a certain period of time. At the end of the temporary permission, the parolee must changed to a permanent immigration status or leave the United States. Find out more information here and please check with a legal representative to determine if this is an option for you or your family member.

If you or your family members are not already registered, please sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at http://step.state.gov to ensure you receive travel and health notifications from the U.S. Embassy.

Human Rights First has made public their Afghan Evacuation Data Collection Form. THIS DOES NOT GUARANTEE AN EVACUATION. This list will be delivered to US Government for cross referencing of need.

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For questions regarding Afghan refugees and those who are still in Afghanistan and in need of protection, the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) has updated resources which include information about access for Afghans to the U.S. refugee resettlement program. IRAP also just relaunched their refugee self-help website: iraplegalinfo.org available in English, Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, and Spanish.

In addition, IRAP offers chatbots which offer information through Facebook Messenger and Telegram. To talk to the chatbot, add @irapchatbot on Telegram or message them on Facebook. Then, type “hello” as your first message. The chatbot will respond to you and ask you a series of questions about your situation. If you are using Telegram, click the window button next to the text box to view which options are available to respond to a message. These options automatically appear on Facebook.

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Afghanistan Emergency Resource Information - Article 26 Backpack - The Universal Human Rights Tool for Academic Mobility - Available in Dari and English (from UC Davis)