By Ramsey Judah
The U-Visa is a legal immigration process that comes from a law called the Violence Against Women Act, also known as VAWA, in the 1990s. It benefits immigrants who are victims of qualifying crimes in the United States and work with authorities to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes.
The list of qualifying crimes currently are following:
- Abduction
- Abusive Sexual Contact
- Blackmail
- Domestic Violence
- Extortion
- False Imprisonment
- Female Genital Mutilation
- Felonious Assault
- Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting
- Hostage
- Incest
- Involuntary Servitude
- Kidnapping
- Manslaughter
- Murder
- Obstruction of Justice
- Peonage
- Perjury
- Prostitution
- Rape
- Sexual Assault
- Sexual Exploitation
- Slave Trade
- Stalking
- Torture
- Trafficking
- Witness Tampering
- Unlawful Criminal Restraint
- Other Related Crimes*†
*Includes any similar activity where the elements of the crime are substantially similar.
†Also includes attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the above and other related crimes
The most important part of the of the U-Visa process is the certification form from the authorities that are either the arresting agency or the prosecuting agency. The form is known as I-918b. Without this form, it would be much more difficult to be able to obtain the U-Visa.
So, if you feel like you or someone you know may qualify for a U-Visa, have them inquire with the arresting agency or the prosecution agency about a U-Visa certification. They may have a department inside the agency that does the certification. But keep in mind, that the person applying for a U-Visa only has six months to send the U-Visa packet after the date of the signature of the certification.
It is vital to speak to an attorney in order to get the process going. The sooner the better because the USCIS only accepts 10,000 applicants a year and it could take anywhere between 4-7 years for it to be accepted.
Ramsey Judah is the founder of the Judah Law Group and can be reached at ramsey@JudahLawGroup.com.