*

Information for Afghan Nationals Regarding Priority 2 (P-2) Designation

Background

The U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) is a joint program run by the Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). As of August 2, 2021, Afghans affiliated with the U.S. government may be referred to the P-2 program access type if they fall within the eligibility criteria.

The Afghan P-2 program complements the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). Afghan nationals eligible for the SIV program should not be referred to the USRAP. The Afghan P-2 designation permits U.S. government agencies, U.S.-based NGOs, and U.S.-based media organizations to refer Afghans (and family members: spouse and children of any age, whether married or unmarried) who fall into the below three categories for P-2 USRAP access: 1. Afghans who do not meet the minimum time-in-service for a Special Immigrant Visa

(SIV) but who work or worked at any time as employees of contractors*, Locally Employed (LE) Staff, interpreters/translators for the U.S. government, United States Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), or Resolute Support;

2. Afghans who work or worked at any time for a U.S. government-funded program or project in Afghanistan supported through a U.S. government grant or cooperative agreement*;

3. Afghans who are or were employed in Afghanistan by a U.S.-based non-governmental or media organization.

*Note: Afghans who work/worked for sub-contractors and sub-grantees do not qualify for P-2. In addition, staff of intergovernmental organizations like the UN do not qualify for P2 referral. If you are an Afghan national interested in USRAP, and you believe you fall into any of the three categories above and might be in danger now or in the foreseeable future because of your affiliation with the U.S. government and/or U.S.-based NGOs or U.S.-based media organizations, please read the instructions below. Guidance:

• If you are eligible for referral to the USRAP Afghan P-2 program because you are a former or current employee of an entity described in categories 1 or 2 above, you must be referred by a U.S. government official involved in that project. o Your eligible employer may already be submitting lists of staff data to a U.S. government official – contact your eligible employer to ask whether they are working with the U.S. government to prepare and submit Afghan staff information for referral.

o If they are not, please contact a U.S. government official who has knowledge of your eligible employment (e.g. the U.S. official who provided oversight to the U.S.-funded contract/grant that employed you). They will need to submit 2

information and supporting documents about you, your eligible employment, and your immediate family members to a dedicated USRAP Afghan Referrals Workgroup Representative at their agency.

o You cannot directly refer yourself to the USRAP.

• If you worked for a U.S.-based media organization or U.S.-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) (category 3 above) project that was not funded by a U.S. government agency, you must be referred by the senior-most U.S. citizen employee of the media organization or NGO’s headquarters in the United States (e.g., CEO, Executive Director, etc.). This senior-most U.S. citizen employee will need to submit information and supporting documents about you, your eligible employment, and your family members for a referral. You may direct referrers from U.S.-based media organizations and U.S.-based NGOs to consult further instructions here. You cannot directly refer yourself to the USRAP.

In general, your referrer will need to submit a complete referral package for you that must contain:

• A full and complete Referral Form (see end of this document) – your referrer can paste this into an email using the chart found at the end of this document or attached using the excel version.

• Scans of the following documents (this is optional to include but highly encouraged if available):

o Documents to establish identity: passport; national ID; birth certificates o Documents to establish relationships: marriage, divorce, death, and/or birth certificates

o Documents to establish employment history: employment badges, employer affidavit

• Evidence that they have confirmed your current/previous employment with an eligible organization.

If you are a former or current employee of an entity described in categories 1 or 2 above, your referrer must follow their agency’s established process for submitting referrals. Your referrer should contact their agency’s USRAP Afghan Referrals Workgroup representative for further information. Please note that they will only accept referral packages submitted by referrers described above and will not accept referral packages submitted directly from applicants. If you are a former or current employees of a U.S.-based media organization or U.S.-based NGO

(category 3 above), your referrer must send completed referral packages to the U.S. Department of State at ad3z8c@r.postjobfree.com. They can visit wrapsnet.org to obtain full referral instructions. Please note that we will only accept referral packages submitted by referrers described above and will not accept referral packages submitted directly from applicants.

Once the Department of State reviews and determines the referral package is complete, we will contact you directly at the primary email address provided in the referral package to let you know you have been referred to the program and to direct you to contact us once you have reached a location where processing can begin. Although referrals can be made for Afghan 3

nationals who remain in Afghanistan, case processing cannot begin until/unless you relocate to a third country. Note: A referral is not a guarantee that an application will be successful, but it is necessary to begin the process.

Other Issues to Consider:

• There is no resettlement processing in Afghanistan and certain neighboring countries such as Iran. If/when you and your family make the difficult choice to leave Afghanistan, you will need to arrange and pay for your own travel to a third country.

• Once you have arrived in a third country, you must contact the U.S. Department of State to begin processing your case. Case processing can be lengthy (potentially 12-14 months), so please be aware that this process could require living in and supporting yourself and your family in a third country for a substantial amount of time until case processing is complete.

• Even if you qualify for the P-2 program and travel outside of Afghanistan, there is no guarantee that you will be approved for resettlement to the United States. In particular, applicants must pass extensive security checks.

• The United States is unable to provide protection or support to you while you await a decision on your refugee case. If you leave Afghanistan, you can register for international protection and assistance as a refugee with the government of the country you are in, if the country has an established asylum process; or, you can register with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

Referral Form – Must be completed in English

Section 1: Principal Applicant information (Afghan national staff member) First Name* Middle Name Surname* Second Surname Gender

(m/f)*

Date of Birth

(Day/Month/

Year)

Nationality* Marital Status Current Location Country* Primary E-mail* Secondary E-mail Primary Phone Number Secondary Phone

Number National ID Number

National ID

Place of

Issuance

Passport Number Passport Place of

Issuance

Section 2: Family Members’ Information

Relationship

to Principal

Applicant*

First

Name*

Middle

Name Surname* Gender

(m/f)*

Date of Birth

(Day/Month/

Year)

Nationality* Marital

status

National

ID Number

National ID

Place of

Issuance

Passport

Number

Passport

Place of

Issuance

Contact this candidate