Maj. Tom Schueman, left, and Travis Haggerty, right, are trying to help Zainullah Zaki stay in the United States. (Courtesy of Travis Haggerty)

An Afghan interpreter who served alongside U.S. Marines fled the country with his family over safety concerns. Now, his Special Immigrant Visa was denied for the last time. 

“Always Faithful: A Story of the War in Afghanistan, the Fall of Kabul, and the Unshakable Bond Between a Marine and an Interpreter,” by Major Tom Schueman and Zainullah “Zak” Zaki.
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A dual memoir by a Chicago-native U.S. Marine and an Afghan interpreter offers insight into the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan one year later and the Afghans who are still trying to find safety and security.

Taliban fighters celebrate one year since they seized the Afghan capital, Kabul, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. (AP Photo / Ebrahim Noroozi)

A year after the dramatic day, much has changed in Afghanistan. The former insurgents struggle to govern and remain internationally isolated. The economic downturn has driven millions more Afghans into poverty and even hunger, as the flow of foreign aid slowed to a trickle.

(WTTW News)

Northeastern Illinois University has provided 17 Afghan refugees with one-year scholarships to study at the school. 

President Joe Biden speaks at Atlanta University Center Consortium, Jan. 11, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky, file)

President Joe Biden on Sunday called for the release of U.S. Navy veteran Mark Frerichs of Lombard, who was taken hostage in Afghanistan nearly two years ago.

In this Aug. 30, 2021, file photo Gen. Frank McKenzie, Commander of U.S. Central Command, appears on screen as he speaks from MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Fla., as he speaks about Afghanistan during a virtual briefing moderated by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo / Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

The Pentagon retreated from its defense of a drone strike that killed multiple civilians in Afghanistan last month, announcing Friday that a review revealed that only civilians were killed in the attack, not an Islamic State extremist as first believed.

 Afghan refugees line up for food in a dining hall at Fort Bliss’ Doña Ana Village, in New Mexico, where they are being housed, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021. (AP Photo / David Goldman)

The Biden administration on Wednesday began notifying governors and state refugee coordinators across the country about how many Afghan evacuees from among the first group of nearly 37,000 arrivals are slated to be resettled in their states.

The iconic Taliban flag is painted on a wall outside the American embassy compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. (AP Photo / Bernat Armangue)

The Taliban raised their flag over the Afghan presidential palace Saturday, a spokesman said, as the U.S. and the world marked the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

A man walks with a child through Fort Bliss' Doña Ana Village where Afghan refugees are being housed, in New Mexico, Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.

Nearly 10,000 Afghan evacuees are staying at the base while they undergo medical and security checks before being resettled in the United States. 

Afghan refugees are processed inside Hangar 5 at the Ramstein U.S. Air Base in Germany Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. (Olivier Douliery / Pool Photo via AP)

The U.S. has halted all U.S.-bound flights of Afghan evacuees from two main bases overseas after discovering a limited measles outbreak among Afghans arriving in the United States, a hitch that American officials warned will have a severe impact on an often-troubled U.S.-run evacuation.

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2021, file photo families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk past a U.S Air Force plane that they arrived on at Kosovo's capital Pristina International Airport. (AP Photo / Visar Kryeziu, File)

An ardent U.S. ally, Kosovo, has agreed to take in Afghanistan evacuees who fail to clear initial rounds of screening and host them for up to a year, a U.S. official said Saturday.

Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal before boarding a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021. (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana)

At least 50,000 Afghans are expected to be admitted into the United States following the fall of Kabul as part of an “enduring commitment” to help people who aided the American war effort and others who are particularly vulnerable under Taliban rule, the secretary of homeland security said Friday.

People evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal before boarding a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana)

As the final five U.S. military transport aircraft lifted off out of Afghanistan, they left behind up to 200 Americans and thousands of desperate Afghans who couldn't get out and now must rely on the Taliban to allow their departure.

President Joe Biden speaks about the end of the war in Afghanistan from the State Dining Room of the White House, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo / Evan Vucci)

Addressing the nation, a defensive President Joe Biden on Tuesday called the U.S. military airlift to extract more than 120,000 Afghans, Americans and other allies to end a 20-year war an “extraordinary success,” though thousands of people looking to leave remain.

A U.S military aircraft takes off from the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. (AP Photo / Wali Sabawoon)

The United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan late Monday, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit.

Cash Fazal, a Chicago-based Afghan American immigration lawyer, speaks with “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW News)

The White House says more than 116,000 people have so far been evacuated, but not everyone has been able to escape. Hundreds of Afghan refugees could settle in the Chicago area, and local immigrant groups are working around the clock to try and make that happen.