Time is of the essence: the Taliban are making critical gains on the battlefield and Afghans do not have much time. The State Department recently announced that they will expand access to the US refugee program because of the dire situation on the ground. However, there is a critical caveat: these Afghans alone are responsible for getting themselves out of Afghanistan. Even if they are lucky enough to escape, the processing of a U.S. visa will take over a year. 

We owe it to these Afghans who have stood by us for nearly twenty years of war. We call on the Biden Administration to airlift these Afghans immediately and fly them to safety to begin the processing of these visas. Afghans alone should not be responsible, we must do everything we can to help.