There is a backlog of Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) applications that the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan was rushing to process using just a skeleton staff. Now, Afghan allies are in a complicated position because the Taliban won't allow them through to the airport without the proper paperwork. Afghans can't get the paperwork unless they get the necessary documents from the Embassy staff who are at the airport.
Another barrier happened in March 2020 when, due to COVID protocols, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul paused visa interviews and application processes. They were reopened Biden's second week in office.
Axios said that one of the officials was "alarmed" when it was discovered that "there was no plan from the Trump administration on how to move Afghan civilians out of the country, even though they had committed to leaving the country by May 1. So we began building one from scratch."
A year without visa interviews in Kabul on top of the Taliban's rapid advance has hampered the Biden administration.
www.axios.com
There is currently 80,000 visas waiting for approval.