KABUL (Pajhwok): A federal court in the United States has ruled that travel restrictions imposed by the US government cannot prevent the spouses and children of some Afghan immigrants from reuniting with their families in the country, a media report said on Tuesday.
The US newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that Judge Anthony Trenga had ordered the State Department to issue travel documents within 15 days for the family members of five of the seven Afghan immigrants who filed the lawsuit.
Under the ruling, the State Department must also reconsider the eligibility of other family members seeking reunification without applying the travel restrictions.
The court further ordered the department to submit progress reports every two weeks until the families arrive in the United States.
The case was filed after several Afghan families in Virginia sued the US government and federal agencies responsible for immigration and travel, including the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
According to the report, the lawsuit states that family members of Afghans who worked alongside US forces during the US military presence in Afghanistan had applied to join their relatives in the United States before the travel restrictions were introduced.
Stars and Stripes reported that US President Donald Trump issued two proclamations last year imposing entry restrictions on nationals of several countries, including Afghanistan.
Lawyers representing the Afghan families argued that the restrictions did not apply to people who had already been granted refugee status or to refugees who had already been admitted to the United States.
kk/sa
