US extends temporary legal status for recently arrived Afghans

KABUL (Pajhwok): The United States has extended temporary legal status for Afghan migrants who have already been living in the country for 18 months.

The Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday that the decision to give Temporary Protected Status to Afghans who arrived after March 15, 2022, and before Sept. 20, 2023, would affect roughly 14,600 Afghans.

The decision renews Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months for some 3,100 Afghans already in the US before the fall of Kabul and extends the protections to another 14,600 additional Afghan nationals who entered the country since the Biden administration first approved TPS for the country last March.

It’s also an additional layer of protection for the nearly 80,000 Afghan evacuees living in the US, some of whom have applied for the status.

“Today’s announcement to extend and redesignate TPS for Afghanistan allows us to continue to offer safety and protection to Afghan nationals who are unable to return to their country,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a release.

“DHS will continue to support Afghan nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”

The move is not specifically designed to help the roughly 80,000 Afghans who came to the US through the military-led evacuation, who have other options for remaining in the country.

Evacuees have been directed to apply for re-parole, a nod to the process used to “parole” Afghans into the US who may not otherwise meet immigration requirements.

“While TPS offers a vital safety net, Afghan nationals need and deserve lasting protection. Congress must provide a long-term solution by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would provide a direct path to lawful permanent residency for Afghan evacuees left in legal limbo,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, in a release.

“Congress has previously passed similar legislation for every other modern wartime evacuee population.”

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