The United States has stopped issuing visas to Afghan citizens. The State Department has already sent a cable to all US embassies and consulates around the world to this effect.

The message stated that no Afghan person should be granted a visa to the United States and that any Afghan visas that are in the process should be immediately terminated.

It has also been stated that from now on, the issuance of immigrant and non-immigrant visas as well as special immigrant visas will be stopped for Afghans. Even the visas of Afghan citizens currently residing in the United States have been canceled.

The country's Secretary of State and President Trump's National Security Advisor Marco Rubio announced this information in a message posted on the social media platform X on Saturday. In the message, he said, "President Trump's Department of State is suspending visas to all persons holding Afghan passports. The safety and security of the United States and the American people is of the utmost importance to us. This will not be compromised in any way."

https://x.com/SecRubio/status/1994550225890152739?s=20

On Wednesday, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lucknowal opened fire on members of the US paramilitary National Guard in the capital, Washington, DC. Two National Guard members were seriously injured. One of them has already passed away while undergoing treatment in a hospital.

An immediate investigation revealed that Rahmanullah Lucknowal worked as an agent for the CIA, the intelligence agency of the US military, during the US-NATO operation in Afghanistan. He came to the United States with the permission of the administration led by then US President Joe Biden after the Taliban forces regained power in Afghanistan in 2021.

Hours after the shooting of National Guard members on Wednesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it was denying all applications for citizenship and permanent residency for Afghan nationals who had applied to the United States. The Trump administration reinforced the move by sending a cable to U.S. embassies and consulates around the world on Saturday.

After the then-President Joe Biden administration announced the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021, Afghans who had supported the US forces in various ways were suffering from insecurity. Because the withdrawal of US forces meant that the Taliban forces would come back to power in Afghanistan, and in reality, that is what happened. Afghans who supported the US forces feared that the Taliban forces would start killing them immediately after coming to power.

To allay their fears, the Biden administration allowed Afghans who support US-NATO forces to enter the United States on refugee and special visas. Under that opportunity, nearly 200,000 Afghans immigrated to the United States in 2021.

All of their visas were revoked after the Trump administration announced the move. “There is no doubt that the Trump administration has been preparing for this for a long time,” Sean Vandiver, president of Afghan Evac, a U.S. nonprofit advocacy group that helps Afghans, told Reuters in an email.