Two Years Later, We Continue to Welcome Afghan Refugees

By Jonathan Fung, Director of Legal Services

This month marks the two year anniversary of the chaotic evacuation of Afghanistan, when thousands of Afghans were airlifted to the United States to escape the Taliban. In the years since, the Immigration Resource Center has been on the frontlines of providing immigration legal services to Afghan refugees, helping them to navigate the complex U.S. immigration system and working to reunite them with family members still left behind in Afghanistan.

We have helped Afghan refugees apply for Temporary Protected Status(TPS), obtain work authorization, and adjust their status to permanent residency. We have also helped them petition to bring their spouses and children to the U.S. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have been able to help over 40 Afghan refugees achieve their immigration goals, and assist another 40 of their family members with the reunification process.

We are proud of the work we have done to assist Afghan refugees, but we know that there is still much work to be done. Many refugees are still struggling to adjust to life in America and many of the families that we started assisting 2 years ago, still require legal assistance, as many of them still do not have their permanent residence granted and are waiting for final decisions in their applications. We hope to assist these families until they reach their final goals of becoming U.S. citizens.

Thanks to your ongoing support of this work, we can continue to provide pro-bono support with love and dignity to the Afghan refugee community and help them overcome financial barriers that stand in the way of pursuing their legal rights, their freedom and their safety. We believe in the transformative power of welcome.

questions? Want to help? email us at info@ircsgv.org