GUEST ARTICLE: Escape from Kabul

Pro bono cases, especially immigration-related ones, often leave a lasting impact on me. One case in particular that spanned three continents over three years is among the most significant of my career.

 

In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban collected intelligence on the identities of Afghans who worked for the US army to retaliate against them. Through a friend of my husband’s, I was made aware of the case of one translator who faced this danger, “Mohammad.” Mohammad’s interpreter services were key to the success of many important missions and interrogations during Operation Enduring Freedom and he believed his work was for his country’s benefit. After the US left Afghanistan, the Taliban quickly took over the country. The collapse of the Afghan government and subsequent takeover of the country by the Taliban put Mohammad’s life, along with those of his wife and children, in immediate and grave danger. Mohammad and his family went into hiding and were separated. He could not work, and resources and food were scarce. In an effort to protect himself and his family, Mohammad applied for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV), a type of US visa for Afghan and Iraqi translators that would allow them to emigrate to the US, but he had no information about the status of his visa. He needed help. I was immediately drawn to Mohammad’s case and decided to do whatever I could.

I got right to work. Since evacuation flights were stalled following the US Embassy in Kabul’s suspension of operations, a group of advocates and I requested that the State Department expedite processing of Mohammad’s visa. We also filed emergency humanitarian parole applications, which would give Mohammad and his family reason to travel to the US. At this stage, I realized it may be a long shot to help them escape Afghanistan. However, I wanted to make sure that Mohammad knew that people were out there fighting for his safety.

Six months later, my heart sank. Mohammad’s application was denied, allegedly because it did not establish his employment with the US Army for the required period of one year. This news was delivered to the advocacy team despite the submission of six employment verification letters from army officials and the contracting company who hired Mohammad. With the help of Ben McDermott, an associate at my firm, we scoured the government’s Federal Procurement Data System and found multiple contracts under which Mohammad had been employed. We submitted this information and Mohammad’s appeal was approved!

But we faced another setback in September 2022, after we were unable to provide the passports of Mohammad and his family to the State Department’s National Visa Center. Mohammad and his wife’s passport expired, and his children had never obtained theirs. The Taliban resumed the issuance of passports the following spring, and Mohammad decided that it was worth the risk to identify himself to obtain these important documents.

He bravely submitted the paperwork, and in June 2023, Mohammad and his family received their passports.

After months of no updates, we learned that the case was transferred to the US Embassy in Tirana, Albania. The State Department’s CARE Case Management Team reached out to Mohammad in April 2024 to gather information in anticipation of a potential evacuation from Afghanistan. Two months later, he received an email from the Care Case Management Team with the news that his family would be evacuated in the next two days.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Mohammad let me know that his family had safely begun their journey to Tirana to attend their immigrant visa interviews. He was worried about this process, but we assured him that the difficult part was over. On June 20, 2024, three years after I initially got involved, the Embassy issued the family’s visas. This means that they can live in the US as permanent residents!

With the promise of employment opportunities for him and educational opportunities for his children, Mohammad and his wife decided to settle in Chicago. Though there was opportunity, there were also the challenges of assimilating to American culture and learning the English language.

A few weeks after arriving in Chicago, Mohammad’s family invited me to their home for a traditional Afghan lunch. I was initially nervous because Mohammad and I had only communicated by email over the past three years, but these concerns disappeared as Mohammad’s wife, “Noor,” gave me a fierce hug as soon as I walked in the door. The apartment was spacious and filled with light, with a picture window in the living room, and a deck off the kitchen in the back. The refugee agency that helped Mohammad and his family emigrate to the US ensured that the family had beds and covered the rent for the first few months, and a generous family donated a couch and additional appliances to make the apartment feel like a home.

At lunch, the conversation flowed. Mohammad shared his thoughts on what career paths he wished to pursue. With a green card, Mohammad can work for any employer, though he was struggling with how to network. While we brainstormed some ideas based on his past experiences, Mohammad said that he may want to learn a trade, such as carpentry. Mohammad helped to translate the conversation as we traded stories. We talked about family: he felt some guilt about leaving his mother and brother behind, but he vowed to send money back to them once he got a job. I told them about my great-grandmother’s arrival in New York Harbor on a ship from Germany and passing through immigration at Ellis Island. I was also amused to learn that Mohammad’s interests ranged from Mel Gibson movies to philosophy.

I wanted to give Mohammad and his family something to help them get settled in the US, since they had only been able to bring a few items from Afghanistan. I decided to buy each of them a few outfits to have some clothes to wear in the fall season, which would be especially important for the children who were going to start school. As I said goodbye and hugged Noor and Mohammad, we agreed to stay in touch.

When I decided to help Mohammad and his family in 2021, I did not know what to expect, given the complexities of this area of immigration law combined with the high-level of urgency associated with Mohammad’s situation. Over these last three years, I not only have come away with a better understanding of our country’s immigration laws, but most importantly, I am left in awe by the determination and strength of Mohammad and his family.

As of spring 2024, more than 80,000 Afghans were in the SIV process, but only 25% of them have been cleared for final interviews and vetting outside of Afghanistan. Despite domestic and international advocacy for faster processing, the number of SIV-eligible Afghans waiting for a visa and evacuation remains unprecedentedly high, and these individuals continue to be in danger from the Taliban. If you are able to invest time or expertise in advocating for families like Mohammad’s, I highly encourage it. I am immensely honored to have played a part in ensuring Mohammad and his family were able to arrive in the US and finally have the freedom to determine their own future.

Rachel Beardsley is a Board Member at the City Bar Justice Center. She is a partner at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP, where she serves as a trusted advisor to clients by providing strategic legal advice and developing immigration strategies for program management. Special thanks to Ben McDermott for his help on both the case and with this article.