Monday Morning Update -- August 11, 2025
Updated SIV Numbers, Afghan Adjustment Act Reintroduced
Last week was another massive one in Afghanistan-related issues within the U.S. government.
We have updated SIV numbers, as of July 29, 2025
Applicants with COM approval – ~178,000
Of that 178,00 – 34,000 are Principal Applicants and 144,000 are derivatives (family)
The number of SIVs issued since 9/2021 – 77,232, for 17,473 PAs and 59,759 derivatives
Number of SIV principal applicant visas remaining: ~9,000
Applicants at COM awaiting decision – ~45,000
Average number of SIVs processing per month – ~200 per month since January 2025, prior to that it was a few thousand a month
We will provide updated numbers for P1/P2 and other populations next week.
Here’s the latest news:
DAS Mary Bischoping, who had been (according to her) the sole arbiter of Afghan-related policy within the State Department, has been moved out of that role – though it’s unclear where she’s heading. Immediately after news of her pending departure, she and others from the Department briefed HFAC and SFRC staff in a classified setting. While we obviously don’t have a readout from a classified briefing, we’re hearing that the briefing lacked substance and provided too few answers. We’re hopeful that whomever picks up the Afghanistan portfolio after DAS Bischoping will have a more circumspect, thoughtful, and compassionate approach.
In Congress, the Afghan Adjustment Act was reintroduced – for the third time – again with bipartisan support. This act would create durable pathways for those Afghans who were paroled into the U.S. during the NEO but who lack a viable durable pathway. The bill was introduced in the House by Reps Crow and Meeks and in the Senate by Senators Klobuchar, Murkowski, Coons, Graham, Cassidy, Blumenthal, Shaheen, and Rounds.
We expect more legislation to be introduced this week related to relocations, again with bipartisan support, and we’ll update when that hits.
We also had our first Battle Buddies deployments on Wednesday, August 6th – with coordinated actions in Plymouth, MA and San Diego, CA.
AfghanEvac’s Jessica Bradley Rushing joined Senator Earl Blumenthal (CT) and Congressman Bill Keating (MA) for a press conference to provide an update on Zia, a COM-approved SIV applicant with humanitarian parole who was snatched up by ICE in Connecticut and is being held in an ICE Detention facility in Plymouth, MA. Senator Blumenthal and Rep Keating both expressed outrage that a wartime ally would be treated with such cruelty and vowed to keep fighting to ensure he was given both due process and his promised pathway to citizenship.
In San Diego, I led a contingent of more than a dozen Battle Buddies to accompany an Afghan ally to his scheduled master calendar hearing at the immigration court there. The atmosphere was incredibly tense – proving even more that our wartime allies need and deserve to have our support at these appointments. Thankfully, our guy was able to complete his hearing and return home without incident, but he told us that this was the first time since he arrived here that he had really felt supported – underlining the importance of this initiative. If you’re have not yet signed up to be a Battle Buddy, you can do so here: https://afghanevac.org/battle-buddies
On Friday, we held a press conference featuring Senator Chris Coons (DE) to talk about Mahmood Habibi, an SIV-turned-American-citizen who was arrested and detained by the Taliban three years ago and is still being held captive in Afghanistan. Along with Senators Coons, Booker, and Lofgren and a variety of other organizations, we are calling for his immediate release.
Learn more about this case in the House Resolution introduced by Rep Lofgren last year and watch the Scripps News story that followed the press conference.
This Friday, August 15th we will mark the fourth anniversary of the fall of Kabul – and while much progress was made during the Biden administration, all relocation and resettlement operations have been suspended since January 20th of this year. This leaves more than 250,000 potentially eligible Afghan allies in limbo without a path forward and without information on what will come next. We will continue to call on the Trump Administration to restart relocation operations and give those allies the chance at the American dream that they were promised.
What we’re reading
How a CIA hit on al Qaeda ensnared a US citizen in Afghanistan – Reuters
San Diego veterans volunteer to stand with Afghan at immigration court – KPBS
Afghan interpreter seized by ICE in East Hartford is hopeful for release – MSN
CT Senator tours ICE facility where former U.S. military interpreter is being held ‘It is cruel and it is stupid’ – Hartford Courant
Members of Congress call Afghan interpreter’s detention by ICE a ‘betrayal’ – WBUR
Blumenthal ‘angry’ and ‘ashamed’ after visit with imprisoned Afghan interpreter arrested by ICE in CT – New Haven Register
As we move into the month of August, many of us will be struggling with the memories of four years ago, but no one more than our Afghan allies. We’ll continue to work to honor their bravery, resilience, and loyalty for as long as it takes our country to keep its promises.