News & Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2026
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Spencer Tilger | media@refugeerights.org
FEDERAL COURT RULES GOVERNMENT MUST PROCESS VISA APPLICATIONS OF AFGHAN ALLIES
Indefinite ban on Special Immigrant Visa processing violates Congress and existing court order
(Washington, D.C.) – On Friday, a federal court issued a decision in the class action lawsuit Afghan & Iraqi Allies v, Rubio ordering the Trump administration to abide by a plan to adjudicate Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications in a timely manner. While President Trump’s expanded travel ban continues to prevent all Afghan nationals from entering the United States, the judge ruled the processing of Chief of Mission (COM) applications, the first step in the SIV process, must resume immediately for members of the class. The court also set a status conference for Tuesday, February 24, during which the government will be required to explain how it plans to improve its compliance with the court-ordered plan to speed up application processing.
In her decision, Judge Chutkan wrote that Trump administration officials have “no authority—statutory or otherwise—allowing them to unilaterally suspend processes that Congress has required them to expedite.”
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP represent a class of Afghan and Iraqi nationals who supported the U.S. missions in their home countries and have SIV applications pending longer than the congressionally-prescribed nine month timeline. Allies class members have been waiting, at minimum, four years for a decision on their SIV applications.
IRAP Litigation Staff Attorney, Kimberly Grano, responded to the ruling:
“This decision is a blow to the Trump administration’s flagrant attempts not only to disregard court orders, but to abandon Afghans who are still in danger from the Taliban. Far too many allies have waited years, sometimes over a decade, for their applications to be processed, and this ruling is an urgent reminder that the United States government has a legal obligation to fulfill its promise to protect them.”
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) is a global legal aid and advocacy organization working to create a world where refugees and all people seeking safety are empowered to claim their right to freedom of movement and a path to lasting refuge. Everyone should have a safe place to live and a safe way to get there.
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