By Charlotte Greenfield
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A decision by President Donald Trump’s administration to halt visa processing for refugees has caused uncertainty and shock at an English school for Afghans in Islamabad who are awaiting resettlement in the United States.
Normally enthusiastic students were quiet or crying in class after the news broke on Tuesday, said Sayed Hasib ullah, a 20-year old teacher whose application for resettlement in the U.S is in process.
Some feel betrayed, with many – including those who fled Taliban rule in Afghanistan – having already spent years in limbo.
“It was really a horrible moment for us. We have been waiting for almost three years and there is no hope anymore,” he told Reuters at the school in Pakistan’s capital.
The sudden delay has upended the plans of many Afghans in Pakistan and left them in despair after undergoing extensive vetting and making preparations for new lives in the U.S.
In an intermediate language class, about half of which had U.S. visa applications in process, a 16 year-old girl broke down in tears.
“I feel very bad from this news,” she said, unable to focus on her work – practicing a list of English phrases for giving formal presentations that was written on the class whiteboard.
She hopes to enrol in high school in the U.S. after being barred from pursuing her education at school in Afghanistan.
The tutoring academy, which has roughly 300 students, is one of the few spaces available for studying for many Afghans waiting for U.S. visas. They cannot legally work or formally study in Pakistan.
Shawn VanDiver, the founder of #AfghanEvac, the leading coalition of resettlement and veterans groups, said there were 10,000-15,000 Afghans in Pakistan waiting for special immigration visas or resettlement in the U.S. as refugees.
Many have waited for years after being instructed when applying to travel to a third country for processing. For many the only option was Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan but, facing economic and security crises, began deporting tens of thousands of Afghans in 2023.
A spokesperson for Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment on the U.S. announcement.
FLIGHTS CANCELLED?
Nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared by the U.S. government to resettle in the U.S., including family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel, are having their flights cancelled under the order suspending U.S. refugee programs, Reuters reported on Monday.
One of Hassib ullah’s students, Fatima, has no idea whether an official email she received on Jan. 14 – and seen by Reuters – seeking documents to proceed with her family’s travel arrangements for the U.S. is still valid.
The 57-year old women’s rights and development advocate who worked for years for U.S.-funded organisations in central Daikundi province began learning English a few months ago.
She said she had previously never imagined leaving Afghanistan and that she and many others had trusted the U.S. – which spent two decades leading foreign forces in Afghanistan, backing the now-collapsed government and spending billions of dollars on human rights and development programs.
“You supported us at that time and raised us up so we worked with you and after that you invited us to a third country (for visa processing) and now you are doing something like this,” she said.
In addition to concerns about her own safety following her advocacy work, Fatima is particularly worried about her 15-year-old daughter. She hopes she can enrol in school in the U.S. after years out of high school, and that her 22-year-old daughter can complete her engineering degree.
Many students and teachers said they had contacted U.N. agencies and the U.S. embassy this week and were sharing any information they could find on the internet in Whatsapp groups. But there were few clear answers.
The U.S. embassy and State Department did not immediately provide comment in request to a question from Reuters on whether the new order would affect Afghans waiting in Pakistan for visas.
“We have been living here for three years with a hope of going to America to be safe but now when President Donald trump came … and told us we will not process these case or maybe we will delay it, indeed you feel betrayed,” Hassib ullah said.
“I just wanted to tell them respectfully that we have helped you and now we expect help back from you.”
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield in Islamabad, additional reporting by Jonathan Landay in Washington, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
