U Visa for Crime Victims · Form I-918
A U visa case begins with the crime, not with your immigration status.
Representation for victims of qualifying crimes seeking U nonimmigrant status: the certification request, the Form I-918 petition, the waiver, family members, the work permit during the wait, and the green card that can follow. Scope and fees are set in writing for each stage after review.
Reporting a crime is not the same as the certification. The U visa requires a separate form, Supplement B, signed by an authorized official, and federal law does not require any agency to sign it. Talking with a lawyer first is confidential and reports nothing to police or immigration.
Eligibility · Four requirements
Four requirements decide eligibility, and USCIS weighs each one.
USCIS must find each requirement by a preponderance of the evidence, then decide whether any ground of inadmissibility can be waived. Your immigration status at the time of the crime does not matter, and the person who committed it does not need to be a relative. Paths built on family abuse or trafficking are compared on our humanitarian relief page.
A victim of qualifying criminal activity
The crime must be one of the 28 categories Congress listed, an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit one, or a similar offense with substantially similar elements. Certain family members may qualify as indirect victims when the direct victim died as a result of murder or manslaughter, or is incompetent or incapacitated.
Substantial physical or mental abuse
USCIS looks at the nature of the injury, the severity of the conduct, how long the harm lasted, and any lasting effect on health or well-being. Mental harm alone can be enough, and a series of acts can qualify together even when no single act would.
Information, and help to the investigation
You must know details about the crime and have been, be, or be likely to be helpful to the agency investigating or prosecuting it, without refusing reasonable requests since cooperation began. A parent, guardian, or next friend may do this for a victim under 16 or one who is incapacitated.
A crime in the United States, or under U.S. law
The crime must have occurred in the United States, including Indian country and military installations, or violated a U.S. federal law that reaches conduct abroad.
Then comes admissibility. Most petitioners also need a waiver for how they entered, for time without status, or for past records. That waiver is filed with the petition, and it is discretionary.
Qualifying crimes · Helpfulness
The crime has to be on the list. The help does not have to end in a conviction.
Congress listed 28 categories of criminal activity, plus attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation, and any similar activity whose elements are substantially similar. The name of the state charge does not decide it; the elements and the facts in the record do. Our full qualifying-crimes guide explains how USCIS compares them.
28 categories, grouped by harm
- Sexual and gender-based violence: rape, sexual assault, abusive sexual contact, incest, sexual exploitation, prostitution, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, and stalking.
- Violence against the person: murder, manslaughter, felonious assault, and torture.
- Trafficking and restraint: trafficking, peonage, involuntary servitude, slave trade, being held hostage, kidnapping, abduction, unlawful criminal restraint, and false imprisonment.
- Coercion and exploitation: blackmail, extortion, and fraud in foreign labor contracting.
- Crimes against the justice system: witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and perjury.
- Also covered: attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of these, and similar activity with substantially similar elements.
What shows you helped, or will
- The first contact: a 911 call, a report taken at the scene, or a statement at the police station, with the date and the report number.
- Statements and identifications: interviews, written or recorded statements, and identifying the person responsible.
- Court participation: appearing at a preliminary hearing or trial, or staying available to testify even if you were never called.
- Protection orders and related cases: information or testimony given in a protection-from-abuse (PFA) case or another proceeding connected to the crime, where the judge may be able to certify.
- Agency investigations: information given to child protective services, the Department of Labor, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), or another agency with investigative authority.
- Continued availability: answering later reasonable requests. Helpfulness is an ongoing duty, not a single act.
A Pennsylvania detail that decides cases: simple assault is a misdemeanor here, so a docket showing only simple assault usually will not establish felonious assault by itself. The injuries, a weapon, or the relationship may still fit aggravated assault, domestic violence, or another category, which is why the police report and medical records matter before the certification is requested.
Form I-918, Supplement B
The certification is required, discretionary, and time-sensitive.
No U visa petition can be filed without a Supplement B signed by a certifying official. It confirms your helpfulness and describes the crime; it does not decide the case, and USCIS gives it the weight it finds appropriate. Our Pennsylvania certification guide walks through the request.
Six months, counted back from filing. Supplement B must be signed within the six months before Form I-918 is filed. Once the petition is filed on time, the signature does not have to be renewed while the case waits, so the rest of the petition should be ready before the signature is requested.
- Who can sign. Police departments, prosecutors, federal, state, or local judges, and agencies with investigative authority such as child protective services, the EEOC, and the Department of Labor. The signer must be the agency head, a supervisor the head has specifically designated, or a judge.
