ARCH Act

The ARCH Act requires the Secretary of Defense to establish a records preservation program for specific Afghan individuals who served with U.S. forces between 2001 and 2021. This program allows eligible applicants, including former military personnel, intelligence operators, and justice sector officials, to submit applications through a secure online portal to have their service records and biometric data preserved by the Department of Defense. The bill mandates that these records be kept for potential future use by the applicant or their designee, while prohibiting fees for the application process. Applicants who are denied classification based on eligibility or derogatory information are granted the right to file one written appeal and may request to reopen their case to provide additional clarifying information.