KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The U.S. Embassy in the Philippines has announced that nearly 200 Afghanistan citizens, who were relocated to the Philippines for the final stages of their Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) processing, have been transferred to the United States.
In a statement on Sunday, the embassy said that these individuals departed the Philippines on commercial flights between January 15 and 17. They initially arrived in Manila, the Philippine capital, on January 6, with the U.S. covering their accommodation costs.
Earlier reports from Agence France-Presse indicated that about 300 Afghan nationals had been relocated to the Philippines for SIV processing. However, the embassy has not provided updates regarding the remaining 100 individuals.
Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul, tens of thousands of Afghans and their families were evacuated during an intense airlift operation.
Since then, the U.S. government has resettled over 160,000 Afghans, including individuals who directly supported U.S.-led operations, their families, and others at risk of Taliban persecution.
Despite these efforts, thousands of at-risk Afghans remain stranded in Afghanistan or neighboring countries, primarily Pakistan, awaiting U.S. visas.
According to the Associated Press, around 150,000 SIV applications remain unprocessed as of last year.