Visas for Iraqis and Afghanis Being Pushed Via Amnesty and NDAA Reposted from: creepingsharia.wordpress A followup to this post – Amnesty bill more than triples number of Afghans to U.S. viaVisas for Iraqis, Afghans who helped U.S. in jeopardy | Army Times .... In 2008, Congress passed legislation providing Iraqi and Afghan refugees who assisted the U.S. with special immigrant visas. This included contractors, translators and guides. The 5,000 visas allotted annually to Iraqis are set to expire at the end of September, while the 1,500 visas allotted annually to Afghans will expire in September 2014. The immigration bill would make the visas available until September 2018. Only 50 special visas are allotted annually for Iraqi and Afghan translators. But in fiscal 2007 and 2008, an amendment to the 2006 National Defense Authorization Act allotted 500 visas for translators. From fiscal year 2008 to March 2013, 11,647 visas have been allotted to Iraqi and Afghan refugees and 1,693 to translators, according to State Department data. Those who benefit from the visas are in immediate danger, said Brittany Nystrom, director of advocacy at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. With the immigration reform bill stalled, advocacy efforts have focused on pushing through the visa provision by other means, Nystrom said. The provision has also been attached to the Senate and House’s National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2014. The versions differ slightly in eligibility and the number of visas allotted, but the major difference in the authorization bill is that visas for Iraqis are only extended to 2014, said Lavina Limon, president and CEO of U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. She said she hopes the version on the immigration reform bill will pass because there are fewer restrictions and the visas would be extended until 2018 rather than 2014 for Iraqis, although she said she is not optimistic. While there is general agreement that the Iraqis and Afghans, who have provided invaluable support to the U.S., deserve retribution, the program needs a lot of work, she said. Only 22 percent of the visas allotted to Iraqis and 15 percent to Afghans have been issued, according to State Department data. The program has not been run well, Limon said, with refugees waiting years to receive visas. Nystrom said extensive procedures and meticulous requirements are to blame. The lack of visas issued is not only a problem for the refugees and their families but also for U.S. credibility, Limon said. Thanks to Obama and politicians who disregard the American people in favor of big donors, corporations and foreign interests the U.S. government doesn’t even have credibility at home with confidence in the legislative body falling to 10 percent, the lowes... Limon and the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants seem to care more about their massive, money-making refugee racket than about Americans.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 06:34:22 +0000
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