Reporting from Baghdad?
He rarely leaves his house. He's been shot at by gunmen in a passing car. He gets death threats over the phone."Traitor," the callers say. "American agent."
Tariq, 27, is a quick-witted, tech-savvy Iraqi who tosses off idiomatic American English phrases such as "I'm outta here" and "That's cool."
When he served as an interpreter for the U.S. military, Tariq lived on a secure base, safe from fellow Iraqis determined to kill him because of his service to America. But when the unit he served pulled out of Iraq on Oct. 13, he was dismissed and escorted off the base.
The U.S. government promised Tariq and thousands of other former interpreters that they would be first in line for special visas to the United States. But with the pace of visa approvals having slowed to a crawl, that promise rings hollow for Tariq, who stays locked in his parents' home, working the phones and the Internet to track his application.
For the first time since his work as an interpreter ended, Tariq left his home one day this month and drove through Baghdad to meet a reporter. He brought along his brother, a tall, burly fellow who literally watched Tariq's back with each step. Tariq asked that his surname not be published.
"I served the Americans very well, but now they've left me on my own, with no security," he said in nearly flawless English. "They've expelled us all from the only places in Iraq that were safe for us ? U.S. bases."
The visa process, always slow and cumbersome, has bogged down further since two Iraqi refugees were arrested in Kentucky in May on federal terrorism charges that included providing material support in the U.S. for Al Qaeda.
With empty hours to fill each day, Tariq has become an expert on U.S. immigration policy toward Iraq. He can quote legislation and recite testimony from congressional hearings and obscure federal documents.
Three words from U.S. legislation are imprinted on his brain: "special immigrant visa." The Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act, passed in 2008, provided fast-track status for Iraqis who had worked for the U.S. government or military.
The law authorized 5,000 special visas per year ? 20,000 through 2011. But through October, just 3,415 had been issued to Iraqis, according to the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.
The State Department says 7,362 Iraqis who worked for the U.S. have received special visas over that period, but that total includes family members.
Through July, 62,500 Iraqis had applied through the special visa program, though many have given up and dropped out.
Applicants have been told to expect waits of at least eight months. Tariq applied two years ago, then filed an amended application in October 2010.
A U.S. Embassy official in Baghdad, speaking on condition he not be identified, acknowledged "unfortunate delays" in issuing special visas, the result of enhanced security clearance procedures, some instituted after the Kentucky arrests. But he said recent changes would speed the process.
The State Department's National Visa Center has been ordered to flag special visa applications for expedited action, the official said. And a requirement that Iraqi applicants provide an original signature on certain forms sent to the U.S. has been dropped after Iraqis complained of logistical difficulties.
"We are making changes, ordered at the very highest levels, that will help shave time off the application process," the official said.
In the meantime, thousands of former interpreters have been cast adrift, threatened by insurgents as they wait for the federal bureaucracy to act.
Interpreters provided vital support to American forces, offering valuable insights into Iraqi customs and tribal rivalries. They accompanied U.S. troops on combat patrols, braving the same roadside bombs and insurgent attacks. Many were killed in combat, or executed after leaving their military jobs.
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