U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) bipartisan bill to protect Afghan civilians who assisted the U.S. mission in Afghanistan was included in a larger package that unanimously passed the U.S. Senate last week.
“I’m grateful Democrats and Republicans came together” to include language from her bill into the Senate legislative package, said Sen. Ernst.
The Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2021, S. 2032, which Sen. Ernst cosponsored in June with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), would expedite efforts to improve and increase the number of visas extended to Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the War on Terror, according to the text of the bill.
“The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program was created to provide a well-vetted pathway to safety for the many Afghan civilians who have stepped up to assist the U.S. during the War on Terror,” Sen. Ernst said last week. “Given the Biden administration’s haphazard withdrawal from Afghanistan, we must now fulfill our commitment to those who put themselves in harm’s way by ensuring the program has the capacity to fully process and help bring these individuals to safety.”
To strengthen the efficiency of the SIV program, Sen. Ernst’s bill would increase the number of authorized visas by 8,000; change the employment requirement for eligibility from two years to one year; and postpone the required medical exam until the applicant and his/her family have arrived in the United States, among other provisions, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Ernst’s office.