The Interpreters: A VICE News e-Book | VICE News:
In short, these Afghans were not only astoundingly dedicated, but
they now face the very real prospect of being slaughtered because they
supported the intervention, believing that it would result in a Taliban
defeat and the rebuilding of Afghanistan. But instead of doing
everything possible to offer them safety, as would happen if Americans
were stuck overseas and in danger, the United States has created a
program that is so dysfunctional that it seems to have been designed to
fail.
The program is called the Special
Immigrant Visa, or SIV, and the interpreters I interviewed who applied
have been waiting years to be approved. To be fair, the process has
improved recently, but at the time of writing, thousands of interpreters
are still waiting for visas that they will never get. This includes the
interpreters featured here. Only 3,000 visas were available for this
year, but there are an estimated 8,000 applicants (or more) waiting, a
number that will grow as withdrawal continues; as of this writing, the
State Department has already issued almost all of the available visas.
Unless new legislation is introduced, the majority of those applying
will not be granted visas and will be left to the mercy of the Taliban.