A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pushing a bill to extend and expand a special immigrant visa program for Afghans that has been supported by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis but opposed in the past by other top members of the Trump administration.
 
The State Department on March 1 stopped doing interviews for applicants to the program at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
 
The bill, called "Keeping Our Promise to Our Afghan Allies Act" and introduced last week by four members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, would provide for an additional 2,500 visas for Afghans who worked for the U.S. military for at least a year.
 
"This legislation would ensure the continuation of this vital Special Immigrant Visa program, and send a clear message that America will not turn its back on those who at great personal risk stand with us in the fight against terror," said Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican and the panel's chairman.
 
The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat and the ranking committee member; Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat; and Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.
 
"America has a moral obligation to provide these Afghans with safety from the Taliban who seek to harm them and their families for assisting America's mission in Afghanistan," Tillis said.

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