Afghanistan, Aug. 4 -- A U.S. federal court has ordered the State Department to issue travel documents for the family members of several Afghan refugees within 15 days, ruling that U.S. travel restrictions on Afghan nationals cannot be used to block approved refugee family reunification cases.
The decision, issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, found that the travel restrictions do not apply to Afghan refugees already admitted to the United States or to eligible relatives whose family reunification cases had been approved before the restrictions took effect.
The lawsuit was brought by seven Afghan refugees after their relatives were prevented from traveling to the United States despite having completed vi...