On August 29th, 2021, President Biden directed the Department of Homeland Security to serve as the lead agency coordinating ongoing efforts across the federal government to resettle vulnerable Afghans, including those who worked on behalf of the United States. DHS will lead the interagency Unified Coordination Group to establish and provide a broad range of services throughout the resettlement process, from initial immigration processing, COVID-19 testing, and isolation of COVID-positive individuals for anticipated quarantine, to resettlement support for individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor lawful permanent residents. The resettlement support will include initial processing at pre-designated U.S. military bases prior to being resettled into communities.

While this situation continues to develop, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) members have assembled the following resources to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan:

Humanitarian Parole

Due to the dangerous conditions in Afghanistan, and the incredibly limited State Department resources available, other possible options should be pursued, including Humanitarian Parole. Humanitarian Parole can be requested by someone outside of the United States who is seeking temporary entrance to the U.S. for urgent humanitarian reasons. USCIS has provided information regarding Humanitarian Parole here.

Requesting Humanitarian Parole at a U.S. Embassy

For Afghan citizens who are able to reach a third country, an application for Humanitarian Parole can be made at the Embassy.

Afghan citizens are eligible for e-visas to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, and they may enter the following countries without a visa:

1. Antigua and Barbuda (e-Visa)

2. Benin (e-Visa)

3. Cape Verde (Visa on arrival - 3 months)

4. Comoros (Visa on arrival - 45 days)

5. Dominica (Visa free entry - 21 days)

6. Ethiopia (e-Visa - 90 days)

7. Maldives (Visa on arrival - 30 days)

8. Qatar (e-Visa)

Requesting Humanitarian Parole with USCIS

In some cases, urgent humanitarian reasons can form the basis of a request to be paroled into the U.S. For IV applicants based on sponsorship by a USC or LPR family member a request can be made to the Washington DC Humanitarian Parole office or a local USCIS Field Office. The limitation for these cases is that an applicant must find a way out of Afghanistan and arrange for transportation to the U.S.

Requesting Humanitarian Parole with CBP

Urgent humanitarian parole can be granted by CBP. The request must be made to a specific CBP Port of Entry. The limitation with this option again lies with the ability to exit Afghanistan, or if already out of Afghanistan, arranging for transportation to the USA. Considering Canada’s humanitarian efforts, it may be possible to gain entry to Canada, and then pursue entry to the USA.

Other Resources:

Congressional offices have been very active with assisting with humanitarian situations such as this. You may want to consider reaching out to your federal Senator or Representative for assistance. For example, certain Members of Congress have set up special email addresses:
- Representative Andy Kim (D-NJ) RepKimEvac@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-4765
- Senator Tom Cotton (501) 223-9081 or evac@cotton.senate.gov

For questions on how to receive Chief of Mission (COM) approval for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program: AfghanSIVapplication@state.gov

For information on the P2 program for Afghan nationals, please visit:

1. https://www.state.gov/u-s-refugee-admissions-program-priority-2-designation-for-afghan-nationals/

2. The Refugee Processing Center via: https://www.wrapsnet.org

Pathways for migration for Afghans seeking entry to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, or EU: This non-exhaustive document has been compiled by a non-AILA source, so AILA cannot vouch for the information contained within; however, it may be informative:

o https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1fOLFOxD6DWs2JrBb1hqf2EXMbC5imN1Bm5LOXnSkfks/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR0OU44XYogkJQ09OhCB1YYFG9GpHAbyRhV640QvXSI6d6meyFdORQz2DZk#h.qtf55qgn4kti

IRAP: https://support.iraplegalinfo.org/hc/en-us/sections/360008472712-U-S-Special-Immigrant-Visas-SIVs-

o https://refugeerights.org/news-resources/legal-resources-for-afghans

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services: https://www.lirs.org/emergency-evacuation-afghan-allies-action-alert