- Federal law requires no one to sign. The certification is mandatory for the petitioner and optional for the agency. Pennsylvania has no statute setting a duty or a deadline to respond, and there is no appeal from a refusal.
- How we ask in the Lehigh Valley. We have found no published certification policy or request form for the main area police departments and district attorneys, so the first step is identifying the designated official, then sending a written request built from the agency's own records: report number, dates, and what you did to help.
- Old and closed cases can qualify. There is no deadline measured from the date of the crime, and no arrest, charge, or conviction is required. An unsolved case, a declined prosecution, or an old guilty plea can each support a certification if you were helpful.
- If the answer is no, or nothing. Ask the designated official again in writing, or ask another agency that handled the same crime: the district attorney, a judge, or a county agency. If no one will certify, a VAWA self-petition or a T visa may fit instead; see humanitarian relief.
- A certification can be withdrawn. If the agency withdraws it, USCIS may end the work permit and deferred action or deny the petition, so later reasonable requests from investigators still matter.
The stages
The wait comes in stages, and protection can arrive before the visa does.
Congress capped U status at 10,000 principal grants a fiscal year, and USCIS has reached the cap every year since fiscal year 2010, so the full process takes years. What changes along the way is what you hold: a receipt, then possibly a work permit and deferred action, then U status, then a green card. USCIS publishes current processing times; we check them for your filing rather than quote a number here.
- 01
Certification
The signed Supplement B comes first, requested once the rest of the petition is nearly ready so the six-month window is not wasted.
- 02
Filing the petition
Form I-918 with the certification, a personal statement, evidence of the abuse and the help given, Form I-192 if a waiver is needed, Supplement A for family members, and Form I-765 so a work permit can issue without delay. USCIS has sole jurisdiction, even for people in immigration court.
- 03
Bona fide determination
For petitioners living in the United States, USCIS checks that the petition is complete, the certification and statement are in order, and background checks are back, then decides as a matter of discretion whether to grant deferred action and a four-year work permit. Family members are reviewed only after the principal.
- 04
Waiting list, if needed
If USCIS does not grant a bona fide work permit, that is not a denial. It reviews the whole case, often with a request for evidence, for placement on the waiting list, which also brings deferred action, eligibility for a work permit, and no accrual of unlawful presence.
- 05
A cap number and a final review
Each fiscal year, USCIS draws from bona fide and waiting-list cases together, oldest filing first. It reviews eligibility again and updates background checks before approving, so new arrests or a withdrawn certification can still change the result.
- 06
Four years of U status
U status lasts up to four years. Principals in the United States are authorized to work and receive a work permit automatically, and family members hold status tied to the principal's. Extensions exist only in limited situations, and filing for the green card extends status while it is pending.
- 07
Green card under INA § 245(m)
After three years of continuous physical presence in U status, you may apply for permanent residence while the status is still valid. Time with a bona fide work permit or on the waiting list does not count toward the three years, and long trips abroad can break the clock.
Waiver · Family members
The waiver and the family are built with the petition, not after it.
Nearly every U petitioner is inadmissible on some ground, usually for how they entered or for time without status. Form I-192 asks USCIS to waive it. Family members are added with Form I-918, Supplement A, and they do not need to prove the crime or the harm themselves.
Why nearly every case needs one
Entry without inspection, overstays, prior removals, misrepresentation, and criminal records are all grounds of inadmissibility. Under INA § 212(d)(14), USCIS may waive almost any of them for a U petitioner when it finds a waiver in the public or national interest.
Broader than any family-based waiver
The U waiver can reach grounds other paths cannot, including returning after a removal. The one ground it cannot waive covers participation in Nazi persecution, genocide, torture, or extrajudicial killing.
Granted in discretion, not by right
USCIS weighs the number and severity of any offenses, and for violent or dangerous crimes it grants a waiver only in extraordinary circumstances. A denied waiver cannot be appealed but can be refiled, so the first one should be complete.
Spouse and children
A principal of any age may include a spouse and unmarried children under 21. Family members are not counted against the annual cap, and a child who turns 21 while the parent's petition is pending generally keeps eligibility.
Parents and siblings under 18
When the principal is under 21 at filing, parents and unmarried siblings under 18 may also be included, and a principal who turns 21 while the petition is pending keeps that treatment. A relative who committed the crime in a family-violence or trafficking case cannot be included.
Family members can be added later
Supplement A may be filed with the petition, while it is pending, or after approval while the principal still holds U status; relatives abroad can process through a consulate, unless current presidential entry restrictions block visas for their nationality. A spouse, a child, or, for a principal under 21, a parent who never held U status may later qualify through Form I-929, filed with or after the principal's green card application.
