Left Behind: U.S. Sued by Its Iraqi Helpers Over Visa Delays

Nine plaintiffs seek prompt action on requests, saying they have been put in danger

When Army Col. Richard Welch sought to build local support for the U.S. mission to uproot al Qaeda in Baghdad, he relied on several Iraqis. But he credits one community leader with being particularly instrumental in helping stabilize the city’s Ghazaliya district.

Retired Army Col. Richard Welch, shown in Bloomington, 
Ind., last month, credits an Iraqi plaintiff in a new lawsuit 
for his help with the U.S. mission in Baghdad. 
Photo: James Brosher for The WSJ

“You cannot overstate the impact he had,” said Col. Welch, a retired Green Beret who served in Iraq from 2007 to 2011. The work of the man spared countless U.S. and Iraqi lives, he said, and also made him a target of militia attacks.

That man is now a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit served Monday against the departments of State and Homeland Security on behalf of Iraqis who worked alongside Americans. The lawsuit claims that yearslong delays in processing visas for entry to the U.S. endangers them, especially amid spiraling violence by Islamic State militants and other factions hostile to the U.S.

Retired Army Col. Richard Welch points out areas in 
Northern Iraq on a tourist map of the country. 
Photo: James Brosher for The WSJ

Thousands of individuals who served the U.S. mission in Iraq, and their relatives, have been kidnapped, tortured, placed on death lists and forced into hiding, according to the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project, known as IRAP, which provides legal help to Iraqis and Afghans who worked for the U.S.

[...]

... The plaintiffs have been waiting an average of four years, three months since submitting their applications to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the lawsuit says. ...

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