840,000 Afghans who’ve applied for key US resettlement program still in Afghanistan, report says

By REBECCA SANTANA
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 840,000 Afghans and their families who applied for a resettlement program aimed at people who helped the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan are still there waiting. That’s according to a new report on the special immigrant visa process intended to help America’s allies in the two-decade long conflict. The report released Thursday by the State Department’s Inspector General outlines numerous steps the department has taken to speed up visa processing. But the report also noted the huge number of applicants that applied after the U.S. left Afghanistan. The visa program was started in 2009. A similar program exists for Iraqis. Both programs have been criticized for moving too slowly.