U-Visa Petitions
If you were the victim of a crime, you may be eligible for status.
The U nonimmigrant visa was created to encourage cooperation between immigrant crime victims and law enforcement. For someone who has suffered serious harm as the victim of a qualifying crime and has been helpful to the investigation or prosecution, it offers a path to lawful status, work authorization, and eventually permanent residency. The visa is severely backlogged, but recent agency policy has made meaningful interim relief available far sooner than the principal visa itself, and that has changed the practical value of these cases significantly.
Who qualifies — the elements of a U-visa case
To qualify for a U visa, an applicant must have been the victim of a qualifying crime, must have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result, must possess credible information about the crime, and must have been helpful, currently be helpful, or be likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution. The list of qualifying crimes is statutory and includes domestic violence, sexual assault, kidnapping, trafficking, felonious assault, and a number of other offenses, including any attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit a qualifying crime.
Each element of the case has its own evidentiary requirements. The qualifying crime must be documented through police reports, court records, or other official documentation. The substantial harm must be supported by medical records, mental health evaluations, and the applicant's personal account. The helpfulness must be confirmed by a law enforcement certification — Form I-918 Supplement B — signed by an authorized official of an agency with investigative or prosecutorial responsibility for the crime. Each of these is a place where cases succeed or fail.
The certification — the linchpin of every U-visa case
Without a signed I-918B, a U-visa case cannot move forward. The certification is requested from a law enforcement agency — most often the police department that investigated the crime, the State's Attorney's Office that prosecuted it, or the Sheriff's Office. Many agencies have written policies governing how they evaluate certification requests, and many of those policies impose conditions or thresholds that go beyond what the federal regulations require.
We approach certification requests as advocacy, not as paperwork. We assemble the complete factual record — the police reports, the court documentation, the prosecutor's files, the applicant's own account — and we present it to the certifying agency with a written explanation of how the federal standards are met. Where an agency initially declines to certify, we request reconsideration with additional documentation, and we work with community partners and elected officials where appropriate. Many of our successful U-visa cases involved certifications that were initially denied and ultimately granted after careful, persistent work.
The principal petition and the bona fide determination
Once the certification is in hand, the principal petition is filed with USCIS along with the personal statement, supporting evidence, and any waivers required for grounds of inadmissibility. The petition itself enters a queue that is currently several years long, because the statutory cap of ten thousand U visas per fiscal year is insufficient to meet demand.
In 2021, USCIS implemented a bona fide determination process that allows applicants whose petitions appear bona fide on initial review to receive deferred action and employment authorization while waiting for a final decision on the principal petition. That interim relief — work permits, protection from removal, and the ability to live openly while the case is pending — has transformed the practical value of U-visa filings. We position every petition we file to maximize the likelihood of an early bona fide determination.
Derivatives — protecting the family
U-visa principal applicants can include qualifying family members as derivatives. Spouses and unmarried children under twenty-one are eligible regardless of the principal applicant's age. Parents and unmarried siblings under eighteen may be eligible if the principal applicant was under twenty-one at the time of the crime. Derivative status follows the principal — work authorization, deferred action, and ultimately U status are all available to the derivatives.
We evaluate every U-visa case for derivative eligibility from the outset, because the derivative analysis often affects the strategy of the principal case. Where derivatives are abroad, we coordinate the consular process. Where they are in the United States, we file the derivative petitions concurrently. The goal is always to bring the entire family safely into status, not just the principal applicant.
U-visa principal applicants can include qualifying family members as derivatives. Spouses and unmarried children under twenty-one are eligible regardless of the principal applicant's age. Parents and unmarried siblings under eighteen may be eligible if the principal applicant was under twenty-one at the time of the crime. Derivative status follows the principal — work authorization, deferred action, and ultimately U status are all available to the derivatives.
— Law Offices of Scott Gordon, PC
Inadmissibility, criminal history, and the I-192 waiver
Many U-visa applicants have grounds of inadmissibility — prior immigration violations, criminal history, or both — that would otherwise prevent them from receiving status. Fortunately, the U-visa context allows for an I-192 waiver of inadmissibility on a wide range of grounds, including some that are not waivable in other contexts. The waiver is granted as a matter of discretion, on the basis of the applicant's equities and the public-interest considerations that justified the U-visa program in the first place.
We prepare I-192 waivers carefully, with a complete record of equities, evidence of rehabilitation where applicable, and legal argument addressing each ground of inadmissibility. The waiver is often the difference between an approval and a denial, and the work that goes into it is substantial. We do not file U-visa cases without a thorough inadmissibility analysis, and we do not file waivers that are not built to win.
From U status to permanent residency to citizenship
Once the U visa is granted, the applicant has lawful nonimmigrant status for an initial period of four years, with employment authorization. After three years in U status, the applicant can apply to adjust to lawful permanent residency under section 245(m) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Five years after becoming a permanent resident, naturalization becomes available.
We walk every U-visa client through that long arc — from the initial certification, through the principal petition, the bona fide determination, the eventual approval, and the path to a green card and citizenship. The work is long, but the destination is real. Our office has guided many U-visa families from the day after a traumatic crime through the day they took the oath of citizenship, and that arc is one of the most meaningful parts of our practice.
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