A bill permitting more Iraqi and Afghan translators to obtain visas to the United States has passed the Senate.

The legislation (S 1104), sponsored by Sens. Richard G. Lugar, R-Ind., and Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., would expand tenfold the number of such translators who can enter the United States, from 50 a year to 500.

The bill passed by voice vote late Thursday.

“Translators have been the eyes and ears of our military, and they have saved American lives,” Kennedy said. “They now have a target on their back because of their service to our country, and we need to protect them by granting them safe refuge in the United States.”

Kennedy held a hearing on the topic of Iraqi refugees in January as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Refugees. Lugar wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in July to raise concerns about the “life-threatening” conditions experienced by residents of other countries who work to assist U.S. troops and officials.

The senators said in a news release that there was a nine-year backlog of visa applications for the translators.