The Left Behind Afghans - One Year Later

 Executive summary

This is the third report in AWA's continuing series examining the status of Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) eligible individuals left behind after the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan. The report coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation (NEO) conducted in August 2021, during which 124,000 people were evacuated (76,000 to the United States directly).

There is a special sections with testimonials from Afghans left behind.

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Scope of Crisis

  • 96% of SIV applicants were left behind - Of 81,000 applicants pending as of August 15, 2021, at least 78,000 remain in Afghanistan

  • 160,000 SIV-eligible applicants currently await processing according to DOS reporting

  • 18+ years to process - At current rate of 725 SIVs issued per month, it will take over 18 years to bring all Afghan allies to safety

  • Only 8,000 SIVs issued between September 1, 2021 and July 31, 2022

Concerning Communication Gaps

  • 62% of AWA survey respondents lost contact - Response rates dropped from 5,209 (August 2021) to 1,936 (August 2022)

  • 40% of military community lost contact with Afghans they were assisting

  • Leading theories: loss of faith in system, loss of communication means, or death

Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

Security Threats:

  • 30% imprisoned by Taliban for service to the United States

  • 54% detained or questioned by Taliban

  • 95% fear leaving home due to Taliban retaliation

  • 78% personally witnessed violence toward those who supported the U.S. mission

Economic Devastation:

  • 92% lost jobs or economic opportunities due to U.S. evacuation

  • 97% facing economic hardship

  • 83.7% skipped at least one meal in the last month

  • 67.6% increase in price of rice (one kilo) over the past year

  • 87% skipped necessary medical care due to lack of money or fear

Women's Rights Crisis:

  • 96.2% lost economic opportunity based on gender

  • 95.4% lost educational opportunities

  • 97.3% experienced reduced freedom of movement

  • 81% experienced gender-based violence since U.S. evacuation

  • 85.6% were primary breadwinners before Taliban takeover

Impact on Military Community

  • 41% of military community members report experiencing trauma due to the evacuation

  • 14.3% of Afghans in contact with military members were successfully evacuated

  • 46.3% of evacuated Afghans now in U.S. are underemployed or unemployed

  • 78.5% of military community supports passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act

  • 17.3% providing direct financial support to Afghans

Processing Bottlenecks

  • Applicants spend 827 days average (2 years, 3 months) in the SIV application process

  • Interview stage represents critical bottleneck - no U.S. diplomatic presence in Afghanistan means no interviews

  • Recent improvements (Project Rabbit, removal of I-360 form) only move applicants to later stages where they remain stuck

  • Without third-country relocation, interview-ready applicants cannot proceed