"The legislation passed after several Republicans who had been holding it up dropped their objections and the Senate agreed to a proposal by Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, to require the administration to report to Congress on the Afghan special immigrant visa program.

The bill incorporates a measure passed by the House last week that adds 8,000 new visas for Afghans facing death threats from the Taliban for helping American personnel in Afghanistan as U.S. forces withdraw after a 20-year war. The House overwhelmingly approved the measure, which also expedites the application process and allows more Afghans to qualify. It also includes hundreds of millions of dollars for government programs that aid refugees and migrants and resettle them in the United States.

More than 18,000 Afghans who have worked as interpreters, drivers, engineers, security guards, fixers and embassy clerks for the United States during the war have been caught in bureaucratic limbo after applying for special immigrant visas, which are available to people who face threats because of work for the U.S. government.

“We intend to keep our nation’s promises to brave Afghans who have taken great risks to help America and our partners fight the terrorists,” Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, said in floor remarks this week."