The Department of State Inspector General has issued a new report on the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program. The 89-page PDF is in response to a request by multiple congressional committees for a review of previous OIG recommendations made concerning the Afghan Special Immigrant program. This report provides a synopsis of the department’s recommendations.
Contents:
- Objective
- Background
- Review Results
- Recommendations
- Appendix A – Purpose, Scope, and Methodology
- Appendix B – Congressional Request Letters
- Appendix C – Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Process
- Appendix D – Department of State Response
- Appendix E – OIG Reply to DoS Comments
The report has two ‘findings’:
- The Department of State made some minor improvements to the reporting of Afghan Special Immigrant Visa application processing times. However, this did not improve methods for collecting or verifying Afghan SIV application processing times. (p. 8)
- The Department of State took some actions to improve the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa process, but a significant and increasing application backlog remains. The DoS is not sufficiently coordinating and monitoring the implementation of improvements to the SIV program. The DoS does not have sufficient staffing to address the Afghan SIV application backlog. It also has struggled to complete applicant employment verification because of limited connectivity with the Department of Defense.
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Compliance Follow-Up Review of the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa Program, Office of Inspector General United States Department of State, October 22, PDF, 89-pages.
https://www.stateoig.gov/uploads/report/report_pdf_file/aud-mero-23-01.pdf