“Workers are afraid that by making their complaints public, they could end up on the radar screen of ICE or immigration, whether by putting their name on paper, or as a result of retaliation by their employer—especially in cases where the abuse includes making threats to immigration,” says Jonas. “If brave workers do come forward and report the abuse, and word gets around that there have been successful U visa applications, that can inspire additional workers to speak out.”

Jonas says employers have tried undermine those allegations by bringing their accusers’ immigration statuses into lawsuits. In 2013, after Koch Foods was sued by EEOC, the company served the agency with discovery requests for information about U visa applications, which it could then have used as evidence that the allegations of assault and extortion were made up solely to obtain non-immigrant status. A magistrate judge in Mississippi agreed, saying the poultry company had a “legitimate defense,” and after an appeal, so did a district court, saying that the visas were a “powerful motivation for making a false claim.”

If Koch discovered that its accusers had applied for U visas, then it would have learned that they were seeking, and thus did not have, legal work status. Because it’s illegal for companies to knowingly employ unauthorized workers, Koch could have been forced to fire those workers. It could have been held accountable for having hired them in the first place, and fined for that. And the discovery also could have given Koch legal cover to fire workers who’d been alleging abuse.

In an amicus brief, a group of over 90 immigration groups said that disclosing confidential information about U visa applications would have created a “chilling effect” on future victims. Ultimately, an appeals court agreed, and in March of 2018, blocked the discovery. Then, in August of the same year, Koch settled with EEOC, and without admitting to having broken any laws, entered into a consent decree that required the company to take measures to stop the abuse, including establishing a 24-hour hotline to report discrimination, and a $3.75 million settlement to a class of 142 workers, money that it’s still distributing.

Koch Foods

Court records from EEOC’s lawsuit suggest that many of the “aggrieved individuals” in the class sought nonimmigrant status in return for reporting the details of alleged crimes. Thronson says she assisted 14 such applicants, including Thelma, all of whom were either granted U visas, or placed on a waitlist that allowed them to seek legal work status. But because of a rapidly expanding backlog, immigration attorneys worry that the U visa will no longer be useful for crime victims like those at Koch Foods, and for law enforcement agencies like EEOC. The government grants only 10,000 U visas every year. Last year, it received almost 35,000 applications—many more thousands of applicants, Thronson says, because there are many more thousands of crimes.

When the program first went into effect in 2008, applications could be processed from start to finish in nine months, attorneys say. By the time Thelma applied for her U visa in 2014, adjudication had slowed down, and according to immigration records, she was placed on a waitlist after two years. Since then, the delay has grown. A recent USCIS data report indicates the agency has a backlog of almost 240,000 applications from crime victims and their families. The number of adjudicators, perhaps as low as 60, located in service centers in Vermont and Nebraska, aren’t keeping pace with the growing number of applications, and attorneys say that applicants now face a 10- to 15-year waiting period for a decision.

“My personal experience is that people are still applying, but the problem is, it’s not as effective,” says Thronson. “It’s basically your retirement plan now. You go and report a crime, and I’ll tell you, in about 14 or 15 years, you may be able to get a work permit.” What is the incentive to volunteer your immigration status to authorities when reporting a crime, she asks, if you can’t be guaranteed any protection?