Plan the family and the timeline together. Derivative status generally ends with the principal's initial period, and a relative who has not received U status by the time the principal becomes a permanent resident loses the derivative route. A spouse, a child, or the parent of a principal under 21 may still use Form I-929; a sibling cannot. We map ages, locations, and dates at the start.
Confidentiality · Safety
Confidentiality is built into the U visa, with limits you should know.
Congress wrote special confidentiality protections for U visa petitioners, VAWA self-petitioners, and T visa applicants. They are strong, but they are not a safety plan, and they have exceptions.
Disclosure is restricted
Under 8 U.S.C. § 1367, DHS, the Justice Department, and the State Department generally may not disclose information about a U petitioner beyond their own officers and employees acting for legitimate agency purposes. Exceptions include law enforcement use and your written waiver. The protection ends if the petition is denied and all appeals are exhausted.
The person who hurt you cannot decide your case
Immigration officials may not make an adverse admissibility or deportability decision using information that comes only from the perpetrator of the crime.
A safe address
USCIS lets you list a safe mailing address where you do not live, so notices do not arrive where the person who harmed you can see them. We also ask at intake which phone, email, and times are safe. If someone may be monitoring your phone or computer, a safer device, such as a trusted person's phone, is a better way to read this page or contact us.
Talking to a lawyer is not a report
A consultation is confidential and files nothing with police or immigration. Reporting the crime, requesting a certification, and filing a petition are separate decisions, and you make each one after advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. For confidential support at any hour, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
Protection has limits. Filing puts your history in front of USCIS, and under current USCIS guidance a person without lawful status whose request is denied may be referred to immigration court. That is why the case is evaluated, and the waiver built, before anything is filed.
Immigration court · Removal orders
A court case does not stop a U petition. A U petition does not stop a court case.
USCIS decides every U petition, including for people in removal proceedings or under a final order. The court and ICE decide what happens in the meantime, so the petition and the defense have to be planned together.
File with USCIS, then tell the court
The petition goes to USCIS, never to the judge. ICE counsel may agree to a joint motion to terminate while it is decided, and a bona fide determination, deferred action, or waiting-list placement is the kind of proof a judge looks for. A receipt alone rarely is.
Removal defenseClosure is contested ground in 2026
In 2026 the Board of Immigration Appeals sharply limited administrative closure while a U petition waits, and in June a federal court vacated the 2024 regulation the Board had applied. Third Circuit precedent may still support an argument for closure in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, but it is untested since that ruling; in New York the argument is weaker. Judges want specific proof of where the petition stands.
Read the 2026 closure updateYou can file, but it does not stop removal
A person under a final order may still file with USCIS, but filing has no effect on ICE's authority to carry out the order. A stay of removal must be requested separately, and a bona fide determination can support that request.
How stays of removal workClearing the old order
When USCIS approves a U petition, a removal order issued by DHS itself is canceled by operation of law. An order from an immigration judge or the Board of Immigration Appeals requires a motion to reopen and terminate, which ICE counsel may join to overcome the usual time limits.
Motions to reopenAn old order can be reinstated
Someone who returned after a removal may have that order reinstated without a new hearing. The U waiver can reach the re-entry bar, but ICE does not have to wait for USCIS, so timing and a stay strategy matter from the start.
Options after an old orderDetained cases move on a shorter clock
A person in ICE custody can still file, and ICE itself may ask USCIS to expedite a waiting-list review. Bond, the court calendar, and the petition then run in parallel, so the certification and the evidence have to move quickly.
Urgent detention helpBring every paper from the court and ICE. Hearing notices, the charging document, any order, and any bond or check-in papers decide which of these tools is available and how fast it has to be used.
Private two-minute guide
Where does your U visa case stand today?
Answer three general questions. The guide suggests where a first review should start; it does not decide eligibility, judge what happened to you, or send your answers to the firm.
Common questions
U visa questions.
General answers help you prepare. They cannot tell you whether a crime qualifies, whether an agency will certify, or whether a petition will be approved.
Can I apply for a U visa if I am undocumented?
Yes. U visa eligibility does not depend on your immigration status at the time of the crime or today. Most petitioners are in the United States without status, and the waiver on Form I-192 is how the petition addresses entry without inspection, overstays, and similar grounds. What matters first is the crime, the harm, and the help you gave.
Is reporting the crime the same as getting the certification?
No. A report starts an investigation; the certification is a separate form, Supplement B, that you or your lawyer request from an authorized official, usually well after the report. The police do not complete it automatically, and reporting a crime does not file anything with immigration. The crime must reach an agency that can certify it, but when and how you take each step is your decision.
