Visa wait long for Iraqis, Afghans who help U.S. military

Ten years ago this week, U.S. Army 1st Lt. Matt Zeller was pinned down by a Taliban ambush, sure he was about to die until an Afghan interpreter, Janis Shinwari, saved his life.

Even though the U.S. government has special visas to smooth the immigration process for Iraqi and Afghan interpreters, or “terps” as they were known, the program has proved a major bust. It has failed to keep pace with demand and awarded only about 50 visas a year to those who risk their lives to assist U.S. and allied forces.

Congress enacted the Special Immigrant Visa program in 2006 in response to death threats against Iraqi and Afghan translators and interpreters were specifically targeted by militants and jihadis. Translators who had worked directly for the U.S. for more than a year, and whose lives were in danger, could apply to immigrate to America with their spouses and children.

When Mr. Shinwari finally left Afghanistan because of multiple death threats, including warnings that he would be beheaded, it was Mr. Zeller who fought to secure his visa by navigating a bureaucratic nightmare to aid his friend.

When Mr. Shinwari finally arrived in the U.S. in October 2013 with his wife and two children, he knew how lucky he was.

“Without [Mr. Shinwari], I would not be here talking to you,” Mr. Zeller said in an interview.

Interpreters, translators and cultural advisers provided a broad range of critical support to the U.S. military, such as aiding initial military campaign and post-combat peacekeeping and reconstruction efforts. Many terps served on the front lines on the battlefield and intelligence by helping update the Pentagon’s Iraqi “Most Wanted” deck of cards and beefing up security at critical oil fields.

Many were forced to go to extreme lengths to hide their missions for fear of being marked for death by the Taliban, al Qaeda or Islamic State. The International Refugee Assistance Project estimated that an Afghan interpreter was killed every 36 hours in 2014.

Thousands of Afghans and Iraqis apply for SIVs, which by law are supposed to be processed within months. But the demand far exceeds the number allocated. As of late last year, according to U.S. government data, more than 9,000 Afghan applicants and roughly 13,000 family members were in the SIV application process.

Iraqis face even greater delays. Their SIV program stopped accepting applications in September 2014.

Anyone eligible now must apply for resettlement through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Roughly 60,000 Iraqis are awaiting processing.

“Our allies’ lives are at risk because they helped us,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrat, said at a Capitol Hill briefing last week highlighting the plight of the terps. “It’s outrageous that we have to fight every year to keep this program alive. And it’s unconscionable that we face artificial limits on the number of allies who we can protect.”

Mr. Zeller said Mr. Shinwari also saved four other men over his nine years working with American troops in Afghanistan. Leaving such allies behind, Mr. Zeller said, could sour U.S. relationships around the world. The two men now work together running a program, NoOneLeft.org, which assists Afghan and Iraqi combat interpreters seeking SIVs to come to the U.S.

“If we don’t keep our word now, who is going to trust us in the future?” Mr. Zeller asked.