US ambassador urged restraint on Afghan visas

KABUL, Afghanistan — Ahmad Taki is desperate to get out of Afghanistan, fearing for his life after receiving death threats in midnight phone calls because he works for the Americans. Nine months after applying for a visa to the U.S. designed for cases like his, he's heard nothing and feels abandoned by the people for whom he's risked his life.

Taki is one of about 2,300 Afghans who have applied to a special program that awards U.S. visas to Afghans who have worked for the U.S. government for at least a year and are in danger because of this work.

But since the Afghan Allies program began in 2009, not a single visa has been handed out.

A document obtained by The Associated Press suggests the delays may not be a matter of bureaucracy, but reflect a worry among U.S. officials over holding on to hard-to-replace employees.

"This act could drain this country of our very best civilian and military partners: our Afghan employees," former Ambassador Karl Eikenberry wrote in a February 2010 cable to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"If we are not careful the SIV (Special Immigrant Visa) program will have a significant deleterious impact on staffing and morale, as well as undermining our overall mission in Afghanistan. Local staff are not easily replenished in a society at 28 percent literacy," wrote Eikenberry, who finished his tour in July.

Eikenberry said the strictest criteria should be applied to determine if employees are in danger. He also proposed changing the Afghan Allies legislation so its visas are only issued "in those rare instances where there is clear and convincing evidence of a serious threat." That's more limited that the "ongoing serious threat" stated in the current law.

American officials declined to comment directly on the cable but said Ryan Crocker, the new ambassador, is committed to speeding up the process and that processing time has been reduced by months.

"Ambassador Crocker has resolved to make appropriate Special Immigrant Visa processing a mission priority and we are moving forward," said Megan Ellis, an embassy spokeswoman. She said this did not represent a change from Eikenberry's approach.

The Afghan Allies program is supposed to award up to 1,500 visas each year through 2013. So far, only two applications have been vetted. One was denied, and the other was approved and is going through processing, Ellis said. The application form for the program says a response should be expected within eight weeks.