June 2022
Dear Allies, Supporters, and Friends,
It has been almost a year since the US departure from Afghanistan, the work of Allied Airlift and so many other organizations dedicated to getting out Afghan allies and families to safety continues.
As the US government continues to emplace long term systems to manage this Herculean effort, AA21 and similar organizations continue to fill the gaps and cover the seams to make sure no one is forgotten.
We can report that a key aspect of a long-term effort is in place. The US government processes for assisting American Citizens, Green Card Holders, SIVs, and individuals with Immigrant Visas is organized and resourced. Through regular updates and engagement with various federal agencies, AA21 continues to receive clarification and details to help us manage our cases.
We will continue to use this newsletter to push updates to policies, requests for additional documentation, and to inform sponsors about steps people on the ground can take to help move their cases forward. Newsletter content is also shared on the News section of the AA21 website, so be sure to look there if you need a refresher.
In this edition we share information about:
Current travel eligibility criteria as well as categories being manifested
Immigrant Visa processing
New passport requirements
Status of flights
What to do if a family has a baby
P1/P2 update
When to send AA21 updated documentation.
As we continue to mature our efforts for the long haul, we have also welcomed two new key leaders to the AA21 family. Coming to us with vast experience in Afghanistan and in the US government, these two gentlemen will bring a fresh set of eyes to better adapt our strategy and day to day operations for this long-term effort. Am pleased to announce that Mr. Nguyen Trinh has joined our Board of Directors and Mr. Chris "Chase" Chaisson has joined us as our new Chief of Staff. We are absolutely excited to have them on the team and are humbled by the continued volunteer interest we receive.
Thank you for your patience and support. When many other organizations fell off, AA21 continued to fight. We are still here and is because of all of you.
Mike Jason,
AA21 Executive Director
Current Eligibility for Flights
Who is Eligible?
AMCIT, LPR, or SIV COM approved or higher stage, Some Immigrant Visas.
All members of the case have valid passports including recently born children. Passports must have at least 6 months left before expiration at the time of the flight, so we recommend that anyone who has a passport expiring in the next year apply for a new one or get their current passport extended.
Individuals, couples or nuclear families (with unmarried children under 21 years of age). No extended family.
Current Manifesting Guidelines
As noted in earlier communications, there are specific guidelines for who is eligible to travel and who is currently being manifested by the State Department. (See below for the current eligibility and manifesting guidelines.) In order to move as many people as possible through limited space on flights and at the transit point, the US government is trying to limit the time travelers spend in third country transit points. The people who can be processed fastest are those who are classified as “Ready for Interview” (Stage 11).
SIV Stages:
For SIV applicants, there are several stages after COM Approval the applicant needs to complete before getting to the “Ready for Interview” stage.
Submit I-360 form (include all nuclear family members) to the Department of Homeland Security and USCIS
Receive I-360 submission receipt (I-797c Notice of Action), then I-360 Conditional approval (I-797 Notice of Action), and then Approval Notice of I-360 with KBL number.
Submit DS-260 form for each family member via CEAC.
Receive notification or view CEAC account status under IV Application stating “complete” → Interview Ready
Receive NVC letter stating “received all requested documentation” and case is in que for an interview oversees → Interview Ready
Some Immigration Visas (IV) Cases Now Manifestable:
DOS has begun manifesting individuals with Immigrant Visas (IV), but only if:
Every family members has a valid passport
All travelers are at the “Ready for Interview” stage. CEAC may say “Ready” or case complete on CEAC (all fees paid, DS-260 submitted, civil & financial documents submitted)
Eligible Family of American Citizens: U.S. Citizen family members (spouse and children) plus parents can travel
Eligible Family of LPR: LPR family members (spouse and children) can travel (does not include parents)
If IVs are admitted into the US under humanitarian parole for expediency, the sponsor needs to have the case changed back to complete the IV process once they are in the US.
