Washington and Manila have agreed on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the US.
The State Department said: “The US government is supporting necessary services for those Afghans temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, security, medical and transportation, to complete visa processing.”
In a statement, the State Department said the US appreciates its long and positive history of bilateral cooperation with the Philippines and thanks the Philippine government for supporting Afghan allies of the US.”
After the regime change in the country in August 2021, many officials of ex-government fled Afghanistan.
Many of those who had worked with the ousted government arrived in the US, seeking resettlement under a special immigrant visa programme.
However, thousands were also left behind or in third countries, waiting for their visas to be processed.
kk/mud
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