Afghan who helped U.S. fight Taliban wins battle to immigrate

Afghan who helped U.S. fight Taliban wins battle to immigrate

An Afghan refugee who risked his life as a translator for the U.S. troops fighting the Taliban stepped onto American soil Wednesday, hugging the former Army Ranger who helped him overcome years of bureaucratic inertia so he could come to the Bay Area.

For the first time in years, Qismat Amin felt safe.

Amin, 25, had waited more than three years for the special immigrant visa that he assumed would come his way after he took the job working with U.S. forces in his homeland.

“I was so scared,” Amin said minutes after stepping through the customs door at San Francisco International Airport.

Amin was granted his visa just as President Trump signed an executive order Jan. 27 temporarily banning travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries.

[...] those waiting for him in the United States, including former Army Capt. Matt Ball, were concerned that Amin’s right to enter the U.S. was far from guaranteed if he didn’t act quickly once he obtained permission to come here.

When the visa came through, which grants him permanent residency, Ball told Amin to get on a plane right away and come to the U.S.

Afghan interpreters were crucial to the U.S. mission, Ball said — helping troops communicate with village leaders and defuse dangerous situations.

Ball, who came home in 2011 and enrolled at Stanford Law School, said he felt a responsibility to make sure his friend did not pay for his loyalty to U.S. troops with his life.

“We spent every day together,” Ball said.

Amin is among the few translators who have obtained a special immigrant visa.

Thousands of other interpreters are still in Afghanistan and Iraq, their status held up by bureaucracy and calls in the U.S. for greater scrutiny and vetting of refugees.

The number of special immigrant visas for refugees like Amin has been capped by Congress, and only about 3,100 remain.

There are 13,000 applicants from Iraq and Afghanistan hoping to get one.

The U.S. does not uphold its promise.

“I’m so excited,” Amin said.

He thought he’d be able to find those words after some much-needed sleep, but first, he wanted to eat.

[...] he said, he’d like to see the ocean.

The most important thing is, I’m going to have a safe life.

Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com