Special Immigrant Visas for Iraqis – Employed by/on Behalf of U.S. Government

The FY 2008 Defense Authorization Act, signed into law in January 2008, creates 5,000 special immigrant visas each year for the next five years for Iraqis who are U.S. government employees or contractors and provides the applicants and their families with resettlement benefits. To qualify for this visa, Iraqi nationals must (a) have provided faithful and valuable service while employed by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq for not less than one year after March 20, 2003, and (b) have experienced an ongoing serious threat as a consequence of that employment.

This new program is completely distinct from the earlier program authorizing special immigrant visas for certain Iraqi and Afghan translators/interpreters working for the USG. For information on that program see Learn More.

The Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security are establishing regulations and procedures to permit applications under the new legislation to begin as soon as possible. At this point we are unable to accept applications for this category of visa until those regulations and procedures have been implemented.

Iraqis who are interested in applying for this category of special immigrant visa may start collecting documents that will be needed to support an application. They should:

• obtain a positive written recommendation from their senior American supervisor, or the person currently occupying that position, documenting their faithful and valuable service to the USG; and

• prepare documents that demonstrate that they have experienced an ongoing serious threat as a consequence of that employment.

Do not forward these documents to any US government office at this time. They should be held until further instructions as to where and how to apply are posted on travel.state.gov or provided by NVC.

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