Interpreting A Crisis: The Plight Of Afghanistan's Linguistic Bridge

There are an estimated 60,000 Afghan interpreters and other US visa applicants who remain in Afghanistan. About 33,000 of these applicants have cleared the vetting requirements and are eligible for immediate evacuation. However, the US still does not have reliable data on who was evacuated from Afghanistan. Interpreters who worked for the US military in Afghanistan are at risk of retribution from the Taliban and are in danger.

The US estimates that the majority of Afghan interpreters were left behind

The process of obtaining a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) is long and complicated, involving at least 14 steps and taking an average of three and a half years to complete. In addition, applicants must provide extensive documentation and pass rigorous security screenings, including polygraph tests. Even a small inconsistency can result in a denial. As a result, many interpreters have been unable to obtain the necessary visas to evacuate to the US.

Interpreters and their families have been subjected to kidnapping, torture, and death due to their perceived betrayal against the Taliban. The Taliban views interpreters as traitors and has carried out retribution campaigns against them. Interpreters who remain in Afghanistan continue to face threats and violence, with limited options for evacuation.

The US State Department has acknowledged the challenges faced by Afghan interpreters and has taken some steps to simplify the SIV process. However, advocates and US veterans believe that more needs to be done to fulfill the promise of providing safe passage to those who served the US.

More than 60,000 Afghan interpreters applied for visas to the US

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan has left thousands of interpreters in danger under Taliban rule. Interpreters who worked with US forces were promised US visas in return. However, the slow and problematic Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program has left many stranded and at risk of retribution.

In December 2021, a State Department official stated that more than 60,000 Afghan interpreters and others who had applied for visas to the US remained in Afghanistan. About 33,000 of these applicants had cleared the vetting requirements and were eligible for immediate evacuation. This was the first time the State Department had provided a number for those left behind since the Afghan government's collapse.

The SIV program has been plagued by delays and red tape, and slowed further under the Trump administration. The process is intended to take nine months but can take years. A State Department report in 2020 cited insufficient staffing and the absence of a centralized database as issues. The coronavirus pandemic has also caused delays, with the US Embassy in Kabul suspending visa operations in response to a wave of COVID-19 cases.

The SIV program requires applicants to prove they worked directly with US forces for at least 12 months and obtain a recommendation from a senior officer. However, advocates say some requirements are almost impossible to meet, such as gathering references from long-departed supervisors. Polygraph tests are also considered unreliable and can be failed despite passing previous tests.

The slow process has left interpreters at risk. The nonprofit No One Left Behind, which helps interpreters secure visas, estimates that several hundred Afghan interpreters and their family members have been killed by the Taliban since 2001. In 2014, the International Refugee Assistance Project estimated that an Afghan interpreter was being killed every 36 hours.

The US has started evacuating interpreters, with the first group of 221 arriving in Virginia in July 2021. However, refugee advocates argue that the administration has not acted quickly enough, leaving thousands at risk.

Interpreters are at risk of retribution and death threats from the Taliban

Interpreters who worked for the US military in Afghanistan are at risk of retribution and death threats from the Taliban. The Taliban has branded these interpreters “traitors” and “national traitors” and has vowed to kill them. The Taliban sees interpreters as “conspirators with the infidels” and therefore legitimate targets for reprisals.

Interpreters and their families have been receiving death threats from the Taliban, often in the form of phone calls or letters. In some cases, interpreters have been attacked or killed by the Taliban. One interpreter reported that Taliban fighters had driven around his neighbourhood, telling residents:

> 'Don't worry. We are here for your protection... We're not going to harm any one of you guys. And we are here for the enemy of this country.'

However, he added that "no one can trust their words... They can do anything, any moment, whatever they want."

The US government has introduced Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) to allow interpreters and their families to settle in the US. However, the application process is slow and hampered by administrative problems, leaving many interpreters feeling betrayed and at risk.

