U Visas For Crime Victims

For the purpose of U visa eligibility, there is a large list of “qualifying criminal activities.” Similar crimes may also be seen as qualifying criminal activity. The general categories include the following:

• Abduction | Holding someone hostage | False Imprisonment | Kidnapping
• Abusive Sexual Contact | Incest | Sexual Assault | Sexual exploitation | Sex Trafficking | Prostitution | Rape
• Blackmail
• Conspiracy
• Domestic Violence
• Felonious Assault | Torture
• Female Genital Mutilation
• Fraud in Foreign Labor Contracting
• Involuntary Servitude | Peonage | Slave Trade | Trafficking
• Manslaughter | Murder
• Obstruction of Justice
• Perjury
• Stalking | Torture
• Witness Tampering

Form I-918 – Supplement B, U Nonimmigrant Status Certification can be certified by many people involved with the legal system. In fact, any federal, state, or local law enforcement authority, prosecuting attorney, or judge can sign this supplemental form to help you get a U visa if you are a victim of a qualifying crime.

Any official who has responsibility for the detecting, investigating, prosecuting, convicting, or sentencing the qualifying criminal activity can fill out and sign Form I-918 – Supplement B. Supervisors and certain other officials within Child Protective Services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Department of Labor can also complete the certification.

The signing of the certification itself doesn’t grant you a U visa, but it is needed to get a U visa. USCIS still must review the evidence to determine whether to grant you your U visa. USCIS will also do a background check on you and your family members. If you are a crime victim, it’s important for you to consult with a qualified immigration attorney before seeking a U visa.

No, if your I-918 is approved and USCIS requires that you go through biometric services, as a U visa applicant, you don’t have to pay the fee for them.

If you are in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Texas, Washington, or Wyoming, send your form to one of the following addresses:

U.S. Postal Service (USPS):

USCIS Nebraska Service Center
Attn: I-918
PO Box 87918
Lincoln, NE 68501-7918

FedEx, UPS, and DHL deliveries:

USCIS Nebraska Service Center
Attn: I-918
850 S Street
Lincoln, NE 68508

If you are in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Guam, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia U.S. Virgin Islands, West Virginia, or Wisconsin, or if you are outside the United States, send your form to the following address:

USCIS Vermont Service Center
Attn: I-918
38 River Rd.
Essex Junction, VT 05479-0001

If you are considered the principal U nonimmigrant, in other words, if you were the victim of the crime and are the petitioner, you will become authorized to work once USCIS has approved your U nonimmigrant status. This happens automatically and you don’t have to do anything extra. Importantly, USCIS will automatically issue an Employment Authorization Document if they approve your petition. That means there is no reason to bother filing a separate Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization.

If your family members who’ve applied for a derivative U status are already in the US, they become authorized to work as soon as USCIS approves their derivative petition for U nonimmigrant status. One important difference though is that your family members will not automatically get an EAD. They will still have to file Form I-765 to request the document.