They faced the very same violence. attacks. and threats as U.S. troops. but bravely put themselves in harms way to aid in our shared mission. As has frequently been the case in the past. when the United States began to withdraw troops from Afghanistan. Congress created a Special Immigrant Visa program open to foreign nationals who served in critical roles and supported the American war effort. To date. more than 9.000 Afghans have benefited from the Special Immigrant Visa program. I am pleased to hear that the State Department has accelerated the processing time for these special visas in recent months. especially since there are over 6.000 still in the pipeline. However. as a result of this progress. the State Department is quickly running out of visas previously authorized by Congress. The bill before us today will authorize 1.000 visas for the remainder of 2014 so that the State Department can continue processing applications for Afghan men and women who assumed enormous risks to aid our troops. Most importantly. this bill sends a message that the United States is a loyal partner. that we keep our word and we honor our promises. that we stand with those who stand with us in an ongoing fight for a fairer. freer world. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.
Keywords matched
Visa Immigrant visas