Garamendi Renews Call to Pass Bipartisan Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA08) called on the House Judiciary Committee to take up his bipartisan "Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act" (H.R.1832), which he reintroduced this past March. The bill 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 immediate family members so they can escape persecution by the Taliban and relocate safely to the United States. 

"Fulbright Scholarships are one of the most vital cultural exchange programs that help to improve intercultural relations, diplomacy, and coordination between the United States and other countries. My bipartisan bill would automatically issue a Special Immigrant Visa to all current and former Afghan Fulbright Scholars including those at University of California, Davis to help remaining Scholars and their immediate family members after their student visas expire. This would provide a legal lifeline to the 1,400 Afghans who participated in United States-sponsored exchange programs like the Fulbright Scholarship in years past to escape the Taliban by relocating safely to the United States,” Garamendi said.  

“This is the right thing to do for our Afghan allies who stood with the United States against the Taliban and the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks. I will work tirelessly to ensure that our Afghan Fulbright Scholars who studied at the University of California, Davis and elsewhere can remain legally in the United States with their families and escape persecution by the Taliban,” Garamendi concluded.  

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 Immigrant Visas—available to individual Afghan allies who supported the United States' mission in Afghanistan since the September 11, 2001 attacks. A Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) entitles a foreign national to relocate and live lawfully in the United States on a temporary basis with the option to settle permanently. 

Specifically, Garamendi's "Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan Fulbright Scholars Act" would issue a special immigrant visa to any citizen or national of Afghanistan, and their legal spouse or children, selected on or after October 7, 2001, for the following educational and cultural exchange programs sponsored by the State Department: 

• J. William Fulbright Educational Exchange Program, including the Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence Grant Program, the Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program, and the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program; 
• International Visitor Leadership Program (formerly known as the International Visitor Program);
• Any other similar educational or cultural exchange program administered by the State Department involving travel to the United States and spending significant time living, working, or studying therein.

Congressman Garamendi serves as top Democrat on the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, which oversees all U.S. military logistics including airlift evacuations by United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) worldwide. 

###