‘Move heaven and earth’: pressure on Biden to speed up visas for Afghans who helped US

Members of Congress warn that those who aided US military are in grave danger as they wait for evacuations and paperwork

For the two decades the US waged war in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of Afghans worked with American forces at great risk to themselves and their families. A small fraction of those translators, drivers and other workers were promised pathways to special visas to leave the country and relocate to the US in return for their service.

But now, after a hasty US military departure and an even faster takeover by the Taliban, thousands of applicants to these programs and other refugees find themselves in limbo with an unclear timeline on when their applications will be processed and serious questions about their safety while they wait.