US Northern Command announced Monday morning the resettlement of specified Afghan special immigrant visa applicants will take place in Texas, Wisconsin, and Virginia.
NORTHCOM's Joint Force Land Component Command based in San Antonio, Texas will be the lead operational command for the mission Operation Allies Refuge, according to a series of tweets.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey will provide housing, medical, logistics, and transportation support. Fort McCoy (Wisconsin), Fort Lee (Virginia), and Fort Bliss (Texas) will focus on housing.
The Afghan Special Immigrant Visa program is designed to help a select group of Afghans resettle. To qualify, previous work helping the U.S. is required, like being an interpreter.
About 20,000 to 22,000 Afghans are expected to be selected for the program with many more already approved. Each visa recipient can bring their spouses and children.
Once they are processed at a military base, refugee response groups are contacted, typically when a refugee has a family or a friend living in their particular region.
Three federal agencies — the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — are primarily in charge of resettling refugees. While the federal government ultimately has the authority to determine where refugees can settle, they work with local and state governments to find new homes for those displaced.
Those with SIVs will receive government assistance similar to that for refugees for their first few years in the U.S. In addition, local and state governments work with charities and nonprofits to ensure refugees have the resources they need to thrive in their new homes.
Those nonprofits include the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, the World Relief Corporation and the International Rescue Committee. Click here for a complete list of resettlement agencies that work with the federal government to aid people with SIVs and refugees.
In addition to donating to the resettlement agencies listed above, those looking to help refugees from Afghanistan can donate to Women for Afghan Women — a group that supports Afghan women in the U.S. — and the International Refugee Assistance Project.
