Hamida took the initiative to set up health clinics catering to women in rural regions and also developed a network of midwives to enhance maternal care. Mohammad was tasked with the protection of detainees for the U.S. Army. Hekmatullah’s sibling was involved in U.S. government projects, while Suhrab’s father held a significant position as a judge, handling sensitive legal matters. Kheyal provided training to fieldworkers for an international aid agency. Following the tumultuous U.S. military withdrawal in 2021, all of them, along with their families, sought refuge in Pakistan. They embarked on a lengthy and challenging journey to legally enter the United States as refugees, with some even possessing flight tickets to America.
Yet now, they find themselves in a state of uncertainty.
One of President Donald Trump’s initial actions after taking office was to suspend the Refugee Admissions Program for 90 days. This halt effectively froze the processing of paperwork for individuals fleeing persecution seeking refuge in the U.S. A refugee agency disclosed to TIME that over 500 flights for more than 1,000 vetted refugees from the area were canceled due to this suspension.
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Shortly after this Executive Order was put into effect, the Pakistani government, which already hosts around 1.5 million Afghan refugees and asylum seekers (many of whom fled during the Soviet invasion), announced that Afghan residents who couldn’t secure asylum in another country must leave Rawalpindi and Islamabad—the main cities where many reside due to better access to the internet and aid offices—by March 31. Post this deadline, they would face repatriation.
Shawn VanDiver, the founder of AfghanEvac, a coalition of veterans and support organizations, revealed that around 15,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan had received approval to travel. They currently find themselves in a precarious standstill, trapped with no direction forward or backward. Their cases will remain unresolved until at least April 25, and potentially longer. After March 31, they will confront escalating hostility in Pakistan, while returning to Afghanistan presents only poverty and peril. One refugee shared that he received warnings about “unknown armed men” targeting those who return. “The only armed men in Afghanistan are the Taliban,” he remarked.
TIME connected with several individuals ensnared by this pause, who requested to remain anonymous due to fears of reprisals from Afghan or Pakistani authorities.
Hamida had planned to fly to Doha and then on to Pennsylvania with her husband and young child on February 3. However, on January 25, she received an email from her contact at the International Organization for Migration informing her that her flight had been canceled. She had left Afghanistan following advice from her father-in-law, who cautioned that her previous work with maternal health NGOs could endanger her family.
Now filled with dread about returning, Hamida fears for her survival. “I’m 100% sure I won’t survive more than a week there,” she asserts. Currently, she resides in a cramped, single-room home. Their 30-month visa process, which confirmed her refugee status, has depleted their savings. To avoid detection by Pakistani authorities, they keep their door locked and remain hidden for most of the day. Her husband has stopped taking labor jobs, their child seldom plays outside, and they only venture out for groceries at night. Hamida, who once managed a project with 60 staff members, now supports her family through home-based tailoring. “We’ll try to survive here if we can,” she declares. “I don’t know what we will do, but going back to Afghanistan is off the table.”
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In contrast, Hekmatullah’s brother appears to have a somewhat improved situation. Hekmatullah himself arrived in the U.S. a year earlier on a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) for those who served alongside American forces. He can financially assist his brother, but he too grapples with difficulties. Hekmatullah had anticipated his brother’s arrival in Missouri on February 5, but on January 25, he was notified by his local refugee resettlement agency that the trip had been canceled.
Currently, Hekmatullah’s brother, who collaborated with various American NGOs during the conflict, is constantly relocating, staying at different rentals and friends’ homes to avoid being captured and sent back to Afghanistan. “The Pakistani government is actively trying to apprehend Afghan refugees to deport them,” Hekmatullah explains. “But being sent back to Afghanistan means imprisonment.” (The Pakistani embassy did not respond to inquiries.)
Kheyal’s family had completed their paperwork, with travel documents requested in December. He, his wife, and children expected flight details any day now. “Until January 20, we were genuinely hopeful,” he recalls. They are currently reliant on savings from his previous job, which he left in anticipation of moving to the U.S. The Pakistani government has recently altered its visa policies, now mandating monthly extensions instead of the previous six-month ones, each costing $200 alongside various “handling fees.” Police frequently patrol his apartment building.
Kheyal spoke with TIME at 3 a.m., noting that no one in his household was able to sleep. “When we found out the process was suspended, we lost our ability to sleep and eat,” he shared. “My children are depressed. They have access to social media and hear everything. I can’t keep anything hidden from them.” He hopes to endure the pause in Pakistan.
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Suhrab’s family cannot afford to wait any longer. His father, a judge, had to go into hiding when the Taliban regained power, fearing retribution from those he had previously sentenced. The family made their way to Pakistan in January 2022, with their resettlement handled by Welcome Corps, a Biden-era initiative that allows groups of U.S. citizens—in this case, a church in East Tennessee—to sponsor refugees. However, that program is now on hold.
From the safety of the West, Suhrab often works double shifts to provide for them, and his brother, currently outside the region, sends financial support as well. The family and their sponsoring church group are actively searching for another country willing to accept them, although very few are issuing visas to Afghan passport holders. “I’m terrified,” Suhrab admits during a lunch break at work. “What if they get caught and are forced to leave Pakistan? I can’t fathom what will happen to them.”
The church group shares in the concern. “It surprises me that our American government is taking this stance, particularly against refugees,” remarks Melva McGinnis, who coordinates the Welcome Corps program at the church, which has previously assisted another Afghan family. “In the past, it seemed anyone could come in, whether legally or illegally. It’s unjust that those trying to enter the States responsibly are being obstructed.”
Trump’s actions, while alarming, were not entirely unforeseen, given his previous attempts to significantly reduce refugee admissions during his earlier term, even before the COVID-19 restrictions. Surveys indicate a wide array of Americans across political lines support the acceptance of refugees, with even stronger approval for those from Afghanistan who aided U.S. forces. Under President Biden, the annual refugee admissions surged from a historic low of 11,400 in 2021 to over 100,000 in 2024—though the overall numbers during his administration remain significantly lower than those admitted under Presidents Carter (375,000) and Reagan (660,000 across two terms).
Perhaps even more alarming is the situation faced by Afghan military personnel who served alongside U.S. forces. Mohammad, who assisted in guarding detainees at a U.S. air base, has applied twice for entry into America. After an 18-month wait for his SIV, he also submitted an application for a refugee visa, but his case remained unresolved when the three-month pause was implemented. He, along with his wife, two brothers, and sister-in-law, are currently living in a makeshift shelter in a slum. “My situation is dire,” he states. “We have no money for food or medicine.” They survive on just one meal a day, relying on the generosity of locals.
VanDiver from AfghanEvac advocates for a bipartisan initiative in Congress to create an exception for the already-approved refugees stranded in Pakistan or Afghanistan, which he estimates to be around 65,000 individuals, with 50,000 still in Afghanistan. “Our coalition represents a diverse cross-section of America,” he explains. “Ninety percent of the American public supports this initiative. It’s a widely endorsed cause.”
Eric Lebo, a former Navy Reservist who served alongside Mohammad at the air base, highlights the significance of their contributions. “We couldn’t have achieved our missions without him and his soldiers,” says Lebo, who now drives a truck in California. “There’s a lot of discussion around refugee and immigration issues, but individuals like Mohammad are soldiers who fought alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Their lives are in jeopardy.”
Mohammad’s family remains in Afghanistan, and he recently shared a harrowing image of his brother, who was shot in the face. Mohammad fears the attackers mistakenly identified his brother as him.
