© 2026 ABC News

Still, some of the group, Jami says, are pushing for the State Department to have their interviews proceed virtually instead of at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul -- where applicants were to report for the interviews over the summer before the delays -- which was evacuated in the middle of August.

\"We are reviewing the significant safety, logistical, and programmatic constraints which must be overcome to successfully implement the 2022-23 Fulbright Program,\" a State Department spokesperson told ABC News last week. \"We are committed to remaining in communication with the semifinalist group about the status of the program, understanding they must pursue the choices that make the most sense for themselves and their families.\"

\"PHOTO:
Courtesy Maryam Jami
PHOTO: Maryam Jami, 23, a semi-finalist for the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, speaks at her law graduation at Herat University in Dec. 2019.
>

Although Jami gushed earlier this month about how the prestigious program was a \"venue to her dreams,\" she said she won't allow its potential suspension, as well as the thought that her test scores will soon expire, to stop her from the real work of helping her people.

\"Of course, I had chosen the Fulbright Program as my future path, but my biggest dreams were not just conditioned to the Fulbright Program,\" she said. \"I will still continue my efforts for Afghanistan.\"

\"At the end of the day, we are trying to be what we always dreamt of being -- not just being a Fulbright Scholar or just studying in the U.S. -- but what we expected to do after when we return to our country,\" added Jami, who hopes to work for the United Nations or Afghanistan government one day. \"This is what really matters.\"

ABC News' Conor Finnegan contributed to this report.

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