There are approximately 12,300 Afghan immigrants living in the Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD metro areas. The largest numbers of Afghan immigrants are found in Fairfax County, VA (5,078), Prince William County, VA (2,968) and Loudoun County, VA (1,578). Sixty-four percent of Afghan immigrants are naturalized U.S. citizens.
Nasreen was born and raised in Kabul, Afghanistan. She left Afghanistan when she was 16 years old following the Russian invasion of 1979. Nasreen’s family was cosmopolitan and was close to the last king of Afghanistan. She remembers that her family met frequently with diplomats and other international visitors. Her grandfather was a politician. During the Russian-Afghan War, Nasreen’s family was threatened. Nasreen arrived in California with her sister, nephew, and her brother-in-law when she was 18 years old. Currently, Nasreen lives in the Washington, DC metro area and works as a teacher.