What Is A Special Immigrant Visa? How An FBI Terror Suspect Likely Came To The United States

The 28-page criminal complaint against Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi and his unnamed juvenile co-conspirator, who was a virtual student at Southmoore High School, is filled with details about how undercover agents became aware of a terrorist plot planned for Election Day.

But, the complaint has only a cursory mention of when the Afghan national came to the United States.

According to the document, Tawhedi arrived in the United States on Sept. 9, 2021, on a Special Immigrant Visa and is currently on parole status. His co-conspirator also came to the U.S. on a Special Immigrant Visa but in 2018.

Special Immigrant Visas are issued to foreign nationals, with dedicated programs for Afghan and Iraqi people, who worked in service of U.S. forces overseas.

“This particular program that we're talking about is strictly for the interpreters, the folks who were in Afghanistan and Iraq who were working front line with our military out in the field, helping them navigate linguistically and also culturally,” said John Kmetz, a retired 20-year foreign officer for the Department of State who now lives in Norman.

Obtaining a Special Immigrant Visa required exact eligibility. According to online information from the Department of State, prospective applicants must provide a letter of recommendation from their U.S. supervisor. That typically means a commanding officer who oversaw their work, according to Kmetz.

“These folks actually, ironically considering what most people think, have been vetted more than anybody,” he said. “So, I think that's an important thing to keep in mind.”

The visa program in its current iteration has existed since 2006. 

“People obviously were saying, 'Hey, these folks need to get out. We need to take care of these people because they have provided this tremendous service to our military,'” Kmetz said. “So that's how the program came about. And honestly, for a long time, the biggest complaint and concern about the program was that the vetting was taking too long.”

Principal applicants, who are the ones with work experience alongside U.S. or coalition forces, are able to attach certain family members to their visas.

When Kabul, Afghanistan fell in 2021 and the Taliban took over control of the government the United States quickly withdrew Afghan special immigrants through Operation Allies Refuge and Operation Allies Welcome.

Tawhedi's status on parole, and his Special Immigrant Visa, makes it unclear if he actually worked for U.S. forces. Kmetz noted it could have been a family member who was the principal applicant. Federal law exempts visa applications from the public record.

While Kmetz was a foreign service officer and not a federal agent, he suggested the possibility that Tawhedi became radicalized after coming to the United States.

“I suspect that's something that could happen at any time to anyone,” he said. “So, that's not a criticism of the vetting system.”

The criminal complaint states that Tawhedi communicated with ISIS members through Telegram, which is a social media app.

News 9 has made a request to the Department of State to learn if Tawhedi worked with U.S. forces overseas.