U.S. using humanitarian tool to admit at-risk Afghans who don't have visas

The U.S. government is using a little-known humanitarian immigration tool to allow some at-risk Afghans to enter the U.S. without visas, a move refugee advocates have supported for months, the Biden administration confirmed Tuesday.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is granting "humanitarian parole" to some of the Afghans being evacuated from Kabul who don't yet have legal permission to enter the U.S., a senior administration official said during a call with reporters. Among those who could be granted parole are Afghans who assisted the U.S. war effort but whose Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications have yet to be fully adjudicated, the official said. Afghans allies with approved special visas can travel to the U.S. with their spouses and children.