Video of Afghan immigrants fleeing

Faced with the pressure from the Taliban, the United States finally relented and allowed Afghans who had served the Coalition forces to seek asylum in the United States and other countries. However, the Afghan people face a new problem, that is, the United States does not include air tickets.

According to the Guardian reported on August 3, the State Council relaxed its eligibility to accept refugees as the Taliban attacked Afghan cities. At present, about 20,000 Afghans who have served the US military and diplomats have applied for refugee asylum. However, the United States has no plans to let Afghans who meet the asylum requirements fly to the United States. These Afghans will need to find their own way to leave Afghanistan and spend a long journey close to themselves.

Screenshot of the Guardian report Screenshot of the Guardian report

The State Council said in a statement on the 2nd that Biden's administration decided to expand the range of Afghans eligible for refugee status in the United States, including current and former employees of news agencies, aid and development agencies and other relief organizations funded by the United States.

The statement said: "The goal of the United States is still to establish a peaceful and safe Afghanistan. However, Taliban violence has increased, and the US government is trying to provide Afghans with the opportunity to settle in the United States. The expanded qualification will give thousands of Afghans and their immediate families the opportunity to settle permanently in the United States, and their contact with the Taliban may put them at risk.

For this statement, the Guardian said, but this statement is accompanied by an important warning: the United States does not intend to help these asylum seekers leave Afghanistan, nor does it intend to give them any support in the refugee qualification review process in the next 12 to 14 months. Applicants cannot directly seek to come to the United States and need to be recommended by their current or former employers. The official said that once these Afghans leave Afghanistan, the processing will take one year, that is, 14 months.

Although there is no plan to transport these Afghans to the United States, the United States hopes that Afghanistan's neighbors will provide temporary shelter for these Afghans. An American official told the Guardian that although the US government does not intend to help new applicants escape from Afghanistan, it has asked other countries, including Pakistan, to open their borders to these refugees.

Besides Pakistan, another major country receiving Afghan refugees is Iran. Iran has not established diplomatic relations with the United States, but the two countries have some cooperation on the issue of Afghan refugees. An American official said that these Afghan refugees who applied for asylum in the United States moved from Iran to Turkey and lived in refugee camps with millions of Syrian refugees.

On July 30th, local time, the first flight carrying Afghan translators and their families arrived at Dulles International Airport in Washington, DC. There are 22 1 Afghans on board, who will be resettled in various cities according to the American refugee acceptance plan, and more than 2,000 Afghans who have passed the immigrant visa examination will arrive in the United States in the near future.

Process editor: tf020