VOA新闻杂志2022--美国将简化阿富汗特别移民签证申请流程

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U.S. officials this week announced a change to the Special Immigrant Visa, or SIV process for Afghans.

Top officials told reporters that visa seekers, or applicants², will only need to complete one form. The change means that applicants can go through a single government agency.

Beginning July 20, new applicants will no longer need to send a separate form to U.S. Citizenship³ and Immigration Services, or USCIS. The complete process is now overseen⁴ by the State Department.

Antony Blinken is Secretary of State and Alejandro Mayorkas is Department of Homeland Security Secretary for the United States. They said in a joint⁵ statement that the new "streamlined" process is part of their continued efforts to make the program easier. They said the change will help remove barriers for applicants as well as reduce waiting times.

After nearly 20 years of war, the U.S. and its allies left Afghanistan last August. They helped evacuate⁷ more than 130,000 Afghans in their final weeks in Kabul, the capital.

Many of those Afghans hoped for a life in the U.S. The 10-year-old SIV program helps people who worked with the United States government move to the U.S. The SIV program is a direct way for people to receive a permanent resident card, or green card, to live in the U.S.

In a call with reporters, officials with the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden said the changes will reduce processing times by "about a month." A top government official said that it will be "a lot easier" for applicants as well as for the U.S. government.

Biden officials said there are 74,274 applicants in the SIV program process. Of those, 10,096 have already passed an important step called the chief of mission approval. A top government official said they estimate 45,000 to 50,000 SIV recipients⁸, including family members, have passed that step.

SIV applicants usually move through a lengthy⁹ 14-step application process. The full process, including decision-making and approval, takes an average of three years. The applicant¹ must receive the visa before entering the United States.

Biden officials said all new Afghan SIV applicants will no longer need to send in a separate 19-page form to USCIS. That includes most applicants who have already started the process. But the officials added that the "bottom line" is the United States will still need all necessary and required information to process someone's SIV application.

Several U.S. agencies were involved in deciding what kind of information an applicant needs to send in the new single form.

A top official told reporters, "There were a lot of redundancies in the previous process." The official said those redundancies, or repeated steps, will be removed in the new process.

Words in This Story

streamline⁶ – v. to make (something) simpler, more effective, or more productive

evacuate – v. to remove (someone) from a dangerous place

resident – n. someone who lives in a particular place

1 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

2 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 streamline   

vt.使成流线型；使简化；使现代化

参考例句：

• We must streamline our methods.我们必须简化方法。
• Any liquid or gas passing it will have streamline flow.任何通过它的液体或气体将呈流线型的流动。

7 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

8 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。