U.S. diplomats worldwide have been ordered to stop processing visa applications for Afghan nationals, effectively pausing the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program for Afghans who assisted U.S. forces, according to a State Department cable reviewed by reporters.
The cable, distributed to all U.S. diplomatic posts, instructs consular officers that, effective immediately, they must refuse immigrant and non-immigrant visa applications from Afghan nationals, explicitly including SIV applicants. The guidance directs posts to reverse and cancel any authorized visas that have not been printed, destroy printed visas, and amend the related cases in the system as rejected.
The move follows a shooting in Washington, D.C., in which a former member of a CIA-backed Afghan unit was accused of opening fire on two U.S. National Guard soldiers; one of the soldiers later died. Officials said the temporary suspension is intended to allow additional checks to verify applicants' identities and eligibility under U.S. law.
The State Department pointed reporters to a statement posted on platform X by Senator Marco Rubio in which he said visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports would be "paused." A volunteer group that supports Afghan allies described the memo as part of a broader effort to limit Afghan entries into the United States. Shawn VanDiver, president of the support group AfghanEvac, said, "There is no doubt this is the outcome they have been driving toward for months."
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had already announced an indefinite halt earlier in the week to processing immigration petitions filed by Afghan nationals. Advocates estimate that roughly 200,000 Afghans entered the United States through refugee and special visa programs through 2021, and that applications for about 265,000 Afghans remain pending outside the United States, including approximately 180,000 people in the SIV pipeline.
The directive says appointments already scheduled for Afghan applicants will remain on the docket, but consular officers must refuse visas at those interviews. The administration stated the suspension is a temporary measure to ensure proper identity verification and legal eligibility; however, critics warn it will leave many vulnerable allies in prolonged limbo.
Since taking office in January, President Trump has emphasized stricter immigration enforcement, and the measures announced after the Washington attack appear to increase attention on legal immigration pathways as well as border enforcement.
By Humeyra Pamuk and Raphael Satter
