From Afghan interpreter to US homeless - until reaching the American dream By Holly Honderich & Bernd Debusmann Jr BBC News, Washington image captionZia made it to the US with his family in 2014 after a six-year wait Zia Ghafoori, his pregnant wife and their three small children landed in the United States from their home in Kabul in September 2014. He held five US visas - a reward for 14 years of service as an interpreter with US Special Forces in Afghanistan. But the benefits stopped there. Upon arrival, Zia found himself homeless - sent to a shelter by a well-meaning volunteer who told him it would be a place for him and his family to start a new life.