AFGHANISTAN: Girls robotics team given US visa after outrage

US officials have decided to allow a group of Afghan girls – whose visa applications had been rejected twice – to travel to the United States and participate in an international robotics competition, ending a saga that had sparked an international backlash. Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said the US Citizenship and Immigration […]

US officials have decided to allow a group of Afghan girls – whose visa applications had been rejected twice – to travel to the United States and participate in an international robotics competition, ending a saga that had sparked an international backlash.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said the US Citizenship and Immigration Services approved a Department of State request for six girls from the war-torn country to be allowed in, along with their chaperone, so they can participate in the competition.

The non-profit organising the competition celebrated the reversal in a statement on Wednesday.

“I truly believe our greatest power is the power to convene nations, to bring people together in the pursuit of a common goal and prove that our similarities greatly outweigh our differences,” said Joe Sestak, the president of First Global.