WHAT IS A U-VISA?
The U-Visa is a form of relief for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and cooperated with law enforcement or government officials to investigate or prosecute the perpetrator. U-Visa eligibility is based on whether the victim corroborated with the law enforcement or government officials and decided to prosecute the offender.
CAN YOU APPLY FOR A U-VISA FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES?
A very unique characteristic of the U-Visa is that you can apply for one even from outside of the U.S. The conditions for being eligible for U-Visa still apply, meaning you need to have been a victim of a qualifying crime while you were still within the United States (generally violent crimes against you or a minor child), and additionally you need to have cooperated with U.S. Law enforcement in a meaningful way in order to catch the perpetrator. But if these two things apply to you, even if you’ve since left the U.S. and now reside in a different country, then you can still apply for a U-Visa and proceed through the entire application process.
WHAT ARE THE U-VISA PROCESS STEPS?
The U-Visa requirements depend on whether you are the victim of qualifying criminal activity. The most common qualifying criminal activities are the following: sexual assault, domestic violence, felonious assault, rape, abusive sexual contact, and other violent crimes. The U-Visa regulations are in place to assist law enforcement agencies to protect the victims of the crimes. Additionally, the regulations help to better adjudicate the applications that are processed each year by USCIS.
PROCESS TIMES AND CONSIDERATIONS
One thing to note is that U-Visa petitions might take several years in order to be completed, however, one important recent change is that if within this time the main petitioner were to get married to someone, he/she may now add their spouse and child dependents to the application process so they too can be granted the U-Visa.
WHAT IF I ALREADY HAVE A U-VISA PETITION IN PROGRESS, COULD I LEAVE THE U.S. AND CONTINUE FROM ABROAD?
This may come down to very specific circumstances of your case, but generally it is not recommended that you leave the U.S. during your U-Visa application process if you’ve begun the petition within the U.S. Reason being is that the ‘U-Nonimmigrant status’ given to the applicant during the process does not grant reentry to the United States. You could end up unable to return to the U.S and USCIS may take your leave as a sign of abandoning your process.
The exception to this is if during your U-Visa application you’ve also filed a Form I-485 ‘Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status’ (Green card application), in which case you have the option to request an “Advanced Parole” using the Form I-131, ‘Application for a Travel Document’ that could grant you reentry while your petition is still being processed. However even then there’s still an inherent risk to the petition. Speak to your lawyer for more information and regarding the specifics to your case.
Contact Attorney Eric Price Today!
Whether you’re just getting started on your visa application process or you’re unsure where to turn after your application was denied, Attorney Eric Price is here for you. He is highly specialized in immigration law and can help evaluate all the complexities of your case. The first consultation is completely free. Call today at 1.855.662.2772.
Price’s dedication and hard work consistently leads to him being ranked among the best attorneys in immigration law. Let’s get started on building your future.
