As a result of America’s abandonment of Afghanistan, many Afghans are seeking to flee the country in fear of the brutal Taliban. The United Nations has warned that up to half a million Afghans could flee the country by the end of the year, post-Taliban takeover of the country. The number of Afghans wishing to leave the country could be much higher.

The current crisis comes on top of the 2.2 million Afghan refugees already in neighbouring countries (Pakistan and Iran) and another 6 lakh Afghan refugees hosted by other countries (out of which Germany and Turkey together host about 3 lakh). India had the 10th highest number of Afghan refugees of about 15,100 in 2020.

As many as 3,00,000 Afghans have been affiliated with US operations in the country since 2001 (as translators, interpreters, contractors, support staff etc), making them eligible to obtain a US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). The US says it has facilitated the evacuation of more than 1,22,000 people from Kabul airport, although it’s not clear how many of those were Afghan nationals. Documents quoted by media outlet Fox News show that US plans to potentially relocate up to 30,000 Afghan SIV applicants in the immediate future, on its military installations including Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and Fort Bliss in Texas.

The Biden administration, which is facing criticism for botching the evacuation of those that aided US-led forces in Afghanistan, has announced a new “Priority 2” category for Afghan nationals within the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). It would be applicable to the Afghan nationals and their immediate families who “may be at risk due to their US affiliation” but aren’t able to get a Special Immigrant Visa because they did not work directly for the US government.