Afghan SIV Family Rescue Fund

UPDATE!
Thank you so much to everyone that donated, I have been amazed by everyone’s generosity. I spoke with Mohammad (his actual name), and he agreed to let me share some actual photos of the family along with an update.

Mohammad and his family have safely made it to the United States and are now legal permanent residents. They have settled in the Midwest, have their own apartment, and recently purchased a used car. I told Mohammad the car was a lemon and not to buy it, but Mohammad clearly knows more about cars than I do, and it has been running perfectly. The car allowed Mohammad to get a job. He has been working full time as a mechanic and really likes his boss. Mohammad’s wife is taking English lessons every day, making new friends, and Mohammad said she is having more fun than he is. Mohammad’s son is enrolled in school and learning English. He says he has the nicest teacher and has already made some new friends at school.

The family is really enjoying the United States and they can not believe how beautiful the country is. They were surprised by how hot and humid the Midwest can get this last week. They are slowly experiencing American culture and have been to every mall in town, which Mohammad did not enjoy, but the rest of the family did. They are also maintaining some of their traditions and have been cooking classic Afghan dishes at home. They went to the zoo recently and once school ends in the next few weeks they want to do some more exploring.

The road to get to the United States was long and dangerous but they made it. Your donations helped the family live in Pakistan for months while the rest of their immigration paperwork was finalized. Your donations allowed the family to fly to the United States and purchase a car which enabled Mohammad to get a job and support his family. They have a bright future ahead and its all thanks to you.

Thank you!





Hello, my name is Christian Berchild, former company commander of Delta Company 1-178 IN. On behalf of myself, and the soldiers of my company, we would like to ask for your assistance in helping raise funds to relocate our Afghan interpreter, Ali Rahimi (an alias), and his family to the United States. Ali risked his life on countless combat missions and kept the soldiers of Delta safe during their deployment. Ali and his family have been forced to flee their homes, but they have approved Special Immigrant Visas and we have been working for over 2 years to get them to the United States safely. Ali is currently in Pakistan awaiting an appointment at the embassy.

 

After the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, Ali and his family have been subject to increasing danger because of his service to the American military. He has found “night letters” (warnings from the Taliban) on his door. He has received phone calls warning him that he and his family will be killed. Ali has had to move frequently and change his phone number often to keep himself, his wife, and his small child ahead of the Taliban.

 

Your donation will, literally, save the life of a brave man who served the United States, along with his wife and young child. 100% of every donation will go to Ali and his family. Any funds we can raise will be used to help Ali get to a United States embassy, purchase flights to the United States, and settle in a new country.

 

The Family

 

Ali is a young man with a loving wife and 9-year-old son. The family had to leave their home and have relocated within Afghanistan several times since the fall of Kabul in August of 2021. They have recently made it to Pakistan and have an upcoming appointment at the US embassy for receipt of their approved Special Immigrant Visas which will allow them to relocate to the US. Ali’s wife is excited to learn English and she dreams of becoming a nurse. Ali’s son cannot wait to attend school in the United States, make new friends, and wants to become a doctor when he grows up. Ali wants to provide for his family and hopes to become an auto mechanic for electric vehicles. They hope to relocate to Indianapolis where they have distant family members. Most of all, Ali wants to become a good citizen for the United States.

 

Military Service

 

Ali was my interpreter during our deployment to Afghanistan from 2019 to 2020. My company was tasked with the security of our base and conducted daily combat patrols in the surrounding area. Ali bravely served on nearly every mission and was exposed to a tremendous amount of danger while fighting to secure the future of his country. Patrols often encountered small arms fire, improvised explosive devices, vehicle born improvised explosive devices, and what felt like an endless amount of rocket attacks. Through it all, Ali was by our side supporting the mission and fighting with us.

