Schrödinger’s Cat and Extraterritoriality

After nearly four years of separation, Axinn successfully reunited one of its pro bono clients, a 39-year-old Afghan man, with his wife and four children. Axinn’s client previously worked in Afghanistan as an electrical engineer and Captain in the Afghan National Army, including on joint missions with the U.S. military. His ties with the U.S. military made him a Taliban target, forcing him to flee the country—leaving his wife and four young children behind—shortly after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Thereafter, members of the Taliban repeatedly appeared at his family home in Afghanistan demanding to know his whereabouts, putting his wife and young children at risk. Axinn successfully secured asylum for the former Afghan National Army Captain in November 2023, but his main goal was to ensure his family’s safety and reunite with them in the United States. An Axinn team worked to file derivative asylum applications for the man’s wife and four children, all of whom traveled from Afghanistan to Islamabad, Pakistan for consular interviews and were granted travel documents earlier this year. After years of waiting and uncertainty, the family of five experienced a joyful reunion in Chicago in May. Partnering with Human Rights First, the Axinn team included Lisl Dunlop, Caroline Boisvert, Heather Zuckert, and Ramya Auroprem.