US ally stranded in Afghanistan laments 'poorly handled' SIV process one year after withdrawal
A former U.S. embassy employee living in hiding says being in Afghanistan under Taliban rule is 'life-threatening'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Tens of thousands of American allies remain trapped in Afghanistan, now under Taliban rule, after the U.S. withdrew all military forces in August 2021.
While the Biden administration praised the withdrawal as the end of a 20-year war in the Middle East, one U.S. ally spoke out against the "poorly handled" process.
Fox News’ Trey Yingst spoke to a former U.S. embassy employee who has remained in hiding since the withdrawal. He held a senior finance role in Kabul after working as a translator for USAID. His identity was withheld for his own safety.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It was poorly handled," the former U.S. embassy employee said. "Specifically, it showed a lack of value and importance to the lives and to the work. And to the lives that we have established."
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FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2021, file photo, a U.S. soldier holds a sign indicating a gate is closed as hundreds of people gather near an evacuation control checkpoint on the perimeter of the Hamid Karzai International Airport, in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Wali Sabawoon, File)
The man has waited a year for the U.S. State Department to approve his Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), a process he believes has largely failed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yingst reported 15,000 SIVs have been issued since the Biden administration took office; however, 160,000 eligible Afghans are still waiting to be processed.
The SIV process was started in 2006 and allowed for up to 50 visas to be issued to Iraqi and Afghan translators each year. In the wake of the U.S. withdrawal, more than 76,000 Afghans have been brought to the U.S.
The Biden administration announced changes to the SIV Program in July in an attempt to "simplify and streamline" the application process according to Secretary of State Blinken and DHS Secretary Mayorkas.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The United States continues to demonstrate its commitment to the thousands of brave Afghans who stood side-by-side with us over the course of the past two decades," they said in a statement.
The National Security Council reportedly told Yingst it is committed to helping American allies left behind in Afghanistan, but the former embassy employee said living under Taliban rule remains unsafe.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It’s life-threatening," he said. "It’s death, basically."
Fox News' Brooke Singman and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.