The US government used visas as a key way to entice Afghans and Iraqis to co-operate with western troops, especially since those who did so often became Taliban and al-Qaida targets. The US Special Immigrant Visa program for Iraqis passed in 2008 and set a maximum of 25,000 visas, but a mere 20% have been given out thus far.

A similar visa program for Afghans who aided troops was enacted in 2009 and offered up to 8,500 visas. Keep in mind that the infamous "surge" had not yet taken place then, thus Congress didn't think many visas were needed. To date, only 12% of the special Afghan visas have been given out.

Beyond the fact that these Afghans and Iraqis put their lives on the line for western troops and our governments should keep their promises, there's a bureaucratic deadline approaching that will make things even worse. The US visa program for Iraqis will expire Monday unless Congress renews it, which looks doubtful given the current gridlock. That means that many Iraqi interpreters who thought they were virtually promised a visa now find themselves about to be cut adrift. The same fate likely awaits the Afghan program next year.

It's especially sickening that these programs could fall apart now because of Democrats and Republicans feuding over the budget. In the not-too-distant past, there was bipartisan support to create these special visas.

And that is why US army veteran Matt Zeller is on a new mission: to get his former interpreter the US visa he and his family were promised for aiding western troops. Zeller's op-ed in the Guardian yesterday went viral, making it to the top of social media site Reddit and attracting the attention of Congressman Jim McDermott, a Democrat from the state of Washington, who sent a letter (pdf) to the State Department and US director of national intelligence demanding an investigation into Janis Shinwari's case.

McDermott, who served in the US navy during the Vietnam war, wrote in the letter:

As a member of Congress, I take national security seriously. But as someone who also served in the navy, I know how much we depend upon local staff to succeed in our missions abroad. Mr Shinwari deserves to be treated with dignity. We made a promise to him and we must stand by our promise. Backing away now without doing any due diligence when we know his life is on the line is immoral.

But the problem is more widespread than this one case. Several posters on Reddit shared similar stories:

geminitx: This happened to my brother's interpreter in Afghanistan. Luckily he made it out of the country by travelling to Germany, and is currently seeking asylum in the US. Our family is supporting him as much as we can with donations and writing our Congressmen and Senators. The process takes waaaaay too long, especially for a person who literally put his life on the line for my brother and other US soldiers.

fattymcnasty123: lol this i happening to my terp right now, he says "i have to go to america, if i dont, taliban will kill me" hes gone to do his interview to get his visa like 4 times over the years, always gets the run around, shitty to think that america is just gonna watch these people die.

Zeller and the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project have heard from "tons of people" in similar situations. "I've lost count of the number of people who have contacted me who have asked for help in the same thing", Zeller said. "It really comes down to Congress doing their thing and fixing the damn law." Of the four interpreters Zeller personally worked with, only one has been able to come to the US and that was because he married an American.

British blogger Sunny Hundal wrote recently about similar problems that Afghan interpreters face trying to obtain visas to the United Kingdom. Hundal and others used social media to mount a campaign to get more visas for Iraqi interpreters for British troops. They hope to do the same for Afghans.

The Guardian is looking for other Iraqi and Afghans who aided troops and are struggling to obtain visas. Email heather.long@theguardian.com or @byHeatherLong on Twitter.

Update: more stories

Another US soldier said he has filed the necessary paperwork for his interpreter, Shag (a nickname), to obtain a visa numerous times. This soldier traveled around Afghanistan training various medical units. He started asking around to see if other interpreters were getting their visas approved, but he noticed an alarming trend: only the interpreters of top military officials and those in Kabul, where the US embassy is, were getting processed.

"My interpreter gave up everything. He saved our lives … It sounded like all [interpreters] have to do is do a year and then get citizenship, but that's not how it's going down over there", the soldier said, asking to remain anonymous in order not to hurt the chances of his interpreter. Shag managed to get to Germany, but now he is in limbo, unsure if he will ever get a visa to stay in Europe or the US. The only thing he knows is that he cannot return to Afghanistan.