US Immigration News

The number of Afghans who have applied for the US Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program has hit 100,000, according to a refugee assistance group. Head of the US-based International Refugee Assistance Program, Rebecca Heller, said that an Afghan client had told her that five translators had been killed by the Taliban recently for working with the US.

 

16 Republican lawmakers who have opposed granting US visas to 8,000 Afghans who supported US efforts in the war against the Taliban have been blasted by US immigration advocates and members of the House of Representatives.  

In July, the House voted in favor of allowing Afghan interpreters and contractors who worked with the US military to be allowed to relocate to the US under the Special Immigrant Visa program.

Israel’s envoy to the US, Gilad Erdan, has said that he ‘expects there to be progress’ on a US visa waiver deal for the Jewish state after meeting with US Department of Homeland Security Secretary (DHS), Alejandro Mayorkas. In a post on Facebook, Erdan said: “It’s time for the citizens of Israel to feel our close relationship with the US when they want to visit.”

 

According to widespread reports, almost a quarter of a million migrants were stopped at the US-Mexico border in July in what has been described as an ‘unprecedented’ US immigration surge. Official figures show that 212,000 migrants were blocked form entering the US by Customs and Border Protection last month, representing a 12.6% increase compared to June.

 

In a landmark move, US immigrants can now access green cards and Social Security numbers at the same time. The Biden administration recently announced a partnership between United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) that will allow all lawful immigrants to apply for US permanent residency or green cards, plus their Social Security number (SSN).

 

100,000 US employment-based visas, commonly known as green cards, could go to waste in 2021 sparking fury among many foreign nationals, particularly Indian IT professionals. With many facing a decades-long wait to secure US permanent residency, news that 100,000 green cards could go unused is likely to cause resentment among many migrants.