What is the U-Visa?

The U-Visa is a form of immigration relief for victims of certain criminal activities and is implemented as a tool to aid law enforcement in identifying perpetrators and aiding victims. The U-Visa grants a temporary 4 year stay for holders with some holders eventually qualifying for lawful permanent residency.

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issues 10,000 U-visas annually, which has created a substantial backlog of visa petitions. The main objective of the visa is to encourage undocumented victims of crimes to assist law enforcement in their investigation and prosecution crimes without the fear of deportation.

The U-Visa grants a temporary 4 year stay.  Not all visa holders will qualify for lawful permanent residence (Green Card); U-visa holders who are applying for lawful permanent residency must show:

• They have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least 3 years since the first date of admission as a U nonimmigrant and continue to hold that status at the time of application for adjustment of status.

• They have not unreasonably refused to provide assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution

• They are not inadmissible under section 212(a)(3)(E) of the Immigration Nationality Act

• They establish their presence in the United States is justified on humanitarian grounds, to ensure family unity or is in the public interest

Only 10,000 U-Visas are granted annually.  There is a large backlog of petitions, due to the Congressional cap of 10,000 visas per year.  Applicants can receive conditional approval, where they receive work authorization while they wait for an available U-Visa.

How do I know if I am eligible for the U-Visa?

An applicant for the U-visa must submit a certification form (Form I-918 Supplement B) signed by a designated law enforcement officer, judge, or prosecutor. This certification certifies that the applicant is a victim of a qualifying criminal activity, and has been, is being, or is likely to be helpful in the detection, investigation, prosecution, conviction or sentencing of the criminal activity.

1.      Qualifying Criminal Activity

In order to be eligible for the U-Visa, you must have been a victim of a qualifying criminal activity, Qualifying criminal activities include:

• Abduction

• Abusive Sexual Conduct

• Blackmail

• Domestic Violence

• Extortion

• False Imprisonment

• Female Genital Mutilation

• Felonious Assault

• Fraud in foreign Labor Contracting

• Hostage

• Incest

• Involuntary Servitude

• Kidnapping

• Manslaughter

• Murder

• Obstruction of Justice

• Peonage

• Perjury

• Prostitution

• Rape

• Sexual Assault

• Sexual Exploitation

• Slave Trade

• Stalking

• Torture

• Trafficking

• Witness Tampering

• Unlawful Criminal Restraint

An applicant can be either a direct or an indirect victim in order to be eligible. A direct victim is an individual who experienced substantial physical or mental harm as a result of the qualifying criminal activity. An indirect victim can be certain family members of direct victims where the direct victim is either deceased due to manslaughter or murder, or is incompetent or incapacitated and therefore not able to give information concerning the qualifying criminal activity (i.e. the parent of a child who was the victim of a qualifying criminal activity).

If the principal U visa petitioner is under 21, qualifying relatives may include a spouse, children, parents, and unmarried siblings under 18. If the principal petitioner is 21 or older, qualifying relatives generally include a spouse and children. Age calculations and family relationship requirements should be checked against the official Form I-918 instructions; eligibility is not automatic simply because a family relationship exists.

2.      Helpfulness

The applicant must show that they have been helpful, are being helpful, or are likely to be helpful in the future to law enforcement in the reporting, investigation or prosecution of the crime. The applicant must possess information about the crime and

3.      Proof of Harm

The applicant needs to have suffered mental or physical harm as a result of the qualifying criminal activity.

What are the Benefits of the U-Visa?

The U-visa grants recipient’s lawful temporary status in the United States for 4 years and work authorization. A U-visa may be extended if certified by law enforcement if it is required for the U-visa holder’s continued assistance in the investigation or prosecution; or due to exceptional circumstances. In addition, some U-visa holders will qualify for Lawful Permanent Residence status (Green Card) and eventual citizenship. A U-visa holder can apply for a Green Card if the holder has:

• Maintained continuous presence in the U.S. for 3 years;

• Complied with reasonable requests to cooperate in investigation or prosecution;

• Good moral character; and

• Is admissible or qualifies for a waiver of inadmissibility

Being granted a U-visa also grants limited access to public benefits to the recipient. Which benefits that are available to a U-visa recipient is dependent on the state in which the recipient lives. In Maryland, the following benefits may be available to a recipient:

• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)

• Post-Assault Healthcare for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault

• In-state tuition rates

• TANF funded childcare

U-visa holders also have access to services not considered public benefits that are open to all immigrants. These include: Life and Safety Services, Transitional Housing, Emergency Medicaid, Healthcare from HHS-funded Community Clinics and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

What are the Limitations of the U-Visa?

