10,000 U visas approved

The Los Angeles Times reports that USCIS has reached the 10,000 cap on U visas for the first time since it began implementing them in 2008. U visas provide a path to citizenship for nonimmigrant victims of certain specified major crimes.

The first eligibility requirement for U nonimmigrant status is that the alien must have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of one of the crimes considered by USCIS to be "qualifying."

The second requirement is that the crime must be on a list of activities that violate Federal, State, or local criminal law – from murder, rape, torture, sexual exploitation, and extortion to witness tampering, obstruction of justice, false imprisonment, etc. This is not an exclusive list – in fact, the list of qualifying crimes represents the myriad types of behavior that can constitute domestic violence, sexual abuse, trafficking, or other crimes which vulnerable immigrants are often targeted.

Third, the petitioners must obtain certification from law enforcement that they have cooperated with the authorities to identify and prosecute the criminals who targeted them.

Before U visas were available, I remember certain clients with horrific circumtsances who would have greatly benefited from this type of visa. Just to give one example, without revealing too much of course, one case involved a woman who was trafficked into the country as a child, repeatedly raped, beaten, and kept under locks, before she was able to escape. She did seek out law enforcement and a restraining order was granted against her abuser though I am not sure if he was ever caught and/or prosecuted. The woman fortunately was able to adjust her status to a lawful permanent resident through other means, although it took years and a full on court case before an Immigration Judge to obtain relief. The fact that the cap was already reached for U visas this year confirms that stories like hers are, unfortunately, all too common.

The Los Angeles Times article can be found here. More information on U visas can be found on the USCIS official website.