About 20,000 Afghans who worked as translators for the United States during the war in Afghanistan and now fear retaliation from the Taliban have applied for evacuation, AP reported referring to White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.

According to her, these are former translators of the military or other organizations targeted by the Taliban. She noted that the United States will also consider applications from families of translators, without specifying how many family members will be admitted to the United States.

The number of people eligible to leave will be around 100,000. Officials say the evacuation will begin this month.

Psaki said those who passed the security screening could be temporarily housed at a US military base. Those who still have to go through the screening process will first be sent either to a US base overseas or to a third country where they will be safely accommodated until their visa has been processed.

Meanwhile, two senior senators called on President Joe Biden to expedite the evacuation and make sure Afghans who aided the US intelligence services are also included. They urged Biden to accelerate the SIV program, but also consider evacuating Afghans to third countries and prioritizing them under US refugee programs.