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The Philippines has agreed to the United States’ request to temporarily host a limited number of Afghan nationals while their special immigration visas to the US are being processed, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday. “The Philippines and the United States have agreed on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the United States,” the DFA said in a statement. Under the Philippines-US SIV agreement, the DFA said all Afghan SIV applicants “will be subject to full security vetting by Philippine authorities and should secure appropriate entry visa prior to arrival, in accordance with Philippine laws and regulations.” The Bureau of Immigration, however, retains full authority to exclude any applicant from entry into the Philippines as a result of the standard immigration examination upon arrival in the country. According to the DFA, each applicant shall be authorized to stay in Philippines for no more than 59 days. All costs for the sustainment of the Afghans while in the Philippines will be shouldered by the US government. This includes expenses for food, housing, security, medical and transportation to complete visa processing. The Afghan nationals will be confined to their billet facility for the duration of the processing of their SIV applications by the US embassy in Manila
