The Biden administration anticipates that 65,000 Afghan evacuees will have entered the United States by the end of September, with an additional 30,000 expected over the next 12 months. Many have suffered physical or emotional trauma as Afghanistan transitioned to Taliban rule. Having just experienced the loss of homes, communities, and livelihoods, newly arriving Afghans now face the challenges of resettling in a new country. Helping these families become part of their new communities will call for partnerships across government, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), businesses, diaspora and faith-based groups, schools, health-care providers, and community volunteers.

One complication is that Afghans are entering with a range of legal statuses, with important implications for their ability to access benefits and services (see Table 1). As communities plan support for arriving Afghans, it is useful to understand these different statuses and the consequences for eligibility for assistance.

Given the numbers of those arriving, services and supports for resettlement and integration will be needed in multiple U.S. communities. While the Washington, DC area and California have been the top destinations for Afghans living in the country before the evacuations began, the federal government has indicated that evacuees will be initially settled in at least 46 states.

Arriving Afghans generally fall in one of the following groups:

  • Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients. These visa holders worked for the U.S. government or government contractors in Afghanistan for at least a year; the visas also cover their immediate families.
  • Refugees. They include those who worked for the U.S. government or government contractors for less than a year in Afghanistan, who worked for U.S.-funded programs or projects, or were employed by a U.S.-based media organization or NGO. Spouses and children also are covered.
  • SQ/SI parolees. These are individuals with pending applications for SIV status.
  • Humanitarian parolees. This final category is for Afghans who do not have SQ/SI status, and who will likely be seeking asylum in the United States.

Read the full article about federal assistance for Afghan evacuees by Mark Greenberg, Celia Reynolds, and Essey Workie at Migration Policy Institute.