On Friday, November 28, the Trump Administration issued a State Department cable directing U.S. diplomats worldwide to halt the processing of visas for Afghan nationals. The order effectively suspends the special immigration program for Afghans who assisted the United States during its 20-year presence in Afghanistan.
Under the directive, consular officers must deny all immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications from Afghan nationals, including those applying for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs). The policy shift follows an incident last week in which a former member of a CIA-backed Afghan unit was accused of shooting two U.S. National Guard soldiers in Washington, D.C., one of whom later died.
Although previously scheduled appointments for Afghan applicants will still take place, consular officers are instructed to refuse all visa requests. The cable further states that any approved visas not yet printed should be canceled, and those already printed must be destroyed, with the corresponding cases updated and marked as rejected.
Earlier in the week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had already suspended processing of immigration petitions filed by Afghan nationals indefinitely.
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