A PDF of this bill summary is available here.
The Afghan Adjustment Act (AAA) (H.R. 4895) and the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act (S.2679) are bipartisan bills that would provide a clear pathway to permanent residency for Afghans who assisted the U.S. mission and support ongoing evacuation efforts for those who remain at risk overseas. The bills, which are identical except for their titles, revive previous efforts to assist tens of thousands of Afghans who were evacuated to the U.S. following the fall of Kabul in August 2021. The new legislation expands on reporting and vetting provisions in prior versions of the AAA from 2022 and 2023 and incorporates revisions from the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, first proposed as a Senate amendment in 2024.
On August 5, 2025, Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) led a bipartisan coalition of House members in reintroducing the AAA. The original cosponsors of H.R. 4895 are Representatives Jason Crow (D-Colorado) as the Democratic lead, Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), Juan Ciscomani (R-Arizona), Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), Maria Salazar (R-Florida), Michael Baumgartner (R-Washington), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Zoe Lofgren (D-California), Ami Bera (D-California), Seth Moulton (D-Massachusetts), Jake Auchincloss (D-Massachusetts), Mikie Sherrill (D-New Jersey), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pennsylvania).
The Senate companion bill, the Fulfilling Promises to Afghan Allies Act, was introduced on August 1, 2025, by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota). The original cosponsors of S.2679 are Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) as the Republican lead, Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), and Mike Rounds (R-South Dakota), Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire).
Background
Following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and American troop withdrawal in August 2021, the U.S. evacuated over 82,000 Afghans under Operation Allies Welcome. The vast majority of these evacuees (approximately 76,000) entered the U.S. on humanitarian parole, a temporary protection that provides no direct pathway to permanent residency. While some Afghans have also arrived through the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program and the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), humanitarian parolees represent the largest population of Afghan arrivals since the 2021 evacuation. Many other vulnerable Afghans remain in Afghanistan or neighboring countries, including individuals at heightened risk due to their work with and for the U.S. mission.
Those who entered on humanitarian parole must navigate complex and backlogged systems to achieve permanent residency, with only two primary options: applying for asylum or qualifying for the SIV program if eligible. Both pathways face significant processing delays and present substantial logistical challenges for individuals who were evacuated under emergency circumstances with limited documentation. Additionally, as of July 2025, Afghans with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) have lost their ability to work and could face deportation following the Trump administration’s decision to terminate the program and a recent court ruling that allows TPS protections to expire during ongoing litigation.
To address these issues, the Afghan Adjustment Act would:
1. Create a conditional pathway to permanent residency
- Afghans admitted to the U.S. with humanitarian parole on or after July 30, 2021 would be eligible for a conditional pathway to permanent residency, creating much-needed stability and certainty.
- Eligible individuals would be required to undergo additional vetting, including an in-person interview during the application process.
- Provided that the individual is not found to be inadmissible, the conditions on the individual’s status may be removed four years after the date the individual was admitted or paroled into the U.S. or by July 1, 2027, whichever comes first. Within 180 days of this date, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security shall remove conditions as to all individuals granted conditional permanent resident status to the greatest extent practicable.
2. Improve reporting and processing
- An Interagency Task Force would be established within the U.S. Department of State to develop strategies for facilitating the resettlement of Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. mission and a contingency plan for future emergency operations.
- The Task Force would be required to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress within 180 days of establishment, followed by a briefing to the appropriate committees within 60 days after submitting the report.
- Enhanced congressional oversight would mandate State Department responses to congressional inquiries regarding SIV applications and refugee program referrals, while establishing dedicated offices for visa review and consular services.
3. Expand eligibility
- The Afghan SIV program would be extended through December 31, 2029, ensuring continued protection for Afghan allies.
- The one-year service requirement for Afghan SIV program eligibility would be waived for two groups: Afghans who were injured while working for or on behalf of the U.S., and families of Afghans who were killed while working for or on behalf of the U.S.
- The legislation would authorize a new SIV category for eligible Afghan nationals who are parents and siblings of U.S. armed forces members and veterans, with annual limits of 2,500 visas per fiscal year and a total program cap of 10,000 visas.
- SIV-adjacent Afghan allies who face targeted retribution for their service to the U.S. mission, including members of the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command, Afghan Air Force, Female Tactical Teams of Afghanistan, and Special Mission Wing of Afghanistan, would become eligible for Priority 2 refugee status. [Note: This provision would be impacted by President Trump’s executive order suspending the refugee admissions program.]
- The legislation authorizes virtual consular interviews, enabling more responsive processing.
- The Secretaries of State and Homeland Security would have discretion for ten years to waive fees collected by their departments for Afghan’s immigration applications.
Conclusion
After recent policy changes have limited temporary protections for Afghans within the U.S. and vulnerable allies still trapped in Afghanistan and across the region, these bills address urgent needs. This legislation would strengthen national security through enhanced vetting procedures while providing a reliable pathway to permanent residency for a population that has endured years of uncertainty despite previous U.S. promises to provide protections. The AAA garnered significant bipartisan support in both chambers when it was previously introduced in 2021 and 2023. U.S. veterans groups have remained steadfast in their advocacy for the Afghans who worked alongside U.S. forces for almost two decades.