For Nasrin and Gul, two of the 62,000 U.S. visa applicants still in Afghanistan (their names have been changed to protect their identities), hope is fading.

Before the Taliban’s first takeover of Afghanistan in 1996, 10-year-old Nasrin’s new stepfather forced her to marry his son. Nasrin had her first son at 13. By 18, she was a mother of three.