Winston Sheds Light on U.S. Failure to Support Afghan Refugees After Military Withdrawal

Winston attorneys forced U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to finally comply with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request—after nearly 18 months of foot-dragging by USCIS.

Winston filed the successful lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in June 2022 on behalf of the American Immigration Council and the International Refugee Assistance Project.

The recently released USCIS documents reveal massive delays in the adjudication of applications for humanitarian parole submitted by Afghan nationals following the withdrawal of the U.S. military from Afghanistan in August 2021. The delays put thousands of Afghan nationals, many of whom supported the U.S. mission in Afghanistan, in grave danger of reprisal from the Taliban-controlled government.

According to the documents, USCIS has approved less than 1% of the nearly 45,000 applications for humanitarian parole it has received from Afghan nationals between January 1, 2020, and April 6, 2022. Additionally, 94% of the applications remain unadjudicated. You can read a summary of the full FOIA findings here.

“The firm is proud to represent these dedicated immigration advocates in their fight to shed light on the injustices brought upon Afghan refugees and we stand ready to continue to support the legal rights of both these advocates and the immigrants for whom they speak,” said Winston Co-Executive Chairman Jeffrey Kessler.

The Winston team included Jeffrey Kessler, Jeffrey Amato, Kerry Donovan, Gabi Wolk, Uriel Lee, and Adam Moskowitz.  

Learn more about Winston’s commitment to excellence in serving the public interest.

^{In re: Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-5312 (S.D.N.Y. June 23, 2022)}