Most Afghans who were evacuated to the United States in 2021 hold temporary parole status that will expire beginning of August 2023. With increasing asylum processing delays and the impending expiration of parole statuses, the need to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act is becoming increasingly urgent.  

Introduced in August 2022 by Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Afghan Adjustment Act would create a pathway for permanent legal residency if passed. If not, many Afghans will be forced to live in a limbo state and request asylum to stay in the US. The asylum process is expensive and could take years for cases to be heard, limiting the ability to find work and build stable lives.  

The evacuees that included translators, women rights activists, and civil society leaders need our support to advocate for lasting protection by calling on Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act. 

Send a message to your representative today to ask that they support the immediate passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act.

Blog by Sarah Torres, Managing Attorney at Opening Doors

Compared to recent years, 2023’s immigration headlines seem dull. In 2018 we saw images of children in camps, separated from their families. In 2021 we watched Afghan families running to catch evacuation flights. Today, we see headlines like “Processing Times Continue to Increase,” “Backlogs Mean Long Waits for Visas.” It’s easy to gloss over headlines like that, assuming the story is simply about administrative delays.

However, behind every delay is a family, a child or an individual whose life is affected. Immigration process delays make lawful immigration and reunification hard. The most difficult part is knowing that much of the pain and disappointment caused by the delays could have been avoided. Read more