Author: New York Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova
U VISA STATUS
A U visa status allows eligible individuals and dependents to acquire a lawful status in the US or to enter the US in a legal status if they were victims of specified crimes or criminal activity and suffered substantial physical or physiological abuse.
In order to qualify for a U status, an individual does not need to be in the US legally, or enter the US legally. What is needed, however, is a signed certification by the law enforcement stating that the beneficiary was helpful to the investigation and resolution of the crime. Without such a certification, one cannot apply for the U status.
One very strong positive of the U status, is that it allows its holder to apply for the permanent resident status after several years; also a U status holder is eligible for an employment authorization.
The list of criminal acts that qualify an individual for the U visa status includes: abduction, perjury, sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking, etc.
This list, however, is not a list of specific statutory violations, but instead a list of general categories of crime. The recent USCIS Memo on the issue one more time specifies that the list of the crimes is not exclusive, and USCIS should review each submission on a case by case basis to determine if the criminal activity is related to the specified crimes: if the nature and elements of the crime are substantially similar to the crimes listed, the criminal act suffered should be recognized as the qualifying one.
For example, in New York, there is no crime called “domestic violence.” Rather, there crimes, depending on the relationship between the victim and an offender which will be recognized as crimes of domestic violence.
Importantly, not only the applicant, but his family may qualify for the U visa. For example, If the main applicant is under 21 years of age at the time the principal properly filed the petition, qualifying family members include the main applicant’s spouse, children, unmarried siblings under 18 years of age (on the filing date of the principal’s petition), and parents. If the main applicant is 21 years of age or older, only the spouse and children are eligible for derivative status as qualifying family members.
Another important benefit of the U visa status is that the beneficiary can apply for a broad range of waivers while applying for and adjustment of status (green card). For example, if an ordinary applicant for adjustment of status will have an illegal entry or fraud activity on the way of the adjustment, a U visa applicant will be able to get a waiver for that obstacle.
An application for U visa / status may turn into a complicated process when the USCIS is questioning the criminal activity at issue or the level of the suffered harm. That is why it is recommended that the applicant uses help of a qualified attorney.