Due to a growing backlog in applications for U visas — which give temporary legal status to crime victims — the federal government has made changes that allow approved applicants to await issuance of their visas in the U.S. rather than in their home country.

The U visa was created in 2000 by Congress as part of an update to the Violence Against Women Act. It allows victims of serious crimes to obtain four-year visas to stay in the United States so that they can feel safe going to law enforcement about the crime and can help law enforcement investigate and prosecute. Those who receive U-visas are eligible to apply for green cards after three years.

The cap on U visas is 10,000 per year, and demand has exceeded that, creating a backlog of 78,066 people who have been approved for a visa and have not received it.

León Rodríguez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, announced a policy shift in August that would begin in October allowing those on the wait list to come to the U.S. while they wait.


“USCIS recognizes that the U visa provides lawful immigration status to a vulnerable population, and USCIS believes that this population will be better served through an established and streamlined process to request” entry to the U.S., Rodríguez said in a letter announcing the change.

In 2015, just over 30,000 victims applied for U-visas, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The annual cap set by Congress is 10,000.

While close to 3,000 of those applications were denied, the rest were added to the growing wait-list for U-visas. By June of 2016, 78,066 victims were waiting for visas.

Victims may bring qualifying family members with them on the visa. Family members do not count toward the Congress-mandated cap.


The qualifying crimes for a U visa include abduction, sexual assault, slave trade, stalking, trafficking and unlawful criminal restraint and any charge of attempting these crimes. To qualify, applicants must have suffered physical or mental abuse in being the victim of the alleged crime.

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate