United States Has Not Granted Permanent Residency to 284 Senior Former Afghan Officials

The United States has not yet granted residency to several senior military and civilian officials who were transferred to the country even three years after the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, informed sources have told Afghanistan International.

Among these individuals are two ministers, two army chiefs of staff, eight deputy ministers, and dozens of generals. The Pashto section of Afghanistan International managed to speak with 75 former military personnel, security services heads, deputies, and department heads residing in the US about their residency status in the country.

Additionally, a source from a US immigration organisation, informed Afghanistan International that its offices in Virginia, California, Ohio, Maryland, West Virginia, and Philadelphia have assisted 118 former Afghan military personnel and generals. According to this organisation, these individuals have not yet received their permanent residency documents.

After the fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, American and NATO forces transferred thousands of former security forces and former government officials along with their families.

Officials of the Ministry of National Defence

Afghanistan International’s interviews with 21 generals, including former chiefs of staff of army and deputy ministers of the former Ministry of National Defence revealed that 89 former generals, corps commanders, chiefs of corps staff, and brigade commanders, including two chiefs of army staff and four former deputy defence ministers, have not yet received permanent residency documents in the US.

One of the former deputy defence ministers, who wished to remain anonymous, spoke about being interviewed thrice by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, part of the Department of Homeland Security, however he has not yet received any news regarding the approval or rejection of his residency. He added that many of his colleagues face a similar situation.

Ministry of Interior Officials

Two former ministers, five deputy ministers, 61 generals, and former chiefs of police and commanders of the Ministry of Interior have not yet received permanent residency documents in the US as per the interviews of 24 former generals, commanders, and senior officials of the former Ministry of Interior.

Additionally, sources from the Lorton immigration organisation in Virginia confirmed that the US government has rejected the asylum requests of Abdul Sattar Mirzakwal, the former Minister of Interior, four commanders, and the former minister’s office chief.

One of the former advisors to the Ministry of Interior, who wished to remain anonymous, told Afghanistan International that he has been in the US for over two years and gave an interview for residency last year, but is yet to receive a response.

This source also added that dozens of generals from the Ministry of Interior have not yet received residency, and only a few have been successful in obtaining asylum.

The former police commander of Kunar province told Afghanistan International that during his interview with the US immigration office strange questions. He added, “They were asking me very strange questions; for instance, how many people did you torture? Who did you kill and when? I told them that we were at war and we had no choice but to kill people.”

He added that he is in contact with many of his former colleagues in the US, and only two of them have received residency.

Officials of the National Directorate of Security

In addition to interviewing sources related to immigration agencies in the US, Afghanistan International spoke with 13 former directors, former generals, and members of the former National Directorate of Security (NDS) of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, including four deputy directors of the intelligence agency.

According to information, 72 former NDS officials, interrogators, prosecutors, and generals, including three deputy directors, have not yet received residency permits. One former general with the NDS, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed that despite three interviews, he has not yet been able to obtain his residency documents.

Another source also provided Afghanistan International with a list of NDS officials whose residency documents have been rejected by the US government. This list includes the names of 19 senior officials of this agency, including three deputy directors.

Presidential Palace Officials

Afghanistan International interviewed eight former directors, deputy directors, and other officials of the Presidential Palace (Arg) of the former Afghan government. According to findings, five directors, 13 experts, and three deputy directors of various President office departments have not yet managed to obtain residency documents in the US.

The main reason for the US not issuing documents to senior officials of the former Afghan government is unclear. One employee of the Administrative Office of the President stated that he was told to wait even after four visits to the immigration office.

Presidential Protective Service (PPS)

Several members of the PPS have reported that 41 of their colleagues, including 11 generals, have not yet managed to obtain residency documents. Some PPS members, along with former President Ashraf Ghani, initially fled to Uzbekistan and then to the United Arab Emirates, from where they were transferred to the US under the evacuation programme.

One of them said that many PPS members faced the problem of their work permit's expiration, which the US government has since extended.

Najib Ehsanzai, a legal advisor on Afghan immigration affairs in the US, explained that the process of reviewing immigration documents for Afghans usually takes between one and one and a half years, but the review of cases for former government officials may take longer due to security checks.

He added, "One of the crucial steps in this process is the background check, which includes reviewing human rights violations, connections with terrorist groups, financial corruption, and security threats to the US".

Ehsanzai predicted that this process might take up to five years. However, if a case is rejected, individuals can appeal to the court.