Lakanwal entered the U.S. in 2021 under Operation Allies Welcome, but didnt submit his asylum claim until 2024, is this normal
Executive summary
Lakanwal entered the U.S. through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) on Sept. 8, 2021 and — according to multiple press reports and a government file — did not file for asylum until December 2024, with approval reported in April 2025 (arrival, filing and approval dates reported by Reuters, Military.com, BBC, NBC/ABC-sourced outlets) [1] [2] [3] [4]. USCIS guidance says asylum applicants generally must file within one year of arrival, but OAW parolees were admitted on two‑year parole and were told to apply “as soon as possible” and to not let parole expire — reporting indicates many OAW arrivals later applied for asylum or other statuses [5] [6] [7].
1. What OAW meant in practice: fast parole, not permanent status
Operation Allies Welcome was a 2021 evacuation/resettlement effort that paroled tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans into the U.S. on two‑year parole grants; parole allowed living and working but did not confer permanent immigration status, and the government told parolees to pursue asylum, SIVs or other paths afterward [6] [8] [7].
2. The one‑year asylum filing rule — the formal standard
USCIS policy states the baseline rule: an asylum applicant ordinarily must file within one year of entering the United States [5]. That statutory one‑year deadline applies to all asylum applicants unless they qualify for a statutory exception; agency guidance for Afghan OAW parolees encourages prompt filing and warns there is no benefit to waiting [5].
3. Why some OAW parolees filed later than one year
Available reporting documents cases in which OAW parolees applied for asylum later than the one‑year mark. Reasons mentioned in sources include: parole was initially two years (giving parolees time and an expectation to seek other paths), administrative confusion and backlogs in immigration processing, and special programs (SIVs, Enduring Welcome) that offered alternate routes — all factors that could delay an asylum filing beyond one year [8] [6] [7].
4. The Lakanwal timeline and why it drew attention
Multiple outlets report Rahmanullah Lakanwal arrived Sept. 8, 2021 under OAW, applied for asylum in December 2024 and was approved in April 2025; those dates prompted scrutiny because they show a multi‑year gap between arrival and filing and because the approval occurred under a later administration — facts reported by Reuters and other outlets [1] [2] [4] [3].
5. Is a 2024 asylum filing “normal”? Context matters
Filing asylum three years after paroleed entry is not the norm under the one‑year statute, and USCIS told Afghan parolees they should file promptly [5]. But OAW parole conditions (two‑year parole), alternative programs (SIVs, refugee processing, Enduring Welcome), agency backlogs and practical barriers mean delayed filings occurred in many cases; reporting repeatedly notes OAW parolees were expected to pursue other statuses and that the program’s applicants sometimes faced administrative problems [8] [6] [7].
6. Competing perspectives: policy/legal vs. political framing
Government and news reporting emphasize two competing frames. One: critics and some officials argue delayed asylum filings reveal vetting or oversight failures tied to OAW [1] [9]. Two: immigration experts and reporting note that OAW parole was temporary, that many evacuees had lawful work authorization and multiple legal pathways, and that filing timing can be influenced by counsel access, backlog and shifting policies — not necessarily a sign of failed screening [6] [7] [8].
7. What reporting does not say (limits of current sources)
Available sources do not provide Lakanwal’s individual legal reasoning for delaying filing, nor do they specify whether USCIS applied statutory exceptions to the one‑year rule in his case (not found in current reporting). Sources also do not provide exhaustive statistics showing how many OAW parolees filed asylum within one year versus later (available sources do not mention aggregate timing breakdowns) [5] [8].
8. Bottom line for readers
Legally, asylum applicants are generally expected to file within one year of arrival [5]. Practically, OAW was designed as two‑year parole with other pathways available, and many practical and administrative reasons created delays — so a 2024 asylum filing for someone paroled in 2021 is unusual under the one‑year rule but not inexplicable given the program’s design, backlogs and alternate status routes; reporting on Lakanwal’s specific case confirms the later filing and subsequent approval [5] [1] [2].
Sources cited here include Reuters, Military.com, BBC, USCIS guidance and other contemporary reporting summarized above [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7].