Out of roughly 20 thousand Afghan interpreters and other jobholders who have applied for SIV, 2,500 of them are planned to be evacuated directly to the United States within days.
After immense pressure from lawmakers within the US, veterans groups, and refugee organizations on the Joe Biden administration to take acute actions for protecting Afghan interpreters, the administration ultimately decided to vacate 2,500 Afghans directly to the US and 10 thousand others to US overseas military bases or to a third country.
The eligible people for the direct flight to the US are the applicants whose security vetting is cleared, a State Department spokesperson told NBC.
The spokesperson added, shortly after their arrival and completing their medical check-ups their immigration status will be adjusted so they can be eligible for refugee resettlement benefits along with their families.
The mentioned number of Afghan interpreters is purportedly intended to be flown out in chartered civilian planes.
Joe Biden was not expected to make a decision as such but he apparently took the action after the security situation deteriorated in Afghanistan recently.
As per the information of the State Department, half of 20,000 SIV applicants are still in the initial stages and are required to take action before the US government processes their cases.
