This bipartisan bill would provide certainty to over 70,000 Afghans who had to relocate to the United States following the fall of Kabul in August 2021. 

As of February 2023, 2.5 million middle school girls and young women in Afghanistan were denied access to education, employment, and sovereignty over their bodies. Poor government services and a lack of foreign aid have contributed to Afghanistan's economic downturn as 70% of Afghan households are unable to support themselves with food and other necessities. 97% of Afghan families, according to the United Nations Development Programme, are at risk of living below the poverty line. 

Some Afghan refugees were eligible for either refugee or Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) status, however according to the National Immigration Forum, 94% of those who were evacuated to the U.S. were granted humanitarian parole. Humanitarian parole expired in 2023 and offered temporary benefits and no guarantee of a permanent status for Afghan people, leading to re-parole being decided case-by-case. Thus, Afghan refugees are left with uncertainty about how their future in the U.S. will look.  

Afghans deserve stability, permanence, and solidarity as allies of the United States. Around 152,000 Special Immigrant Visa candidates who served with the United States during the war remain left behind in Afghanistan as of April 2023. Due to this connection to the United States, our allies and their loved ones frequently remain in hiding, even if they manage to leave Afghanistan and travel to nearby nations, for fear of retaliation from the Taliban. This act provides a guaranteed pathway for permanent status within the United States for Afghanistan evacuees and provides options for our allies at risk outside the United States. 

The AAA was first introduced in the 117th Congress last August and through this support last year, the bill gained more than 130 additional co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives and more bipartisan support in the U.S. Senate. However, the previous Congress failed to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act last December.