Brief Navigating the Immigration System: Legal Service Providers Share Their Experience Assisting Afghan Evacuees
Diana Guelespe, Fanny Terrones
Display Date
File
File
Download brief
(287.28 KB)

In 2021, the US government granted humanitarian parole on arrival for over 70,000 Afghan evacuees.

Unlike during past humanitarian crises, Congress has failed to pass legislation adjusting the status of parolees to lawful permanent resident status. Humanitarian parole and the lack of an adjustment of status for Afghan evacuees leaves them in a perpetual cycle of uncertainty. Afghan refugees on humanitarian parole can apply for asylum, but the process can be challenging, considering that many evacuees who arrived have limited English proficiency, low or no formal education, little knowledge of the US legal system and culture, and recently experienced traumatic events. Obtaining the assistance of legal service providers (LSPs) offers Afghan evacuees the best chance of success in navigating the process. This brief shares what we learned from LSPs serving Afghan evacuees.

What we found

  • LSPs’ themselves face many challenges in supporting evacuees including receiving timely information and guidance on policies by the US government on several processes, such as reparole and employment authorization. In addition, interpreters provided by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services were often unreliable and spoke incorrect dialects, leading LSPs to provide their own interpreters or encourage their clients to seek one out at their own expense.
  • Other challenges specific to Afghans’ circumstances included a lack of Afghan government-issued identity or other vital supporting documentation due to the hurried nature of their departure and US-issued immigration documentation processed while evacuees were at US military bases contained incorrect dates and spellings, which led to additional time and paperwork to correct.
  • Federal funding provided financial resources that made it possible for certain LSPs to provide immigration legal services at no cost to Afghan evacuees were limited to Office of Refugee Resettlement–eligible populations.
  • State and local governments, foundations and private donors filled critical gaps in coverage for Afghans not eligible to be served through federal funds and the cost of in-house or contracted quality interpreters for their clients.
  • LSPs expect the Afghan population will have long-term legal needs because of the long wait for asylum applications to be adjudicated and parole, which will require subsequent renewal of work authorization. Resources will be required to address the need for interpretation services and legal capacity for their time-intensive cases.
  • All LSPs stated passage of the Afghan Adjustment Act was necessary to provide Afghan evacuees with permanent resident status.
  • Considerations for future humanitarian populations included providing work authorization upon their arrival and reducing application processing times and required paperwork, such as fee waiver forms for low-income populations, which can be lengthy and time consuming.

How we did it

This study was based on 12 interviews with private and publicly funded LSPs assisting Afghans in Chicago, San Antonio, and northern Virginia. The interviews examined their challenges in providing legal services to Afghans, resources and best practices that facilitated their assistance, and recommendations on how to improve the immigration process for future humanitarian populations.

Research and Evidence Family and Financial Well-Being Race and Equity Tax and Income Supports
Expertise Families Immigration
Research Methods Qualitative data analysis
Tags Immigrant children, families, and communities Immigrant-serving organizations Refugees and global migration Federal, state, and local immigration and integration policy
States Illinois Texas Virginia
Cities Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI
Related content