The first group of Afghan nationals, who risked their lives supporting United States military operations in Afghanistan, arrived in the Philippines yesterday.

The initial batch, comprising up to 300 individuals, will be temporarily housed in the country while their applications for Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) to the US are processed as part of an agreement between Manila and Washington.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Afghan nationals who arrived — mostly children — will stay in the Philippines for “no more than 59 days.”

“The whole project is expected to finish within 100 days from the arrival of the first applicants, but each applicant shall be authorized to stay in the Philippines for no more than 59 days,” a senior Philippine government official, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told reporters during a press briefing last month.

“So the processing of each applicant by the US Embassy should be completed within the 59-day period,” the official said.

The arrival of the Afghan SIV applicants was initially scheduled for 4 January, but their flight to Manila was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions in Kabul.

The DFA announced in August that the Philippines and the US had agreed to allow a “limited” number of Afghan nationals to stay in the Philippines temporarily while completing their visa requirements.

In a separate statement on Monday, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza reiterated that the American government would cover all the needs of the Afghans during their stay in the Philippines.

“As part of its agreement with the Philippines, the US government is supporting all necessary services for the SIV applicants temporarily in the Philippines, including food, housing, medical care, security, and transportation to complete visa processing,” Daza said.

Security vetting

A senior Philippine government official said the Afghan nationals who arrived in the country had undergone “full security vetting” by both the US and Philippine governments.

“They secured an appropriate entry visa prior to their arrival in the Philippines, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations,” she said.

As part of the agreement, there will also be restrictions on the mobility of the Afghan nationals.“All applicants will be confined to a designated facility for the duration of the processing of the SIV applications by the US Embassy in Manila,” the DFA said.

Not refugees

The official noted that all applicants would be allowed to leave the facility “only once” for their consular interview at the US Embassy.

The official assured that sufficient social, medical, educational, and religious support would be provided to the applicants, particularly the children. She added that all applicants underwent a full medical assessment in Kabul before arriving in Manila.

During a briefing last month, a US State Department official clarified that the Afghan SIV applicants are “not refugees.”

“These are individuals deemed eligible for SIV applications,” the official said, referring to a visa designed to assist those who worked with US military and diplomatic efforts in Afghanistan by providing them the opportunity to relocate and resettle in the United States.

In response to why the Philippines was chosen as the temporary home for Afghan nationals applying for SIVs, the US State Department official simply said, “Because we’re friends.”

The official emphasized that the Philippines’ openness to discussing the arrangement and its proximity to a large US Embassy facilitated the agreement.

“There was a willingness to discuss it here. Another thing that helps is that we have a big embassy. We are able to process visas here quickly,” the official said.

Regarding the applicants’ accommodations, the official said the location would be not be disclosed for security reasons. “It is mostly children. We want to keep the location as confidential as possible.”

The official added that the facility would be a private one, leased by the US government.

For its part, the US Embassy in Manila assured the public that the program would not impact the normal processing of immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for Filipinos.

Several senators, particularly Senator Imee Marcos, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s sister, raised concerns about the proposal in 2023.

Senator Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, led a Senate inquiry to investigate the United States’ request for the Philippines to grant special immigrant status to some Afghans.

During a hearing in June 2023, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez indicated that if the request were granted, Afghan applicants for SIV status would arrive in batches of 1,000 to 1,500.

At the time, more than 50,000 Afghans were awaiting approval of their SIV applications in the United States.