Afghan candidates for the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program will now be required to submit only one government form for their SIV request, according to the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS).
DOS Secretary Antony Blinken and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas made the joint announcement July 18, calling the move "one of many steps we have taken to improve the SIV process while safeguarding national security."
"Since the beginning of the Administration," the secretaries state in the announcement, "we have surged resources to this vital program and have reviewed every stage of the statutorily required application process to streamline wherever possible."
As of July 18, new Afghan applicants to the SIV program need to file only a revised form DS-157 as their SIV petition, according to the report. A Form I-360, Petition for Special Immigrant Status, is no longer required to be filed with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the report states. Streamlining the SIV process will increase the program's efficiency by reducing barriers and application times, according to the report.
The changes will not have any impact or effect on the "robust" mandatory background security checks applicants must undergo beforehand, the report states.
"The United States continues to demonstrate its commitment to the thousands of brave Afghans who stood side-by-side with the us over the course of the past two decades," the secretaries state in the announcement. "We have already undertaken substantial steps to improve the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Program and today’s announcement reflects our commitment to do so."
