Sixth Year, Entry One - Ray's Story

Six years before Kabul Fell

Day 1,827

Ray applied for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) in October 2015, six years before Kabul fell.

He had earned it over three years as an interpreter for the U.S. Army, from September 2010 to September 2013, working across provinces in the south and the west.

He interpreted during military operations and patrols, and in the daily back-and-forth between American units and the Afghans working with them. Before he was allowed to start, he sat through interviews and background checks, gave his fingerprints, and passed the other screenings the work required.

He was good at interpretation, and he is precise about why.

He said his aim was to communicate accurately and honestly, and that he kept strong professional relationships with the people he worked beside.

"Those were meaningful days in my life," he said. "They are moments that will never come back."

His case cleared document submission, and it cleared Chief of Mission approval.

He completed the visa interview. Then his case entered administrative processing, and that is where it has been ever since.

Nothing was ever missing. Ray provided every official document the embassy requested. The Taliban threatened him, then someone sent an arrest notice to his family's home. He left Afghanistan and has now spent about five years in Pakistan, where he was detained for several days over his immigration status, and where nearly all his savings have gone into rent and medicine and the fees that renew his right to stay for another few months.

"Many people believe that Afghan SIV applicants are simply waiting for a visa," he said. "In reality, we are waiting while living in fear, uncertainty, and without a stable future."

He asks that the Afghan SIV program be supported and protected, so that applicants who have already earned their visas can receive them.

Asked whether any object in his home tells his story, he said there was none.

He kept nothing from those three years. The only thing that remains from those years is a file in Washington.

Support allies like Ray as they wait for the promise to be fulfilled: https://give.nooneleft.org/campaign/831559/donate