Legislation & Lobbying
Expanded Visa Program Helps Iraqi Aides Facing Danger
Posted Jul 25, 2008, 06:07 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Visa applications are now being processed under an expanded program to help Iraqis who are in danger because they were employed by the U.S. government.
The program permitting 5,000 Iraqis a year to go the United States is under way now that guidelines have been finalized and staffing is in place, the New York Times reports. The program, approved in January, increased the number of visas tenfold and lasts for five years. Those admitted under the program will also be allowed to bring immediate family members to the United States.
Applications can be processed in Iraq. Previously, Iraqis who sought to leave the country had to go to Jordan, Syria or Egypt. Last year only 500 Iraqis were allowed to apply for U.S. visas.
The ABA Journal reported on the Iraqis’ plight and efforts of U.S. lawyers to help them in its July cover story, “The Forgotten.”