Pinned in a foxhole and low on bullets, CIA intelligence analyst Matthew Zeller thought that April 28, 2008, was his day to die.

And indeed, it almost was.

Two Afghan Taliban soldiers were sneaking up behind him, ready to shoot, when suddenly, Zeller heard an AK-47 go off next to his head.

He turned and saw Janis Shinwari - an Afghan interpreter he had met for a few minutes just days before. Shinwari had shot both enemy soldiers, saving Zellers life.

I made a promise right there, Zeller, now 33, tells PEOPLE, that if he ever needed my help, I would be there. Janis taught me a lot about loyalty and brotherhood that day.

Zeller kept that promise.

He worked with Shinwari, 36, for the next year until he returned to the States, unaware that back in Afghanistan, Shinwari was receiving death threats for his role in helping U.S. military men and women. The Taliban stuck a note on Shinwaris door late one night: We are coming to kill you.

The married father of two had applied for a visa to emigrate to the U.S. in 2011, thinking it would be approved in a few months. Instead it took two years and only happened with the help of Zeller, the close friend Shinwari calls my brother.

He had to go into hiding with his wife and kids for more than two years, says Zeller. Ill never forget the day he called and asked me to help get him out of this hell.

Zeller called in favors with the U.S. embassy and raised $35,000 to help his friend. After passing two polygraph tests, Shinwari was cleared to leave.

Now the two are assisting other translators who have fought alongside U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan through No One Left Behind, a nonprofit they started last spring.

Currently neighbors in Arlington, Virginia, Zeller and Shinwari have helped 60 families with visa applications, rent money and housing, and helped translators furnish their homes and find jobs.

These people have helped us and they should not be abandoned, says Zeller, who now works full-time for No One Left Behind, and is a divorced dad with a young daughter. Theyve earned their visas and now its our turn to help them.

With a backlog of some 6,000 applicants at the State Department, Shinwaris story is not uncommon, says Katherine Reisner of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.

The application process is daunting, she says, and these people are moving their families from house to house every night because theyre on a death list and the electricity is always going out. Imagine how difficult that would be. No One Left Behind is simply a terrific idea.

Soon after Shinwari, his wife Srozan, and their kids arrived stateside in October 2013, Shinwari landed a job as an immigration-services liaison with Virginia Rep. Jim Moran. When Moran recently retired, Shinwari started a new career as an accountant.

He and Zeller started No One Left Behind with the leftover funds Zeller had raised, helping their first translator, Ajmal Faqiri, once an interpreter in Afghanistan for former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in January 2014.

Janis and Matt helped me to get a car and they arranged to give us furniture, food, anything we needed, says Faqiri, how a volunteer with No One Left Behind.

They furnished my house completely, he says. It was amazing. I am so grateful.

Its the least they can do, says Shinwari.

Everybody comes with one suitcase and nothing else, he says.

There are thousands like me in Afghanistan, he says. These people are living in fear for years. After all theyve done for the United States, it is our duty to help them.