Page 8 - Zak First News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Bureaucratically hung up, right? this process was set up specifically to get people like him and his family out and it's just been story after story of these bottlenecks and it not working and glitches. and it's not just zak's story that is familiar by now. it is major schueman's story too. the experience of all of these american combat veterans of the war in afghanistan who are now working what amounts to second full-time jobs, trying to do what the u.s. government as a whole hasn't been able to do quickly enough. individual veterans all over the country cashing in every favor they can, pulli...

She's in the red sleeping on her mother. i'm not sure what happens next. they have no food, no water, no bathroom. they're sitting outside an american access point to the kabul airport. i'm not sure what will happen to them. i don't know what else to do. i pray to god i have a better update tomorrow but it doesn't look promising. that's two days ago. then yesterday, major schueman was texting with an american on the ground. you'll see -- i'm going to show you this text exchange. major schueman is on the right there. he's posting in blue and that picture that he posted on the right side of the ...

Service and then, poof. but because they are gone, they're defunct and have left sort of no trace, zak has not been able to get a letter from them. they don't exist anymore. and the fact that he wasn't able to get a letter from a defunct contractor that doesn't exist is enough to deny him a visa. again, he had applied for it six years ago, and it means he's been stuck in afghanistan, which is a very dangerous place to be if you're an afghan citizen who helped the united states, particularly one who helped in so many, so many literal battles against taliban fighters. in february of last year, f...

Zak waited six years for this moment since he first applied for a visa to get out. from rhode island from a world away from afghanistan, officer schueman made it his mission to help him out. joining us now is thomas schueman. major, thank you for being with us tonight. i really appreciate this on what is kind of a huge day. >> thank you, ma'am. thanks for having me. >> first let me ask if i screwed anything up in trying to describe the story and what you've been through thus far, and also if you can bring us more up to date if you know of anything further about what's happened to zak and his f...

That we do have these young infantry marines holding the line and making this happen. i'm just grateful for all of the people who rallied around zak's cause and all of the support received. but it's important to note that while zak made it out, there are thousands like him who do not have the same advocacy, and there's still a lot of work to be done. >> marine infantry officer thomas schueman, founder of a foundation which helps veterans communities across america. thank you for being here and helping us understand this and tell this story tonight, sir. thanks for your service. >> thank you, m...