"We need to get out of the country, they are looking after us," Naveed Mustafa, an interpreter who worked with US and UK forces, told CNN.

He has been scrambling to assemble the documents he needs to get himself, his wife, and five children out of the country as they watch the Taliban take control of Afghanistan's borders and seek out Afghan special forces, army soldiers and police, "knocking the doors and taking them out and killing them."

Naveed has colleagues from Special Forces "like, five or six [who] have been killed." Asked if he is living in fear, he says, "completely."

The fear of Taliban reprisal is being felt deeply across Afghanistan as the nearly two-decade US military campaign in the country draws to a close, leaving thousands like Naveed in a bind.

US officials have said they are looking to relocate some applicants to US military bases, like Fort Lee, and even to third countries so they can complete the application and clearance process in relative safety.

"They're looking at a two- to four-year backlog."

'A bull's-eye'

Referring to the interpreters and translators, Duckworth added that, "they have bull's-eyes on their back, as well as their family members, and we need to get them out of harm's way."

As lawmakers and government officials work to get SIV applicants to safety in the US or a third country, nonprofit groups and individuals have also taken it upon themselves to help.

Shinwari, the founder of "No One Left Behind," told CNN that since Biden announced in April that the US would pull virtually all military forces from Afghanistan, "everyday, hundreds and hundreds of people (are) texting me on my Facebook, they're calling me and they're sending me emails for the help because they are right now in a very bad situation."

But even leaving Afghanistan does not necessarily mean a family is free from the threat of Taliban reprisal, Shinwari told CNN as he waited at Dulles International Airport to welcome another SIV family to America.

"No One Left Behind" helped relocate the family to the US with the help of a grant it used to pay for their airfare.

"For most of SIVs who are here, because they still have their immediate family back in Afghanistan, their brothers, sisters, their parents and their other relatives, if the Taliban or the al Qaeda finds out that one member of the family was involved in assisting US military in Afghanistan, they're going to kill the entire family," Shinwari said.