U Nonimmigrant Visa Application by Alexa Rodriguez: U Nonimmigrant Eligibility

While there is no filing fee for the U Visa application there may potentially be fees for some of the corresponding applications that may need to be submitted with the U Visa application.

In the event that there is any fee, petitioners for U nonimmigrant status are entitled to request a fee waiver of any form associated with the filing for the U nonimmigrant status. Please use form I-912 for fee waiver requests. 

There is no requirement that an applicant be physically present in the United States to qualify for U visa status.  

What is required is that the criminal activity that you were a victim of must have

• violated U.S. law; or

• occurred in the U.S. (including Indian country and military installations) or the territories and possessions of the U.S.      INA § 101(a)(15)(U)(i)(IV)

• violated a U.S. federal law but the law allows for the criminal to be prosecuted in U.S. federal court (known as "extraterritorial jurisdiction").                      8 CFR § 214.14(b)(4)

If your U visa status application is approved while you are abroad or if it was approved while you were in the United States. and then you left the United States:

• you will need to apply for an actual U visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy to enter the U.S.  

Below is a list of the requirments that must be met in order for an applicantr to potentially qualify for a U-Visa:

• You are the victim of a qualifying criminal activity;
• You have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of criminal activity.
• You have information about the criminal activity. Please note that if you are under the age of 16 or unable to provide information due to disability, a parent, guardian or next frien may posses the information about the crime on your behalf.
• You were helpful, are helpful, or are likely to be helpful to law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. Please note that if you are under the age of 16 or unable to provide information due to disability, a parent, guardian or next friend may assit law enfrocement on your behalf. 
• The crime occured in the United States or violated United States laws.
• You are admissible to the United States. If you are not admissible you may apply for a waiver. 

8 C.F.R. §214.14(c)(2)(ii)

A requirement to obtaining U visa status is that you are not in violation of the immigration law's  "inadmissibility" grounds. If you fall into any of the categories listed as grounds of inadmissibility you must file a waiver asking that the violation(s) be excused.  INA § 212

• Some of the inadmissibility grounds include:  (please review the INA for the full list) 
• unlawful presence (being in the U.S. without permission and then leaving the U.S.);
• certain crimes;
• entering the U.S. without permission;
• having lied to immigration

• Additionally a grant of the waiver will cancel any existing removal order. 

Inadmissibility will not be waived for: INA §212(a)(3)(E)

• Nazis;
• Genocide;
• or torture or extrajudicial killings

Please Note : That a fee waiver may be used to waive the cost of the application.

The applicant must have information of a criminal activity in which he or she has been a direct or indirect victim of.

• It must be established that the criminal activity either violated the laws of the United States or occurred within the territory of the United States.  The U Visa is available to victim(s) of a qualifying criminal activity listed below or a substantially similar criminal activity. 8 USC §1101 (a)(15)(u)(iii)

• Similar activity refers to criminal offenses in which the "nature and elements of the offenses are substantially similar to the statutorily enumerated list of criminal activities."  8 C.F.R.  §214.14 (a)(9)

Applicant must have suffered "substantial physical or mental abuse" as a result of being the victim of one or more of the qualifying criminal activities listed  (or similar activities) that violate federal, state, or local criminal law.

Physical or Mental Abuse 

• Physical or Mental abuse means injury or harm to the victim's physical person, or harm to or impairment of the emotional or psychological soundness of the victim 8 C.F.R.  §214.14(a)(8)  

Substantial mental and/or physical abuse

• In addition, whether the abuse you suffered is “substantial” depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to: 
• the nature of the injury you suffered;
• the severity of the abuser’s conduct;
• the severity of the harm you suffered;
• for how long you suffered the harm; and
•  the extent to which there is permanent or serious harm to your appearance, health, or physical or mental health, including if a pre-existing condition was made worse.
• No single factor is required to show that the harm you suffered was substantial.  8 C.F.R.  §214.14(b)(1)  

Documentation to prove substantial physical and/or mental abuse 

•  Documentation may include but is not limited to:
•  the applicant’s declaration
•  the declarations of witnesses to the abuse
• reports and affidavits from police, judges, other court official, school officials, clergy, social workers
• medical reports
•  evidence of appointments with counselors; and
•  photographs showing the abuse

Direct victims 

• A direct victim is a person who has suffered from direct and proximate harm as a result of the commison of a qualyfing criminal activity. 

8 CFR § 214.14(a)(14)

Indirect Victims

• Certain relatives of direct victims are known as indirect victims when the direct victim is:
• dead due to murder or manslaughter; or
• incompetent or incapacitated and cannot provide information about the crime or be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.
• The relatives that may qualify as "indirect victims" include:
• the direct victim’s spouse; and
• the direct victim’s unmarried children under 21 years old. 
• If the direct victim is under 21 years old, his/her parents and minor siblings (under 18 years old) may also be considered indirect victims. 
• Also if your U.S. citizen child is the victim, and you are undocumented, you may be able to apply for a U visa as an indirect victim.  

8 CFR § 214.14(a)(14)

I-918(b): Law Enforcement Certification 

• Applicant must provide a certification from a law enforcement authority that states that you have been helpful, are being helpful, or are likely to be helpful to the authorities investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity (or if you are under 16 years old, that your parent, guardian, or “next friend" has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful.

• Next of friend means a person who appears in a lawsuit to act for the benefit of an alien under the age of 16 or incapacitated or incompetent, who has suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of being a victim of qualifying criminal activity. The next friend is not a party to the legal proceeding and is not appointed as a guardian.  8 CFR §214.14(a)(7)

• The certification must be signed by a certifying official within the six months immediately preceding the filing of Form I-918. 8 CFR §214.14 (14)(c)(2)(i) 

Certifying official:

• (i) The head of the certifying agency, or any person(s) in a supervisory role who has been specifically designated by the head of the certifying agency to issue U nonimmigrant status certifications on behalf of that agency; or

• (ii) A federal, State or Local Judge

       8 CFR § 214.14 (a)(3)(i)(ii) 

Documentation of criminal activity 

• Documentation regarding the criminal activity should include in your application:
•  U Visa  I-918 Supplement B Certification Form  
• police report of the crime,
• a restraining order and/or related documents