Iraqis getting 'safe haven' visas

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on Thursday announced a "special immigrant visa program" that provides "safe haven" for Iraqis whose lives are threatened because of their work for the United States.

The program makes 5,000 visas available each year for the next five years to Iraqis who are "under threat as a consequence of their employment by or on behalf of the U.S. government in Iraq," the embassy said in a statement on its Web site.

The State Department says the new program is "completely distinct" from another visa program for translators and interpreters.