Said lived a pretty typical life of a young adult in Afghanistan. He was a dedicated student and loved to participate in robotics competitions. His dad and many of his older siblings worked for U.S. government contractors and U.S. based NGOs (non-governmental organizations). His mom also worked for a U.S. based NGO, which educated girls and women and advocated for women’s rights.
Things changed drastically for Said and his family when the Afghan government fell to the Taliban in 2021.
Said’s parents and siblings were all afraid of staying in Afghanistan, due to their family’s strong ties to U.S. organizations and strong support of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. After the fall of the Afghan government in August 2021, Said, his parents and several of his siblings decided to flee Afghanistan.
They tried to get into the Kabul airport. It was crowded. In all the chaos, the family was separated. The Taliban was beating people who were trying to enter the airport. Said was severely injured and blinded in one eye. His father and his younger siblings were with Said. His mother, one of his older brothers and his sister made it into the airport and were evacuated to the United States.
Once in the United States, Said’s mother, brother and sister were resettled in Oregon. They began working with SOAR Immigration Legal Services to file for immigration status and figure out how to reunite with the rest of their family. Said’s mother applied for asylum, and it was approved in the fall of 2022. She applied for Said and her other minor children and husband to reunite with her in the safety of the United States.
Meanwhile, Said, his father and other siblings were in hiding in Pakistan. About a year after Said’s mom applied for their visas, the family members in Pakistan had their visa interviews. Six months after the interview, the embassy approved the visas for Said’s father and younger siblings, but they needed to do extended processing for Said and one of his brothers.
The embassy was concerned about Said’s prior international travel for robotics competitions. Said was confused about this, since he was a good student and never got into trouble. He was concerned, afraid and stressed out about his situation in Pakistan, since the Pakistani authorities were deporting Afghans. Returning to Afghanistan was not an option. In the meantime, Said studied on his own, and he connected with other Afghans in exile in Pakistan over their love of robotics and science.
At last, Said received good news. Almost a year and a half after his first visa interview, he received notification from the embassy that his visa was approved.
An executive order signed on Jan. 20, 2025, titled, “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” indicated that a new travel ban would be implemented, and this could include a ban against entrants from Afghanistan. [Note: At the time of publication, the ban had not yet been implemented.]
So, once Said’s visa was granted, his family quickly purchased his airline ticket. In March 2025, he was able to reunite with his family for the first time since August 2021 and finally reach safety in Oregon.
SOAR Immigration Legal Services’ Afghan Legal Project has assisted hundreds of Afghans—like Said and his family—with filing for asylum, green cards and reuniting with their families. Our team is proud to have played a part in this brave young person’s journey.
Written by Caroline van der Harten, who has served as EMO’s Director of Immigration Services since 2010. She earned her law degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2024, Caroline received the “Richard M. Ginsburg Outstanding Leadership for Immigrant Rights Award” from the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Oregon Chapter.