Does the case have to end in an arrest or a conviction?
No. Neither the statute nor the regulations require an arrest, charges, or a conviction. What matters is that an agency detected, investigated, or prosecuted the crime and that you have been, are being, or are likely to be helpful. An unsolved case, a case the prosecutor declined, or a closed case can still be certified.
Can the police or the district attorney refuse to sign?
Yes. Certification is discretionary, no Pennsylvania statute requires agencies to respond, and there is no appeal from a refusal. A refusal is often a request that never reached the designated official, so the next steps are a second written request, another agency that handled the same crime, or a judge. If no agency will sign, a VAWA self-petition or a T visa may be available instead, and neither requires a certification.
How long is a signed Supplement B valid?
It must be signed within the six months before Form I-918 is filed; the window runs backward from the filing date. A petition filed within that window does not need a new signature while it waits in line. If the window passes before filing, a new signature has to be requested, which is why the rest of the petition should be nearly ready first.
Can I work while the petition waits?
Often, but not automatically. Petitioners living in the United States may receive a four-year work permit and deferred action through the bona fide determination, a discretionary review that takes arrests and other background-check results into account. If that is not granted, placement on the waiting list brings the same kind of protection. Filing Form I-765 with the petition avoids a delay later.
How long does a U visa take?
Years. Because of the 10,000 annual cap, eligible petitions wait in filing-date order for a number, and the first decision on the work permit is itself a long wait. USCIS publishes current processing times, and our U visa timeline guide walks through each stage. The part you control is filing a complete petition the first time.
Can I apply if I am in immigration court or have a deportation order?
Yes. The petition is filed with USCIS either way. In court, a pending petition can support a request to terminate, close, or continue the case, but none of those is automatic and a receipt alone is rarely enough; under a final order, a stay of removal has to be requested separately. See our removal defense page, and bring every court and ICE paper to the review.
Will the person who hurt me find out?
Federal confidentiality law bars DHS, the Justice Department, and the State Department from disclosing information about your petition except in limited circumstances, and USCIS accepts a safe mailing address. USCIS does not notify the person who committed the crime. Still, criminal cases, police reports, and a shared home can reveal information, so we plan contact methods and addresses with you before anything is filed.
Can I travel outside the United States while the case is pending?
Talk to a lawyer first. Before U status is granted, leaving can trigger grounds of inadmissibility and leave you waiting abroad. Even a trip on advance parole carries that risk: since August 13, 2026, it counts as a departure that can trigger the three- or ten-year bar for anyone with more than 180 days of unlawful presence, and the waiver would then have to cover that bar as well. After U status, returning usually requires a U visa from a U.S. consulate, which may not be issued at all to nationals of countries under current presidential entry restrictions, and a departure can trigger bars your original waiver did not cover. Once the green card application is filed, leaving without advance parole abandons it. A single trip over 90 days, or trips totaling more than 180 days, can also break the continuous presence the green card requires unless the agency that signed your Supplement B certifies the absence was needed for the investigation or otherwise justified.
U visa representation at a glance
- Who we represent
- Crime victims and their families in Allentown and across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. U petitions are filed with USCIS, so victims elsewhere in the United States can work with us too.
- Languages
- English and Spanish.
- Main forms
- Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status, with Supplement B (certification) and Supplement A (family members); Form I-192, the waiver of inadmissibility; and Form I-765, the work permit application.
- Annual limit
- 10,000 principal U grants per fiscal year; family members are not counted.
- Certification window
- Supplement B must be signed within the six months before the petition is filed.
- Status and green card
- U status for up to four years; permanent residence may be requested after three years of continuous physical presence in U status, under INA § 245(m).
- Government fees
- USCIS lists Form I-918 and its supplements as fee-exempt, and most related U visa forms are exempt as well. Confirm current fees on the USCIS fee schedule.
- Office
- 609 W. Hamilton Street, No. 102, Allentown, PA 18101 · (484) 763-4984
Information reviewed against official sources, including the USCIS Form I-918 page, the USCIS Policy Manual, and 8 C.F.R. § 214.14, on September 25, 2026. This page provides general information, not legal advice; it does not evaluate a particular case, predict whether an agency will certify, promise a work permit or an approval, or create an attorney-client relationship. Processing times, fees, and policies change.
Reviewed and updated
The crime · The certification · The wait
Start with what happened and who was told. We will tell you what it can support.
A first review can begin with a report number, a court paper, or only a date and a place. Tell us the safest way to reach you, whether you have a court date, and which family members might be included.
English and Spanish · Allentown · Pennsylvania · New Jersey · New York · Representation where permitted