Afghans in PH leave for US with special visas
About 200 Afghan nationals who arrived in Manila earlier this month have completed the processing of their special immigrant visa (SIV) applications and departed the Philippines last week for the United States.
The Afghans, about 60 percent of whom were minors, boarded commercial flights between Jan. 15 and Jan. 17, the US Embassy said in a statement on Sunday.
The embassy had announced earlier that up to 300 Afghans were expected to participate in the visa processing program.
However, US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said some participants “dropped due to medical issues, their decision to withdraw from the program or other considerations.”
“The government of the United States extends deep appreciation to the government of the Philippines for their cooperation and support for US efforts to assist Afghan special immigrants,” Gangopadhyay said.
SIV program
The Afghan nationals seeking resettlement worked for the US government in Afghanistan or were deemed eligible for SIVs but were left behind when Washington withdrew from the country and Taliban militants took back power in a chaotic period in 2021.
Under an agreement between Washington and Manila signed in 2024, the US government provided all necessary services for the SIV applicants during their temporary stay in the Philippines, including food, housing, medical care, security and transportation until their visas were processed.
The Afghans stayed in a secure, undisclosed billet facility and were allowed to leave only once to attend their consular interview at the US Embassy in Manila.
A Philippine official previously said the program would last only 100 days and all SIV applicants must leave the Philippines by March. Their individual stay was capped at a maximum of 59 days.
It was not immediately clear if another batch of Afghan nationals would transit through the Philippines.
The SIV program started in 2009 to help resettle Afghan nationals who had worked with the US government or its contractors between October 2001 and December 2024 for at least a year.
