Afghan nationals with active Special Immigrant Visa cases are exempt from a new executive order restricting entry to citizens of 12 countries, the State Department said Tuesday, clarifying that SIV processing remains underway at US diplomatic missions abroad.
The clarification came during a department press briefing on Tuesday in response to questions about the status of Afghan evacuees, including those left behind in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran under SIV, Priority 1 (P-1), and Priority 2 (P-2) refugee resettlement programs.
“Well, first, I can’t speak right now on the internal dynamic of what’s happening in – any problem between people or claims about ISIS being active and violence that was ensuing, but let’s take that back and see what that is,” said State Department spokesperson Timmy Bruce. “I do know that for the visa restrictions and Afghanistan… for the SIV visas, the proclamation that was used announcing this states that Afghan Special Immigrant Visas are… exempted from the suspension of entry to the United States.”
Bruce added that consular processing for Afghan SIVs—including interviews—is ongoing at US embassies and consulates around the world.
The new entry ban, signed recently by President Trump, blocks most nationals from 12 countries—including Afghanistan—from entering the United States, citing national security concerns. The administration has defended the order as necessary to prevent terrorist threats, arguing that some targeted countries host extremist activity or fail to meet US identity verification standards.
The order has drawn criticism from civil rights advocates, who note that the majority of countries affected are Muslim-majority and say the measure echoes earlier Trump-era travel bans. Questions remain about the status of Afghans in the P-1 and P-2 programs, which Bruce did not address.
The briefing also came amid reports of renewed violence in Afghanistan. Asked whether ISIS remains active in the country, Bruce declined to offer a direct assessment, saying only that officials would “take that back and see what that is.”
