WASHINGTON — Tens of thousands of Afghans have made new homes in the U.S. in the year since the fall of Kabul, after a harrowing evacuation from the Middle East and a months-long resettlement process.
But Congress hasn’t acted on legislative proposals to provide permanent relief for roughly 76,000 of those Afghans, who are unable to fully plan their next steps in America because they could face deportation if their temporary protections lapse.
Many are eligible for asylum status, or for special immigrant visas provided to those who helped the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan. But both those processes are beset by lengthy backlogs that leave Afghan evacuees in legal limbo.