 

Immigration Process

 

I worked as an immigration lawyer prior to my deployment to Afghanistan and I currently represent Ali as his attorney. We applied for Ali’s Special Immigrant Visa in October of 2019. In order to qualify for the program an interpreter must prove that he served the US military for at least 2 years and have credible threats to his safety as a result of that service. Ali’s application slowly worked its way through the government bureaucracy, and he reached the second to last step on August 1, 2021, which was an interview at the embassy in Kabul. Ali passed the interview and was awaiting the final step, the issuance of his physical visa, when Kabul fell to the Taliban on August 15, 2021. Ali’s visa has now been approved, but with no embassy left in Afghanistan we transferred his claim to the embassy at Pakistan. The only step left is for Ali to make to his scheduled January appointment at the embassy in Pakistan and receive his physical visa. Once Ali’s family has their visas, they will be allowed to legally fly to the United States.

 

Ali’s Story

 

When Delta Company 1-178 IN left Afghanistan at the end of our deployment in April of 2020, Ali’s mission continued. He continued to conduct daily patrols with the unit that replaced us until the closure of the base in the summer of 2021. Ali then returned home and gathered his family. The family made their way to Kabul on August 1, 2021, for his interview at the embassy. The security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated rapidly following his interview and the US government issued emergency E-visas to all approved SIV beneficiaries. Ali finally thought he was safe when he received the E-visa but thousands of others received the same visa and many more lined up outside the airport in Kabul in a desperate attempt to escape. Ali and his family spent days at the airport trying to reach the gate but could not get through the sea of people.

 

Ali called me on August 20, 2021, and all of Delta Company went to work to get Ali and his family on a plane. We called every contact we still had in the county in hopes of speaking with someone on the ground at the airport. We were able to speak with several serviceman on the ground, but none were high ranking enough to make an exception for Ali and his family. Then we had a breakthrough. An extremely high-ranking officer on the ground agreed to let Ali onto the base. Ali was instructed to wait near a specific gate with an American flag in his right hand. He would be waived in the following night.

 

Then tragedy struck. An ISIS-K terrorist approached a gate secured by United States Marines and detonated his suicide vest. 13 Marines and 170 Afghan civilians were killed during the attack. The military closed all gates and no one else was allowed to enter.

 

Ali and I had several phone calls following the attack as we considered his options. The first option was to wait in Afghanistan, hope that the US would send him a valid E-Visa, and hope that the Taliban would let him fly out of Kabul. The second option was to fight his way 300 miles to Pakistan while the Taliban hunted for those that helped the US government. Ali chose the second option.

 

In September of 2021 Ali paid smugglers all the money he had left to walk his family through the mountains and into Pakistan. They spent 10 days exposed to the elements while moving closer to the border. A Taliban patrol found the family and whipped them with a rubber hose.

 

Hurt, Ali headed back to Kabul and stayed with a family member and 9 others in a 2 bed room apartment. The Taliban were arresting people during the night and searching homes for those that had served the US military during the war. Two men on his street were arrested on the same night. Neighbors began to ask Ali about who he was, what he did for work, and why he moved to the neighborhood. Ali felt unsafe and decided he had to make another attempt at the Pakistan border.

 

Ali asked his family and friends for whatever money they could spare and was able to put together $1,500 USD for the trip. He paid a local travel agency $950 for three Pakistani visas and rented a car to cross the border legally. The family made the 3-hour drive to the border where they encountered a crowd of thousands trying to cross. After 3 days of waiting Ali made it to the border check point where he was informed that his visas were fake. The border guard was willing to let him in for a $400 dollar bribe, but Ali didn’t have the money.

 

The family returned to Kabul and confronted the travel agency. New visas were issued, and Ali made the trip a second time. In November they reached the check point again and this time the visas were real and they were allowed into Pakistan. Ali immediately traveled to the US embassy but was informed that no one is allowed in without an appointment. Ali is now waiting in Pakistan and his appointment scheduled for a date in January.

 

Ali and his family are currently staying with distant relatives in a small town while they wait for their appointment. They are dependent on the generosity of their family for their lodging and meals. There are rumors in town that police are arresting people at night and that those arrested never return. Ali is afraid to leave the home and remains in hiding today, awaiting his appointment at the embassy and a future in the United States.

 

On behalf of Delta Company and Ali Rahimi we thank you for any amount you are able to give. I will be personally overseeing the distribution of funds and will be purchasing airline tickets for the family as soon as they receive their visas. Any additional funds we receive from your generous contributions will be used to help the family settle in the United States and continue to pay for their living expenses in Pakistan. Thank you!