Democrats are in love with the latest Paul Ryan spending bill that will fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. Among the “goodies” included in the Ryan spending bill include funding for 2,500 more Afghani Visas. Cool huh?
| Ryan spending bill includes 2,500 More Visas for Afghans |
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After the U.S. Embassy in Kabul in March froze the interview process for Afghans who had supported U.S. forces due to a lack of visas, a bipartisan effort secured 2,500 more visas in the compromise spending bill up for consideration this week.
The special immigrant visa (SIV) program was established in 2008 to allow Afghans who had helped the coalition as interpreters to find safe haven in the U.S. The visa criteria were later expanded to Afghans who provided “at least one year of faithful and valuable service” in support of U.S. government operations.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), an original advocate and architect of the SIV program, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), an Air Force pilot who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had urged congressional appropriators to include the same level of visas in the omnibus as were included in their legislation, the Keeping Our Promise to Our Afghan Allies Act introduced in March.