Hope Amidst Waiting
CRIS’ legal team celebrates a momentous decision as many Afghans await permanent residency in Central Ohio
For Ahmed Akhtar, certain numbers have had a life-changing impact on him in the last two years:
80,000 | Akhtar was one of the 80,000 Afghans evacuated by the US Armed Forces to the U.S. under Operation Allies Welcome in 2021. All of these evacuees came under the status of “humanitarian parolee” and were placed with resettlement agencies across the country.
350 | Akhtar is one of the 350 Afghan parolees resettled by CRIS in the last two years. Upon placement with CRIS as their resettlement agency, each of these families has begun to work with our Afghan Placement Assistance Legal Team to navigate the complicated process of obtaining permanent residency in the United States (parolee status is only a stopgap measure). One option for Afghan parolees to obtain permanent residency in the United States is to apply for asylum. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), “Asylum is a form of protection which allows an individual to remain in the United States instead of being removed (deported) to a country where he or she fears persecution or harm.”
30 | Over 20,000 asylum applications have been submitted nationwide for Afghan parolees.
To date, CRIS’ legal team has assisted over 30 Afghan families in applying for asylum. This is a complicated process and requires many appointments, travel to Chicago or Cleveland, and more. Akhtar is one of these 30 families. He began the asylum application process in August of 2022.
1,621 | Current wait times for cases in the asylum backlog now average 1,621 days (click link for cite source). While the U.S. is “expediting” asylum cases for Aghan parolees, few decisions and approvals have been made. Individuals of other nationalities who are filing for asylum are waiting even longer than Afghan asylum seekers.
1 | In mid-June of this year, Akhtar became the first decision and approval for an Afghan asylum case filed by the CRIS legal office!
One of CRIS’ three full-time immigration attorneys Vincent Wells explains, “We are celebrating with Akhtar as he is the first asylum decision and approval for an Afghan Asylum case that was filed by our office! This victory outlines the complex legal process that Afghan clients have been faced with since the collapse in August 2021. While we celebrate the approval of Akhtar’s asylum case, we continue to check the statuses of 30+ other cases that have been pending for nearly a year.”
Wells’ area of specialty since joining the CRIS legal team last year has been helping Afghans in greater Columbus secure permanent status in the United States. He was recently quoted in a local news article that highlights the limbo so many are facing.
Akhtar was elated to learn that his application was approved. This means that he is a monumental step closer to being able to reunite with his wife and two young daughters who are still in Afghanistan. Join us in celebrating this special moment! You can also make a difference for the Afghan community–locally and nationally–by encouraging lawmakers to pass the latest version Afghan Adjustment Act.
CRIS’ immigration legal services program offers a wide range of legal services to refugees and immigrants not currently in court proceedings. Appointments can be made by directly connecting with one of our three attorneys or by attending “Immigration Legal Intake” held each Thursday from 8:30am-3:00pm. Learn more by visiting https://www.crisohio.org/services/legal-services.