Updates
New Passport Requirements
Qatar is now requiring Afghans to have at least 6 months left on their passports at the time of their flight to Doha. If any of the individuals in a group has a passport that expires in 2022, the group will not be manifested. If anyone has a passport that expires in the first half of 2023, we recommend that they begin the process of renewing or extending their passports now.
Currently, Qatar is allowing passport extension stamps.
Continue your SIV or IV cases while waiting for new passports. SIV stages can take considerable time to complete, so please don’t wait to receive the new passport before submitting forms. Especially submit your DS-260 forms regardless of whether the passport expires within a year. It’s very important to achieve the “Ready for Interview” stage.
Reduced Seats
The State Department continues to facilitate travel on commercial flights. For several weeks in May and early June, the larger plane used for these flights was being repaired, so a smaller plane was used instead. As a result, hundreds of people were bumped from scheduled flights, and the State Department is still working to reschedule these individuals. This has slowed the process of manifesting new people.
DOS Call Center
It’s important to remember that in addition to Allied Airlift’s database and the case lists we send to DOS, there are approximately 80 DOS staff that use the Federal SIV database and contact applicants on a daily basis to continue their SIV processing. If AA21 doesn’t receive DOS feedback or updates on a case it doesn’t mean the case isn’t moving forward at DOS. There are concurrent systems in place to help identify all Afghans in need. At this point State is reporting that they don’t need assistance from the non-profits to help in identifying SIVs anymore, but they are continuing to work with us to help facilitate communication and to prevent cases from slipping through the cracks.
New Baby Process
When a new baby is born, the family should update their case through CEAC and add the baby if they are not yet to the Ready for Interview stage. They will need to provide a birth certificate to prove who the baby’s parents are. If the family is already at the Ready for Interview stage in CEAC, the case is locked and they will not be able to update it. Instead, it will need to be manually done, and AA21 can help facilitate this. Please provide AA21 with:
Copy of Birth Certificate (English preferred)
Copy of baby’s biometric passport
DOS will send instructions to the family on how to add the baby DS-260 to CEAC account.
AMCITs/LPRs Flying Back to Afghanistan
We have been receiving notices that AMCIT’s or LPRs are considering or flying back to Afghanistan to help their family be manifested for a flight. A few notes concerning this:
DOS is discouraging AMCITs and LPRs to fly back. Each new person takes the seat of an Afghan who has been waiting for months.
AA21 has not seen a reduction in the manifesting time when the AMCIT or LPR is present in Afghanistan. In fact, the State Department is asking us whether LPRs and AMCITs have been in the country since before Kabul fell. This indicates that people traveling back may be deprioritized.
AMCIT or LPR families still need to have SIV or IV cases and be as close to “Ready for Interview” as possible versus no status (become humanitarian refugees). Currently State is ONLY manifesting IVs who are Interview Ready.
Travel to Pakistan
AA21’s work is only in Afghanistan. Once people move their case to Pakistan and get an interview date scheduled there, they must finish processing in Pakistan, which is a completely different process and one we are not able to provide support for.
Case Updates Needed
Please continue to send us updates to the cases. Any new babies also need to be added by the family to paperwork through the State Department system, not just added to our manifests unless the family is listed as “Interview Ready” on CEAC. CEAC (state.gov)
If any of the information below has changed since you last provided us with updates, please email us at: cases@alliedairlift21.net.
Please put “STATUS UPDATE for [Primary Applicant Name]” in the subject line and include the SIV number in the email so we can search more easily.
The Family has recently received a COM approval letter (provide a copy)
The Family has recently received a KBL number (provide a copy of the documentation)
The family received a letter indicating that they are interview ready (provide a copy and/or a screen shot from CEAC indicating all documents have been received and accepted.)
A new baby was born (provide infant’s info and a copy of the passport and national ID).
Any family members have obtained new passports or a passport extensions (provide a copy of the passport).
The phone number or email address of the primary applicant has changed. (This is critical, people cannot get on flights if the State Department can’t reach them, and to this point they have not been able to contact many of the individuals who they have tried to reach out to. They communicate directly with the primary applicant, and not with the sponsor.)
The city the family is located in has changed
