Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act, which would direct the State Department to automatically issue a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) for every Afghan who lived in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and their legal spouse and children, so they can escape persecution by the Taliban and relocate safely to the United States. My legislation also provides for Afghan nationals selected by the State Department for similar educational or cultural exchange programs, which included living, working, or studying in the United States after the start of the U.S. strikes against the Talban and the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

In 2009, Congress passed the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 (Title VI of Public Law 111-8) making a special class of American visas--known as ``Special lmmigrant,Visas''--available to individual Afghan allies who supported the United States' mission in Afghanistan. An SIV entitles a foreign national to relocate with their immediate family and live lawfully in the United States on a temporary basis with the option to settle permanently.

During the U.S. military drawdown from Afghanistan and the region this past summer, my Congressional office helped to evacuate over a dozen Afghan Fulbright Scholars who studied at the University of California, Davis in my district. That critical work revealed red tape preventing current and former Afghan Fulbright Scholars from obtaining the SIV needed to escape persecution by the Taliban, underscoring the need for this legislation.

As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I was impressed by the United States Air Force and Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) executing the single largest airlift since the Berlin Airlift during the onset of the Cold War to evacuate our Afghan allies. With American military operations in Afghanistan now ended, I am committed to bringing all our Afghan allies safely to the United States.

Madam Speaker, I encourage all members of the House to join me in cosponsoring the Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act.

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