The Biden administration said Wednesday that it is prepared to begin evacuation flights for Afghan interpreters and translators who aided the U.S. military effort in the nearly 20-year war.
The Operation Allies Refuge flights out of Afghanistan during the last week of July will be available first for special immigrant visa applicants already in the process of applying for U.S. residency, according to the White House.
The evacuation planning could potentially affect tens of thousands of Afghans. Several thousand Afghans who worked for the United States and their family members are already in the application pipeline for special immigrant visas.