US House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Thursday that increases the number of Special Immigration Visas by eight thousand to Afghan interpreters, contractors, and other vulnerable Afghans who have worked with the US army shoulder to shoulder.
The extension also includes members of SIV applicants who have been killed and those Afghans who have been employed with nongovernmental organizations.
The bill comes as the White House intends to evacuate 2,500 SIV applicants directly to the US and ten thousand more to third countries and military bases overseas.
White House reportedly plans to vacate 750 SIV applicants and their family members who have completed security vetting to Fort Lee military base in Virginia. On the other hand, another 4,000 applicants will be relocated to a safe third country where their paperwork will be reviewed.
The move by the House of Representatives is third along with already existed one.
Apart from nearly 20,000 SIV applicants from Afghanistan, the Joe Biden administrations was previously asked to allocate around 2000 visas for women Journalists, politicians, and minorities subjected to threats by the Taliban.
The plea was followed by a coalition of US media outlets, the coalition in two different letters to President Joe Biden and House of Representatives demanded less than one thousand visas for their Afghan colleagues who have contributed to their missions in Afghanistan.
How to apply for this visa?