“Outside Witness Day” Written Testimony
- No One Left Behind
- Apr 7
- 4 min read
WRITTEN STATEMENT OF
Andrew Sullivan
Executive Director, No One Left Behind
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY , DEPARTMENT OF STATE, AND
RELATED PROGRAMS
“Outside Witness Day”
April 2, 2025
Chairman Diaz-Balart, Ranking Member Frankel, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify to the urgency of including 20,000 visas for the Afghan Special
Immigrant Visa (SIV) program in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Security, Department of State,
and Related Programs appropriations bill. My name is Andrew Sullivan. I am an Army veteran
of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I serve as the Executive Director of No One Left
Behind. No One Left Behind is the nation’s oldest charitable organization working to keep the promise to our special immigrant visa (SIV) eligible wartime allies from Iraq and Afghanistan through evacuation, resettlement, and advocacy efforts. Our extensive experience in this field has given us unique insight into the dangers faced by those who supported the U.S. mission, the rigorous vetting processes they must undergo to qualify for protection, and the urgency of adding necessary visas to this lifesaving national security program.
Taliban forces have a well-documented history of targeting individuals who have assisted the
U.S. government, subjecting them to severe reprisals, including execution. Those identified as U.S. collaborators often face immediate threats to their lives, as well as retaliation against their families.
Since the U.S. withdrawal, the threat to our allies has not abated, rather it has dramatically increased. In December of 2022, No One Left Behind sent a survey to SIV applicants and other Afghans within our vast network of those still trapped in Afghanistan. As I testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, we received 242 responses of extrajudicial killings committed by the Taliban. Nearly half the responses involved victims who were in some stage of SIV processing. One of the accounts that stands out the starkest for me was of an interpreter killed in Jalalabad in September 2021, “I entered a shop to buy us some drinks when I heard gunshots. I came out of the shop and saw Imdadullah being shot in front of his two kids and his kids crying. Imdadullah had done his SIV visa interview in the Kabul embassy and was waiting for pickup before his hopes were shattered.”
Recognizing these dangers, Congress first enacted the Afghan SIV program through the Afghan Allies Protection Act of 2009 to provide a life-saving path to safety for Afghan nationals who face deadly retribution as a result of their work alongside U.S. troops, diplomats, and contractors. As thousands of Afghans put their lives at risk to provide faithful and valuable service to U.S. counterterrorism efforts, Congress continued to adapt the program with steadfast bipartisan and bicameral support to meet the growing need for this legal pathway to safety.
To qualify for an SIV , Afghan allies must complete rigorous vetting processes, including multiple rounds of background checks, biometric screening, and an in-person interview. This process allows for a robust interagency screening of applicants that often takes years to complete, resulting in SIV holders having passed the gold standard of vetting conducted by the United States.
These allies’ contributions to America continue as they rebuild their lives here in the United
States as servicemembers, entrepreneurs, and more. I know this personally, one of my
interpreters, “Ahmadi,” is the definition of the American Dream. I met Ahmadi in 2013, and at that time he had already served as an interpreter for Army and Marine forces for over four years. An incredible interpreter and indispensable member of my infantry unit, he received multiple death threats but continued to serve alongside U.S. forces for another three years before arriving in America in 2016 via the Afghan SIV program. Today, he works in tech sales in Washington State, supporting his family and serving as a pillar of his community. Ahmadi is incredible, but he is not unique – SIV holders like him contribute to our local communities as they model the American Dream.
Congress recognized the importance of the SIV program and demonstrated our shared commitment to honoring our allies by allocating additional visas through the Appropriations
process in Fiscal Years 2019-2024. However, after more than 20 years of war and years of harmful delays, thousands of SIV-eligible Afghans remain abroad. There are currently more Afghan allies with chief of mission (COM) approval than there are visas remaining in the Afghan SIV program. At current decision rates, the program risks a devastating halt, leaving our closest wartime allies in danger, should Congress fail to allocate sufficient visas for the Afghan SIV program in Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations.
As a veterans-led organization, No One Left Behind appreciates this committee’s steadfast
commitment to our national security. We respectfully urge you to stand with the Afghan allies who served shoulder-to-shoulder with our troops by including 20,000 Afghan Special Immigrant Visas in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations bill. Thank you for your consideration.