The US visa application process can take up to four years

The US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program is available to persons who worked with the US Armed Forces or under Chief of Mission authority as translators or interpreters in Afghanistan. The process involves 7 steps and can take up to four years.

The first step is to submit a petition to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The petition package must include a completed Form I-360, a copy of the passport or birth certificate, proof of work as a translator/interpreter, proof of a background check, a recommendation letter, and payment for filing the petition.

Once the petition is approved, the USCIS transfers the case to the Department of State's National Visa Center (NVC) for pre-processing. The NVC creates the case in their system and sends a Welcome Letter via email. The applicant must then complete the Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration (Form DS-260) and submit supporting documents to the NVC.

The NVC reviews the case to ensure all required documentation is provided and schedules an interview based on appointment availability. The applicant must provide an email address to facilitate communication with the NVC.

After the interview is scheduled, the applicant must take several steps to prepare, including obtaining the required civil documents, such as passports, birth certificates, and police certificates (if applicable). They must also complete a Refugee Benefits Election Form and a Special Immigrant Visa Biodata Form.

The next step is to scan and submit all the required documents to the NVC via email. The NVC will review the application and either request additional information or corrections or notify the applicant that their case is documentarily complete.

If the case is documentarily complete, the Chief of Mission designee will evaluate the documentation. This review can take several months. Once the evaluation is complete, the NVC will notify the applicant of the decision on the COM application and petition.

If the COM application and petition are approved, the NVC will send an approval letter and instructions on how to continue the SIV application process. The final step is the visa interview, which is conducted by a consular officer to determine eligibility for the visa.

The entire process can take a significant amount of time, and applicants may experience delays due to administrative issues, insufficient staffing, or a lack of centralized databases. In some cases, applicants have waited for years, facing constant threats and danger during the lengthy visa application process.

Some interpreters were disqualified from US visas and are now in hiding

The US withdrawal from Afghanistan has left thousands of interpreters in danger under Taliban rule. Many of these interpreters, who refer to themselves as "blacklisted", say they were unfairly barred from obtaining visas that were promised to those who helped the US. Interpreters have stated that their visa petitions were denied despite receiving positive reviews from their military supervisors. In most cases, the rejections came after the interpreters were terminated by the private contracting companies that hired them.

Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) provide green cards to foreign nationals, including Afghans, under a variety of programs, typically because of their employment with or on behalf of the US government. One requirement is "faithful and valuable service to the US government". Applicants who have been terminated "for cause" by their employers—for reasons such as failing a counterintelligence screening or for alleged performance issues—are deemed to have not fulfilled this requirement. Security screenings routinely include polygraph tests, although they are considered too unreliable to be admissible in many courts. Interpreters and advocates have said that the smallest inconsistency could trigger a denial.

According to the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), human resources records might also incorrectly classify someone as terminated when the person actually resigned. Other interpreters have been found ineligible if they worked for a company accused of wrongdoing in government contracts. Although the US Department of State's internal guidance states that disciplinary action does not automatically disqualify an employee and that their record as a whole should be taken into consideration, the agency has "with rare exception" denied applicants who were terminated for cause, according to IRAP.

SIVs typically require at least 15 years of employment, but because the Afghan program requires only one year, it is harder to prove that someone met the requirement if their record includes disciplinary actions. The issue comes down to whether the applicants had "derogatory information" associated with their case and whether they were terminated for cause. People who were terminated and later rehired could still meet the requirements for SIVs if they work at least another year.

A State Department spokesperson said that while being terminated for cause was previously grounds for a "fairly automatic" denial, that is no longer the case. However, IRAP and other advocates said they have noticed no changes. Successful appeals are rare. Applicants must build a strong record of corroborating evidence and get additional recommendations from former supervisors, according to Lara Finkbeiner, a pro bono supervising attorney at IRAP. Polygraph or broader counterintelligence screening failures are "next to impossible to overcome", she said.

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