By Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department office overseeing the resettlement of Afghans in the United States has been told to develop plans to close by April, according to a U.S. official, a leading advocate and two sources familiar with the directive, a move that could deny up to an estimated 200,000 people new lives in America.

Family members of Afghan-American U.S. military personnel, children cleared to reunite with their parents, relatives of Afghans already admitted and tens of thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during the 20-year war are among those who could be turned away if the office is shut, the advocate and the U.S. official said.

“Shutting this down would be a national disgrace, a betrayal of our Afghan allies, of the veterans who fought for them, and of America’s word,” said Shawn VanDiver, founder of #AfghanEvac, the main coalition of veterans and advocacy groups and others that coordinates resettlements with the U.S. government.

The White House and the U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The development comes as the administration asks embassies worldwide to prepare staff cuts under a directive by U.S. President Donald Trump to overhaul the diplomatic corps and billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE office pursues a government-wide drive to slash $2 trillion in spending.

The Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, CARE, was set up during the chaotic U.S. pullout from Afghanistan in August 2021 as a temporary effort to relocate to the U.S. Afghans at risk of Taliban retaliation because they worked for the U.S. government during the war.

It became permanent in October 2022, expanded to Afghans granted refugee status, and has helped resettle some 118,000 people.

VanDiver, the U.S. official and the two sources said they did not know who ordered CARE to begin developing options to close.

Those options would include shuttering processing centers CARE runs in Qatar and Albania where nearly 3,000 Afghans vetted for U.S. resettlement as refugees or Special Immigration Visa (SIV) holders have been stranded for weeks or months.

Those in the centers, including more than 20 unaccompanied minors bound for reunions with parents, live in modular housing. They receive food and other basic “life support,” but a Trump-ordered foreign aid freeze has ended programs for mental health and children, one source said.

According to both sources, the options for shuttering CARE are being prepared for Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, as well as Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Waltz, a former U.S. special forces soldier who fought in Afghanistan, are among those slated to make a final decision, they said.

“There are definitely all options (for closing CARE) being considered,” said the second source. Both requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by the Trump administration.

The evacuation and resettlement operations have been stalled since Trump, who launched a promised immigration crackdown after taking office in January, halted pending 90-day reviews the U.S. refugee program and foreign aid that funded flights to the U.S. for Afghans cleared for resettlement.

Trump ordered the reviews to determine the efficiency of the refugee and foreign aid programs and to ensure they align with his foreign policy.

After rigorous background checks, SIVs are awarded to Afghans who worked for the U.S. government during America's longest war.

UN reports say the Taliban have jailed, tortured and killed Afghans who fought or worked for the former Western-backed government. The Taliban deny the allegations, pointing to a general amnesty approved for former government soldiers and officials.

A permanent shutdown of CARE and the Enduring Welcome operations it oversees could leave up to an estimated 200,000 Afghans without paths to the U.S., said VanDiver and the U.S. official.

These comprise some 110,000 Afghans in Afghanistan whose SIV and refugee status applications are being reviewed and some 40,000 others who have been vetted and cleared for flights to Doha and Tirana before travel to the U.S.

An estimated 50,000 other Afghans are marooned in nearly 90 other countries – about half in Pakistan – approved for U.S. resettlement or awaiting SIV or refugee processing, they said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis)