Any man who fought against the Taliban is a hero, but that alone does not mean he qualifies for a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV). On November 26, 2025, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who had served in a CIA-backed Afghan paramilitary unit, shot two West Virginia National Guard members near the White House, killing one and critically wounding the other.
Following the shooting, President Trump ordered a “re-examination” of every Afghan national admitted to the United States under the Biden administration. An estimated 190,000 to 200,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States since the 2021 withdrawal, most under humanitarian parole rather than the SIV program.
On March 14, 2026, Afghan national Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal died in ICE custody in Richardson, Texas. Media coverage described him as a “special forces soldier,” wording that could be interpreted to mean he served in U.S. Special Forces. However, he was not a member of the U.S. military.
AfghanEvac states that he partnered with U.S. Army Special Forces, specifically the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), in Paktika Province beginning in 2005, rather than serving in the U.S. military.
AfghanEvac is an advocacy and volunteer coalition formed after the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to help evacuate and resettle Afghans who worked with U.S. forces and to advocate for their immigration cases.
The phrase “worked with U.S. forces,” as used by AfghanEvac and in much of the reporting, is a broad umbrella term. It encompasses the full range of Afghan nationals who supported the U.S. mission, not just those in combat roles. This includes interpreters and translators, logistics and transportation contractors, drivers, base support personnel, including laundry, food service, construction, and maintenance workers, intelligence and cultural advisors, as well as members of partnered Afghan military or police units.
Hellbound and Down 