Cheers erupted at Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. as an Afghan combat translator, his wife and four young children arrived at the baggage carousel after a harrowing three and a half year wait for a Special Immigrant Visa after risking his life working for the U.S. military and facing death threats from the Taliban as U.S. troops hasten their withdrawal.
“Although it was a long journey for us, the visa process took a long time, like three and a half years, but finally [we] made it,” the man who asked not to be identified told Fox News. “I feel safe. You know, I feel really good because I survived from many threats.”
Fearful the Taliban will target his family back in Afghanistan he asked that Fox News refer to him by a pseudonym Sediq. He received his SIV visa on May 27 – one of the few that the State Department has approved despite the 18,000 Afghans who have provided the documentation that they worked for the U.S. government and are still waiting. Visa approval has slowed to a trickle despite promises from State Department officials to expedite them.
