With the currently escalating humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Afghan Women’s Fund is currently working with immigration attorneys to help our volunteers in Afghanistan whose lives are in danger because of their dedicated work to supporting the rights of women and girls. Four members of the organization have already been violently attacked in recent days and many more are in hiding, in fear for their safety. The work of these Afghans in education and on behalf of women and girls places them in danger now that the Taliban is in power. The threat of escalating violence by the Taliban is acute.
The U.S. is evacuating many, many people, but so far these efforts are not coming close to meeting the needs of so many Afghans in danger. To date, the U.S. government has not enacted a broad-based program (such as granting humanitarian parole en masse or ferrying people to U.S. territory and safety) on a scale to meet the needs of the multitudes of people under threat.
Zachary Sanders and other immigration attorneys are generously contributing pro bono support to file humanitarian parole applications to arrive in the U.S. on behalf of Afghan Women’s Fund volunteers across Afghanistan who have helped with building schools and hospitals on our behalf. Humanitarian parole (HP) applications (I-131) and family petitions (known as I-130s) will be filed with a request for USCIS (the immigration agency) to expedite adjudications. Normally these petitions take many months and years to be approved, but obviously, the dire situation in Afghanistan requires an immediate turnaround. Humanitarian parole applications (I-131) can also be filed for those individuals who are beneficiaries of family petitions and also as stand-alone applications of those who are in peril, which if granted would allow Afghans who are in danger to enter the U.S. Once in the U.S., these individuals could apply for political asylum.
Your funds will go toward the emergency evacuation and asylum support for the 50 volunteer members of our organization who are in danger because of their work supporting our organization's educational and vocational women's programs.
Fahima Gaheez