Afghan Allies Who Resettled in the U.S. Face Green Card Revocation Fears
Hundreds of Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan and were later resettled in the United States fear their green cards could be revoked and that they could face deportation, five years after the U.S. withdrawal from Kabul. NPR
The Afghans at risk filled a wide range of roles — from custodial work at the U.S. embassy in Kabul to technology and engineering jobs with U.S. contractors. Some served as interpreters on the front lines of combat. They entered the United States through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which Congress created in 2009 for Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government. The State Department has issued roughly 160,000 of these visas since the program began, with more than half granted after the U.S. embassy in Kabul closed in 2021. NPR
Many SIV holders have since adjusted to lawful permanent resident status, meaning they hold green cards. Over the past year, however, advocates and lawyers who help with Afghan resettlement have noticed an increase in federal revocation letters — official notices telling recipients that the basis for their SIV has been revoked or denied. The federal government began sending these notices at the end of the Biden administration after officials suspected some supporting documents for Afghan SIV applications were not collected through correct processes, potentially amounting to fraud. NPR
Jennifer Patota, deputy director of U.S. legal services at the International Refugee Assistance Project, said receiving a withdrawal-of-approval letter years after the visa was issued is something her organization had never seen before. Advocates, lawyers, and Afghan nationals told NPR that the revocation letters appear to be arriving at a higher frequency and volume than expected, leaving some U.S. allies at risk of deportation. Those assisting Afghan allies reported no clear pattern as to who was receiving them. NPR
One Afghan SIV holder, identified by NPR only as M., said he was concerned that speaking to the media could affect his green card. Many Afghans living in the United States fear being tortured or killed if deported. NPR
The revocation notices arrive amid a broader Trump administration crackdown on legal immigration from Afghanistan. In April 2025, the administration ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans, a designation that shielded them from deportation and allowed them to work. Thousands stood to lose that protection as of May 20, 2025. NPR In November 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the immediate and indefinite suspension of all immigration requests relating to Afghans. Reuters Days later, the administration ordered a review of green card applications from "countries of concern" after an Afghan national was named as a shooting suspect, and President Trump ordered a suspension of immigration from "Third World" countries. Al Jazeera
In December 2025, the administration paused all immigration applications from citizens of 19 countries, including Afghanistan. Reuters The administration also expanded its travel ban to add new restrictions. The updated ban no longer includes an exception for Afghans who qualify for the SIV program. NPR USCIS separately halted immigration applications for migrants from the 19 travel-ban nations. PBS NewsHour
These measures have produced a split among Republicans in Congress. Some GOP members have broken with the Trump administration over its crackdown on legal immigration from Afghanistan, which covers individuals who worked alongside U.S. military and civilian personnel during the two-decade war. NPR
Under USCIS policy, Afghan SIV applicants are considered to be inherently under threat regardless of whether their employment has ended or whether they have relocated. The agency's guidance provides a green card process for Afghans employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government, covering the application process, bars to adjustment, and grounds for the green card. To adjust status, an Afghan national must have been inspected and admitted or paroled into the United States. USCIS Afghan special immigrant parolees and lawful permanent residents meet the immigration status requirement for public benefits. USCIS
The interaction of these policies creates a layered legal problem for SIV holders who have already adjusted to permanent residency. The revocation letters target the underlying visa approval rather than the green card itself, but if the visa basis is invalidated, the adjustment petition built on it becomes vulnerable. Think of it like a house: if the government rescinds the building permit, the house standing on it may not be automatically demolished, but its legal foundation is in question. For lawful permanent residents, removal proceedings require a separate legal process, but the notices signal that the government has identified a deficiency it believes is serious enough to reopen cases that had been considered resolved. The lack of a discernible pattern in who receives the letters has compounded uncertainty for a population that entered the United States through a program Congress designed specifically to protect them from retaliation by the Taliban.
The broader context here is one of narrowing options. USCIS policy recognizes that SIV applicants face ongoing threats in Afghanistan regardless of relocation or the passage of time since their employment. The end of TPS, the suspension of immigration processing for Afghan cases, the removal of the SIV exception from the travel ban, and now the revocation letters together leave this population with fewer avenues for legal recourse. Republican critics of the administration's approach have framed the issue as one of loyalty to allies who risked their lives for U.S. personnel, while the administration has framed its actions as necessary fraud prevention and national security measures.
