U.S. waives work permit and green card application fees for Afghan evacuees
CBSN
The Biden administration will waive application fees for tens of thousands of Afghans evacuees who are filing requests for U.S. work permits and permanent residency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Monday.
Afghans brought to the U.S. after July 30 under a humanitarian immigration process known as parole will qualify for a fee exemption on their applications for work authorization. The U.S. will also waive permanent residency petition fees for Afghans who are requesting Special Immigrant Visas due to their work with U.S. military forces.
Advocates had urged the Biden administration to waive these charges for weeks, saying that most of the new arrivals from Afghanistan don't have the resources to pay the fees.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.