[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 5, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1063]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





       SPECIAL IMMIGRANT VISAS FOR AFGHAN FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS ACT

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                          HON. JOHN GARAMENDI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 5, 2021

  Mr. GARAMENDI. Madam Speaker, today I introduce the Special Immigrant 
Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act, which would direct the State 
Department to automatically issue a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) for 
every Afghan who lived in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar and 
their legal spouse and children, so they can escape persecution by the 
Taliban and relocate safely to the United States. My legislation also 
provides for Afghan nationals selected by the State Department for 
similar educational or cultural exchange programs, which included 
living, working, or studying in the United States after the start of 
the U.S. strikes against the Talban and the terrorists responsible for 
the 9/11 attacks.
  In 2009, Congress passed the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 
(Title VI of Public Law 111-8) making a special class of American 
visas--known as ``Special lmmigrant,Visas''--available to individual 
Afghan allies who supported the United States' mission in Afghanistan. 
An SIV entitles a foreign national to relocate with their immediate 
family and live lawfully in the United States on a temporary basis with 
the option to settle permanently.
  During the U.S. military drawdown from Afghanistan and the region 
this past summer, my Congressional office helped to evacuate over a 
dozen Afghan Fulbright Scholars who studied at the University of 
California, Davis in my district. That critical work revealed red tape 
preventing current and former Afghan Fulbright Scholars from obtaining 
the SIV needed to escape persecution by the Taliban, underscoring the 
need for this legislation.
  As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, I 
was impressed by the United States Air Force and Transportation Command 
(USTRANSCOM) executing the single largest airlift since the Berlin 
Airlift during the onset of the Cold War to evacuate our Afghan allies. 
With American military operations in Afghanistan now ended, I am 
committed to bringing all our Afghan allies safely to the United 
States.
  Madam Speaker, I encourage all members of the House to join me in 
cosponsoring the Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars 
Act.

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