The U-visa has been capped at 10,000 a year, a current backlog at DHS in issuing visas to individuals who have had their applications approved. An individual who has been approved for the U-visa can still receive work authorization while they wait for their U-visa to be issued.

U visa holders are not “qualified immigrants” and are thus not eligible to receive federal public benefits or federal means-tested public benefits. This includes: FAFSA, Public and Assisted Housing, Food Stamps, Medicaid

How do I apply for the U-Visa?

In order to apply for a U-Visa, the victim of the qualifying crime must submit the following:

1. Form I-918: Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status 

2. Form I-918, Supplement B, U Nonimmigrant Status Certification, which must be signed by an authorized official of the certifying law enforcement agency confirming that the applicant was helpful, is currently being helpful, or will likely be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the case in the future. 

3. If any inadmissibility issues are present, the applicant must file a Form I-192, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as Nonimmigrant, to request a waiver of the inadmissibility;

4. A personal statement describing the criminal activity of which the applicant was a victim; and

5. Evidence to establish each eligibility requirement.

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Coordinating related legal issues

Where violence, coercion or serious harm is involved, clarify the events, dates and available evidence first. Crime-victim immigration options and asylum claims rest on different grounds. For a U-related filing, consult the USCIS Form I-918 instructions. A history of harm alone does not establish eligibility under a particular immigration category.

For a young person, examine safety, caregiving arrangements and the decisions a court has authority to make. An SIJS assessment may need coordination with custody, guardianship or family-court proceedings. Compare the relevant court documents with the USCIS Form I-360 instructions. A state-court order and federal immigration approval are not the same outcome.

Protection-related applications require a chronology consistent with the original evidence. Asylum facts and supporting records should be checked against earlier entry and filing histories. The USCIS Form I-589 instructions help identify filing requirements and procedural routes. Translations, supplements and corrections should be explained clearly rather than changing events merely to make the narrative appear uniform.

Safety arrangements, criminal allegations and child-related issues require separate attention during a family conflict. A domestic-violence-related case does not replace applications or orders in family court. Keep all court documents and use the Massachusetts family-court resources to identify the proceedings involved. In an immediate emergency, seek emergency assistance rather than waiting for a website inquiry to be answered.

A noncitizen facing criminal issues also needs a separate immigration review. Immigration classifications such as aggravated felonies cannot be determined solely from a state offense label. Current status and future applications require consideration of the disposition and complete record. The USCIS green-card category information helps identify the application context, without resolving the consequences of a particular criminal history.

Organize the chronology, recordings and witness information by source. Criminal-case evidence preparation may overlap factually with a civil dispute arising from the same event, but the disclosure rules differ. For the criminal case, review the Massachusetts rule on prosecution discovery before deciding how materials should be requested or used.

School records may affect an appeal, evidence preparation or a later application. Access to and use of education records raises authorization and privacy questions; use in an outside dispute or lawsuit also requires attention to completeness. The Department of Education’s FERPA resources help identify the governing issues. Obtaining a document should not be confused with having unrestricted permission to disclose it.

Begin immigration planning by identifying the application basis and distinguishing petition approval, visa issuance and admission. Permanent-residence eligibility requires a review of the full history, while overall status planning should account for dependents and existing proceedings. Use the USCIS green-card categories to identify the relevant route rather than applying one category’s requirements to another.

Organize identity documents, previous applications and official notices chronologically. Reviewing the filing and status history can reveal inconsistent descriptions; the applicable eligibility category determines which facts need proof. The USCIS green-card application overview provides a starting point, followed by the current instructions for the relevant forms and procedure.