‘Most of Afghans awaiting visa processing have left Philippines’

MANILA, Philippines — Most of the 300 Afghan nationals who arrived in the Philippines to await the processing of their Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) to the US have already left the country, US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson said yesterday.

“Do you know of the Afghans who were processed through? Most of whom have already left, they’ll all be departing as of this week,” Carlson said in an interview during her visit to The STAR.

Most of the Afghans who completed the processing of their US SIVs by the US embassy as required for their immigration to the US were under 18.

“When I went to the embassy after they were at their visa interviews, it was so emotional to think these young girls aged 10, aged 11, some younger, they’ll have a completely different life now,” she added.

The Philippines temporarily hosted the Afghans, who arrived via a chartered flight from Kabul on Jan. 6.

The Philippines and the US signed on July 29, 2024 the agreement regarding the temporary hosting of the US SIV applicants from Afghanistan.

They were former employees of the US mission in Afghanistan during the 20-year US military presence in the Central Asian nation.

“Let me just say, on the record, how grateful we are to Filipinos for demonstrating yet again, your values of hospitality, of community, of human rights, of looking after, especially girls,” Carlson said.

“We’ll do an assessment after this first batch, working with the new US administration and looking to hear what the feedback was on the ground and making some decisions,” she added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it issued appropriate Philippine entry visas to the Afghans in line with current rules and regulations and after conducting “extensive” security vetting.