The U visa is a helpful option for non-citizens in the United States (including undocumented persons, sometimes called "illegal aliens") if they are victims of certain types of crimes and are helping U.S. law enforcement. See U Visas for Crime Victims Assisting Law Enforcement: Who is Eligible for details on the qualifying criteria.
The most common use of the U visa is to help domestic violence victims. But U visas are also available to victims of certain types of crimes by employers. Not every abusive action by a boss or company owner will qualify, but when worker abuse rises to the level of criminal activity, and is prosecuted, workers can become eligible for a U visa.
The key points to a successful U visa application in this context are the framing and presentation of the qualifying crime and the presentation of the proof of substantial suffering, as described below.
A U visa offers many benefits. It allows its holder to remain in the United States with work authorization for up to four years, and possibly to qualify for a green card (lawful permanent residence) after three years. (See Applying for a Green Card From U Status.)
Family members of the principal U visa applicant can also qualify for derivative immigration status (see What Family Members Need to Prove to Get Derivative U Status and Later a Green Card.)
The U visa was created by Congress in the year 2000, with passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA). It lists 26 types of qualifying criminal activity. However, similar acts that violate federal, state, or local criminal laws can also qualify someone for this visa.
U visa applicants must show that they:
The applicant's helpfulness must be certified on Form I-918 Supplement B, by a qualified law enforcement or other government official.
A U visa could be particularly useful where an employer uses a worker's immigration status to deny what the worker should legally be earning, fails to provide a workplace that complies with safety-law requirements, or uses its position of power to commit sexual or violent crimes against workers.
Workers often do not report crimes committed against them out of fear of losing their existing immigration status or being deported (removed from the U.S.) based on lack of immigration status. Such fears make workers vulnerable to abuse by employers. It is not, however, a requirement for the U visa that the employer know that the worker is afraid of immigration consequences; only that the immigrant is a victim of a qualifying criminal activity.
Any of the types of criminal activity listed in the VTVPA could qualify a worker for a U visa, but the ones most likely to be found in the workplace include:
Notice that some commonly seen workplaces abuses, such as wage theft, employment discrimination, and collective bargaining violations, are not listed. Making a good argument that the crime committed against you is similar to one of the listed U visa crimes is crucial, and it is where an experienced attorney can come in handy.
A collective bargaining violation can also turn into an obstruction of justice or witness tampering case if the employer threatens to call immigration authorities, or to fire an employee who continues to participate in strikes and protests over poor working conditions.
Sex-related or violence-related criminal activity may be found in the workplace as well, potentially matching these types of qualifying criminal activity:
Before applying for a U visa, the victim needs to be demonstrably helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. Illegal workplace criminal activity could be reported by the non-citizen victim, but often is reported by a coworker or other person who learns of it. Once a victim becomes helpful in the investigation or prosecution of a workplace crime, they will be able to request the needed certification of helpfulness from U.S. authorities.
Only certain relevant federal agencies have been granted the ability to certify a victim's helpfulness, including the Department of Labor, the The National Labor Relations Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Other authorities responsible for investigating or prosecuting qualifying criminal activities may also certify, including federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and judges. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) permits U visa certification on the basis of a crime even if the certifying agency has no authority to enforce it. Some states have enacted guidelines so that their own state housing or labor departments can certify a crime victim's helpfulness for U visa purposes.
Getting a certification without a lawyer could be difficult or impossible. Some local agencies that could certify helpfulness refuse to do so unless a lawyer makes the request on the victim's behalf.
If you're a victim of a qualifying workplace crime (or any other crime) you will need to show, in order to get a U visa, that you have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse as a result. This will be easiest if the crime has a physical component, such as a sexual or a violent crime against a worker.
Substantial suffering must have come about as a result of the qualifying crime, and not just the surrounding abuse.
In workplace abuse cases, much of the victim's suffering might have been caused by circumstances surrounding the crime. So, for instance, if you went on strike or joined a demonstration to obtain a raise or sick pay, the qualifying crime could have been the threats around or interference with the demonstration, not the suffering caused by the low wages. It is crucial that you also show a relation to the qualifying crime.
Given that your situation is unusual, you could make your life easier by hiring an experienced immigration attorney to handle your U visa case. The attorney can analyze your situation and spot any potential legal issues, prepare the paperwork, and monitor progress toward approval.
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