Have you been the victim of a crime? Turn that unfortunate circumstance into a visa.

Have you ever been the victim of a crime?  Did you report it to the police?  Did you cooperate with an investigation or prosecution?  If so, you may be eligible for a U Visa.  This is a temporary visa, good for 4 years, and after the third year, you can apply for a green card (assuming you stayed out of trouble for those three years).  This visa was developed to encourage illegal immigrants to report crimes, where normally they would be wary of contacting the authorities.  It was also developed to help women who have been the victims of domestic violence, but could not take advantage of the immigration benefits under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) because they were either not married to their abuser, or their abuser also did not have legal status.  This visa is also a good option for some who would otherwise be ineligible even if a family member could apply for them.  For example, if your spouse could petition for you, but you had been previously deported, that deportation would not mean you couldn't apply for a U-Visa.  The same applies to if you over stayed your visa, or have been in the U.S. without permission - you can still apply for a U.  


In order to be eligible for the U Visa, you have to be a victim of a specific type of criminal activity, including: rape, torture, trafficking, incest, domestic violence, sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, prostitution, sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, hostage situations, peonage, false imprisonment, involuntary servitude, slave trade, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, blackmail, extortion, manslaughter, murder, felonious assault, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, perjury or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the above mentioned crimes.  Now while you may not have been the victim of one of the specific crimes above, it is important to seek legal advice about this because many times, the crime is not specifically listed, but can fall under one of the categories.  


The U Visa is basically a two step process, first you must get a certifying official to sign a certification form, attesting to your "helpfulness" in reporting the crime, or aiding in the investigation or prosecution.  This "official" is usually someone from the police/sheriff's department who handled your case, or a district attorney who prosecuted the case.  I should point out here that often times you report a crime and that's it - you aren't asked for any further information or to testify.  Simply reporting a crime is enough - it doesn't even have to result in prosecution.  However, if you report a crime and then go to the police and perhaps withdraw that report, or ask that the perpetrator not be prosecuted - that does not count as helpful.  It obviously helps if the crime occurred fairly recently, but in my experience, it is possible to get an official to sign off on older cases.  It often depends on how well the official understands the U Visa and the requirements. 


Once a certification is signed, you can file for the U-Visa with a waiver for any grounds of inadmissibility that may apply to you - e.g. overstaying a visa, or entering the country without permission.  The application and waiver (I-918 and I-192) are rather complicated and require detailed declarations about the crime and detailing why you and your family would suffer if your waiver was not approved.  Also, there are only 10,000 U-Visas issued each year - so the person helping you should be able to tell you whether that cap has been reached yet.  Often, if you have a good U Visa case, even if the cap has been reached, immigration will give you a type of deferred approval that gives you permission to remain in the U.S. until the new fiscal year when new U Visas can be issued.  

Often times, your family members also get a U Visa, even if only you were the victim of the crime.  You would be called the "principal" and your relative would be the "derivative".  The family member wouldn't have to meet all the requirements of the visa, but they would have to file a waiver if they are in any way inadmissible (e.g. over stayed or are here without permission).