Qualifying criminal activity
The underlying conduct must fit a listed category or legally similar activity and meet the required connection to U.S. law.
U-visa counsel for crime survivors
A careful legal review can show whether a U visa may fit your story.
If you suffered serious physical or emotional harm from qualifying criminal activity and helped, are helping, or may help an authorized agency, AG Law Firm can review the evidence, certification, immigration history, and risks before recommending a next step.
No promises. No rushed conclusions. Every U-visa case requires an individual review.
Plain English
What a U visa is—and what it is not
U nonimmigrant status is a humanitarian immigration option for certain victims of qualifying criminal activity. It can help when the person has specific, credible information, suffered substantial physical or mental abuse, and was, is, or is likely to be helpful to law enforcement or another authorized certifying agency.
It is not automatic because a crime occurred, a police report exists, or someone was undocumented. USCIS separately reviews every requirement, admissibility, discretion, and the evidence. A certification is essential, but it is not an approval.
The core legal questions
Eligibility is built from several connected parts
Substantial harm
USCIS evaluates the nature and severity of physical or mental abuse, including the cumulative effect on the individual.
Helpful cooperation
The record must show that you were, are, or are likely to be helpful in detection, investigation, prosecution, conviction, or sentencing.
Signed certification
An authorized official must generally certify the qualifying activity and helpfulness on Form I-918, Supplement B.
Admissibility and waiver review
Entries, removals, fraud or misrepresentation, arrests, and other history may require a Form I-192 waiver analysis.
Credible, consistent evidence
Reports, court records, declarations, medical or counseling material, and agency contacts must be accurate and work together.
These are general screening points, not a finding that any person qualifies.
You may have a case if…
Your history includes several of these facts
- You experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, serious violence, stalking, trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, or another potentially qualifying crime.
- You reported the conduct or an agency otherwise detected it.
- You answered questions, gave information, appeared when asked, or remain willing to help.
- The experience caused significant physical injury, trauma, fear, disruption, or other serious effects.
- You can identify the police department, prosecutor, court, or another agency involved.
- You are prepared to disclose your complete immigration and criminal history privately to counsel.
What can prevent or complicate a case?
These issues need early, honest review
- The conduct does not fit qualifying criminal activity under federal rules.
- No authorized agency detected, investigated, prosecuted, convicted, or sentenced the activity.
- You refused reasonable requests for help without facts that explain the barrier.
- The evidence does not show substantial physical or mental abuse.
- The agency declines to certify or the certification is incomplete, stale, or inconsistent with the record.
- Prior removals, false claims, fraud, smuggling, arrests, convictions, or other inadmissibility issues affect strategy.
- Accounts or documents conflict in ways that cannot be responsibly explained.
The certification decision
Certification opens the door. It does not decide the case.
Use our private certification evidence guide →Form I-918, Supplement B may be signed by an authorized official from an agency with the required role in the qualifying criminal activity. Depending on the facts, that may be a police department, prosecutor, judge, or another authorized federal, state, or local authority.
The agency decides whether to sign. A lawyer can identify the appropriate agency, obtain records, and prepare a supported request, but cannot compel a signature. Even with a signature, USCIS still decides whether the complete petition meets every requirement.
Family members
Some relatives may qualify as derivatives
A principal petitioner who is under 21 may be able to seek derivative status for a spouse, children, parents, and certain unmarried siblings under 18. A principal petitioner who is 21 or older may be able to include a spouse and children. Age, the relationship timeline, location, and each person’s own immigration history matter.
A long process
Work authorization while waiting is not automatic
Congress limits principal U visas to 10,000 each fiscal year, and demand has produced long waits. Filing the petition does not itself authorize employment. USCIS may consider qualifying cases for a bona fide determination or, after full review when a visa number is unavailable, waiting-list placement and deferred action. Employment authorization depends on the procedural stage, eligibility, and discretion.
Why AG Law Firm
Complicated histories deserve more than a checklist.
AG Law Firm handles humanitarian immigration matters and understands how a U-visa strategy can overlap with waivers, removal defense, prior immigration filings, criminal records, and federal court questions. The work begins with careful record review: identifying what is known, what is missing, what could create risk, and what should be verified before filing.
The firm serves clients in English, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Russian. Sensitive facts are treated with care, and the public screening form deliberately asks for categories rather than documents or a detailed trauma narrative.
Frequently asked questions
Direct answers to common U-visa questions
Do I need a police report?
A police report can be important, but it is not the only issue and its label does not decide eligibility. The attorney needs to review what happened, which agency was involved, your helpfulness, the harm you suffered, and whether an authorized agency can certify.
What crimes qualify for a U visa?
Federal law lists qualifying criminal activity, including certain forms of domestic violence, sexual assault, felonious assault, trafficking, kidnapping, stalking, extortion, and related conduct. Attempt, conspiracy, solicitation, and substantially similar activity can require careful analysis. The facts and applicable law matter more than the shorthand title in a report.
What if police will not sign the certification?
A signed Form I-918, Supplement B is generally required for a principal U-visa petition. Police are not the only possible certifying authorities, but another agency must have the required role and authority. A lawyer can review the record, the agency’s policy, and whether a supported request or another authorized agency is appropriate. No lawyer can force a signature.
Can I apply if I am undocumented?
Lack of lawful status does not automatically prevent a U-visa petition. Entry history, prior removals, misrepresentation, and other grounds of inadmissibility still require full review, and a waiver request may be necessary.
What if I have a criminal or immigration history?
Do not leave it out. Arrests, convictions, border encounters, prior filings, removal orders, and statements to the government can affect eligibility, discretion, and waiver strategy. The attorney should review certified records and the complete immigration history before recommending a filing.
Can family members be included?
Sometimes. The available derivative categories depend in part on the principal petitioner’s age and the qualifying relationship. Each relative needs separate identity, relationship, immigration, and admissibility review.
How long does a U-visa case take?
U-visa cases can take many years because demand exceeds the annual statutory cap and USCIS processing changes over time. Current processing information should be checked when your case is evaluated; no page or lawyer can promise a decision date.
Can I work while waiting?
Filing alone does not create work authorization. Depending on USCIS review, a qualifying petitioner may later receive employment authorization connected to a bona fide determination, waiting-list deferred action, or approval. Timing and eligibility are case-specific.
Can I pursue a U visa while in removal proceedings?
A person in immigration court may still have a possible U-visa strategy, but USCIS and the immigration court have different roles. Hearings and deadlines continue unless the proper authority changes them, so removal counsel must coordinate the cases carefully.
Start with the facts you know.
Our intake team can help identify whether a U-visa screening or an attorney consultation is the right next step.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Results vary with the facts, evidence, law, agency action, and procedural history of each case. Information on this page is general and is not legal advice.