The U Visa for Crime Victims

Who Qualifies

The U visa protects victims of certain crimes who have suffered substantial harm and are willing to assist law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution.

Victims of qualifying crimes — including domestic violence, assault, and trafficking — who have cooperated with police or prosecutors.

Law Enforcement Certification

A law enforcement agency or prosecutor must sign Form I-918B, confirming your cooperation with the investigation.

The Annual Cap

Only 10,000 U visas are issued each year, so many approved applicants wait on a lengthy backlog before receiving status.

While You Wait

Many applicants can receive deferred action and work authorization while their case waits in the queue.

U visa cases require sensitivity and careful documentation. We work closely with local law enforcement to build a strong certification request.

The Four Elements of a U Petition

A U petition, filed on Form I-918, has to establish four things.

You were the victim of qualifying criminal activity. The statute lists the categories, which include domestic violence, sexual assault, felonious assault, kidnapping and abduction, involuntary servitude and trafficking, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and a number of others. What matters is the nature of the criminal activity, not the label a particular state gave the charge, and attempt, conspiracy, and solicitation to commit those crimes can qualify.

You suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result. This is established through your own account together with medical records, counseling records, and statements from people who saw the effects.

You have information about the criminal activity. If you were under 16 or unable to provide information because of a disability, a parent, guardian, or next friend may possess the information on your behalf.

You have been helpful, are being helpful, or are likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution. The criminal activity must also have violated U.S. law or occurred in the United States or its territories.

The Certification Is the Gate

The certification on Form I-918 Supplement B is not optional and it is not something an attorney can supply. It must be signed by a certifying official at a certifying agency, confirming that you were a victim of qualifying criminal activity and that you have been, are being, or are likely to be helpful.

Certifying agencies are broader than most people expect. Police departments and prosecutors are the usual signers, but judges and certain other authorities that investigate or prosecute qualifying activity — including some labor and child protective agencies — may also certify.

Agencies are not required to sign, and their practices vary widely from one jurisdiction to the next. Some have a designated officer and a written policy; others have never been asked. Preparing a certification request well, with a clear summary of the case, the report numbers, and what cooperation actually occurred, makes a real difference.

A signed certification also has a shelf life for filing purposes, so a petition should be assembled and filed while it is current rather than held.

Cooperation does not require that anyone was arrested, prosecuted, or convicted. Cases that went nowhere still involved cooperation, and the question is what you did, not what the outcome was.

The Cap, the Wait, and What You Get in the Meantime

Only 10,000 U visas may be granted to principal petitioners each fiscal year, and demand has exceeded that number for a long time. The result is a backlog measured in years.

Petitions that USCIS determines to be approvable but for the cap are placed on a waiting list, and petitioners on that list may be granted deferred action and become eligible for employment authorization while they wait.

USCIS also conducts an earlier review known as a bona fide determination. A petitioner whose petition is found bona fide, and who merits a favorable exercise of discretion, may receive employment authorization and deferred action well before the petition itself is adjudicated. For many petitioners this is the practical milestone that changes daily life, and it arrives long before status does.

None of this is instantaneous, and none of it is guaranteed. What it means is that a well-prepared petition can produce meaningful stability years before it produces a visa.

Family Members

Qualifying family members may be included on Form I-918 Supplement A, and, as with the T visa, who qualifies depends on the principal petitioner's age.

A petitioner under 21 may generally include a spouse, children, parents, and unmarried siblings under 18. A petitioner 21 or older may generally include a spouse and children.

Derivatives can be included with the principal petition or added later. Family members abroad are processed through a consulate once approved.

Because relationships and ages are assessed at specific points, and because the wait in this category is long, tell us about your whole family at the outset. A child who is 17 when you file may not be 17 when the case is reached.

From U Status to a Green Card

A U nonimmigrant may generally apply to adjust status to permanent residence after three years of continuous physical presence in the United States in U status.

The adjustment application is its own case, with its own requirements — including that you have not unreasonably refused to provide assistance to law enforcement since being granted status. Continued cooperation matters after approval, not only before it.

Absences from the United States can interrupt continuous physical presence, and travel while a U petition is pending raises separate and serious issues, particularly for anyone who entered without inspection. Do not leave the country on the assumption that a pending petition protects you.

Certain family members who never held derivative status may also be eligible for a benefit at this stage in narrow circumstances. Raise your family situation again when you reach the adjustment stage, even if you raised it at the start.

Who This Guide Is Not For

If your situation involves human trafficking specifically, the T visa may be a better fit and it does not require a signed law enforcement certification. See that guide.

If the person who harmed you is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse, parent, or adult child, a VAWA self-petition may be available, and it does not require any law enforcement involvement at all. See that guide.

If your fear is of persecution in your home country rather than harm that occurred here, see the affirmative asylum guide.

And if you have already been placed in removal proceedings, note that our firm handles affirmative filings only. A U petition can be relevant in that setting, but the proceedings themselves require a removal defense attorney.