Resettlement groups have said for months that at least 80,000 SIV applicants and their families need to be evacuated.

Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Biden was concerned about the political impact of the large number of Afghan refugees flowing into the United States and preferred they be sent to third countries.

Biden, a Democrat, has faced intense political pressure over immigration from opposition Republicans as arrests at the U.S.-Mexico border have soared to 20-year highs in recent months.

Earlier this year, Biden delayed a decision to raise the cap for refugee admissions due to the political optics, U.S. officials told Reuters at the time.