What the U visa is
The U visa (U nonimmigrant status) is for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in investigating or prosecuting the crime. Congress created it in October 2000 with the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which includes the Battered Immigrant Women's Protection Act.[1]
| Symbol | Official class | Type |
|---|---|---|
| U1 | Victim of Criminal Activity | Nonimmigrant (U status) |
| U2 | Spouse of U1 | Nonimmigrant (U status) |
| U3 | Child of U1 | Nonimmigrant (U status) |
| U4 | Parent of U1 Under 21 Years of Age | Nonimmigrant (U status) |
| U5 | Unmarried Sibling Under Age 18 of U1 Under 21 Years of Age | Nonimmigrant (U status) |
| SU2 | Spouse of U1 | Immigrant visa, INA 245(m)(3), for a family member who never held U status |
| SU3 | Child of U1 | Immigrant visa, INA 245(m)(3), for a family member who never held U status |
| SU5 | Parent of U1 | Immigrant visa, INA 245(m)(3), for a family member who never held U status |
Who qualifies for U-1
You must show all of the following
- You suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of being a victim of qualifying criminal activity. USCIS looks at factors such as the nature of the injury, the severity of the perpetrator's conduct and of the harm, and how long the harm went on; no single factor is required, and a series of acts taken together can count even when no single act would.[3]
- You have credible and reliable information about the crime, meaning specific facts about it. If you were under 16 when the crime first occurred, or you are incapacitated or incompetent, a parent, guardian or next friend (a person who appears in a legal proceeding to act for your benefit) may have the information for you.[3]
- You have been helpful, are being helpful, or are likely to be helpful to a certifying agency in the investigation or prosecution, and since you began cooperating you have not refused or failed to give information and assistance reasonably requested. If you were under 16 when the crime first occurred, or you are incapacitated or incompetent, a parent, guardian or next friend may give that help for you.[3]
- The crime occurred in the United States (including Indian country and U.S. military installations) or in a U.S. territory or possession, or it violated a U.S. federal law that gives U.S. federal courts jurisdiction to prosecute the offense outside U.S. territory (extraterritorial jurisdiction).[3]
- High confidence You are admissible to the United States. If you are not, you may apply for a waiver on Form I-192; the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has discretion to waive any ground except participation in Nazi persecution, genocide, torture or extrajudicial killing, and must first find that the waiver is in the public or national interest.[1,2]
High confidence Qualifying crimes are: abduction, abusive sexual contact, blackmail, domestic violence, extortion, false imprisonment, female genital mutilation, felonious assault, fraud in foreign labor contracting, being held hostage, incest, involuntary servitude, kidnapping, manslaughter, murder, obstruction of justice, peonage, perjury, prostitution, rape, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, slave trade, stalking, torture, trafficking, witness tampering and unlawful criminal restraint. A similar crime whose elements are substantially similar also counts, as does an attempt, conspiracy or solicitation to commit any of them.[1,3]
What to file
Initial evidence with Form I-918
- Form I-918 Supplement B, signed by a certifying official within the six months immediately before you file. The certifying official is the head of the certifying agency, a supervisor the head has specifically designated to sign these certifications, or a federal, state or local judge.[3]
- High confidence A signed personal statement describing the facts of the victimization, and evidence for each requirement: that you are a victim of qualifying criminal activity, the substantial physical or mental abuse, your information about the crime, your helpfulness, and that the crime occurred in the United States or violated U.S. law. If you are under 16, incapacitated or incompetent, a parent, guardian or next friend may submit the statement for you.[3,4]
- High confidence For each family member on Form I-918 Supplement A: credible evidence of the relationship, an explanation if required documents are not available, and Form I-192 if the family member is inadmissible.[3,4]
- Any document in a foreign language needs a full English translation and a certification from the translator that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate from that language into English.[4]
Mail Form I-918 to the filing location for where you live. USCIS changed these locations on Oct. 7, 2026: petitions now go to its Dallas, Phoenix or Chicago lockbox depending on where you live, and petitioners outside the United States use the Phoenix lockbox. Check the Where to File section of uscis.gov/i-918 before mailing.[4]
High confidence After you file, USCIS notifies you of the time and place to give biometrics, and it cannot decide the petition without them. If you are outside the United States and between 14 and 79, you receive a notice asking for fingerprints, which are taken at a DHS office abroad, a U.S. embassy or consulate, or a U.S. military installation.[2,3]
Fees
| What you file | Fee |
|---|---|
| Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status | $0 |
| Form I-918 Supplement A, one for each qualifying family member | $0 |
| Form I-918 Supplement B, U Nonimmigrant Status Certification | $0 |
| Form I-192, waiver request, filed as a petitioner for U status (including derivatives) | $0 (general filing fee: $1,100) |
| Form I-765, work permit (EAD): initial, renewal, or replacement of an unexpired card that was lost, stolen or damaged, in categories (a)(19) U-1, (a)(20) U-2 to U-5, (c)(14) deferred action for a U petitioner, and (c)(9) U nonimmigrant adjusting status under INA 245(m) | $0 |
| Form I-539, extension of U status | $0 |
| Form I-485, green card application as a U nonimmigrant under INA 245(m) | $0 |
| Form I-929, Petition for Qualifying Family Member of a U-1 Nonimmigrant | $0 |
| Form I-290B, appeal or motion, filed as a petitioner for U status (including derivatives) on a request filed before adjusting status, or on Form I-485 and an associated ancillary form | $0 (general filing fee: $800) |
| Form I-131, travel and parole documents, for a person seeking or granted U status or adjustment under INA 245(m) | $0 filing fee. Form G-1055 adds an Immigration Parole Fee under Public Law 119-21 (Pub. L. 119-21) for certain approvals, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requires a Pub. L. 119-21 fee if you seek parole at a port of entry, unless it finds you qualify for an exception |
After you file: bona fide review, waiting list and the annual cap
What happens between filing Form I-918 and a final decision.
High confidence The law allows no more than 10,000 people to receive U-1 status or a U-1 visa in a fiscal year; U-2 to U-5 family members are not counted. USCIS decides Form I-918 petitions under this cap in the order it received them, and says it has reached the cap every year since fiscal year 2010.[3,4]
1. Bona fide review
If you live in the United States, USCIS first checks whether your petition is bona fide: a properly filed Form I-918, a properly completed Supplement B, a personal statement describing the victimization, and the results of your background and security checks. It then decides whether you merit a favorable exercise of discretion, including any national security or public safety risk. Family members are reviewed only after the principal receives a bona fide determination, and petitioners living abroad are not considered for this step.[4]
2. Work permit and deferred action
If your petition is bona fide, you merit a favorable exercise of discretion, and you have filed Form I-765, USCIS issues both an EAD and deferred action, valid for 4 years; you cannot get one without the other. If USCIS still has not decided your petition when they expire, you can generally apply to renew them. There is no fee for the initial EAD or a renewal; USCIS recommends filing Form I-765 together with Form I-918 and sends a notice asking you to file it if you have not.[4]
3. Waiting list
High confidence If you do not receive a bona fide determination, or you live abroad, USCIS reviews the petition for the waiting list. Eligible petitioners who are not granted U-1 status only because of the cap are placed on the list by filing date and receive deferred action or parole, and USCIS may authorize them to work. You do not accrue unlawful presence while on the list with deferred action or parole, but USCIS may remove you from the list at its discretion.[2,3,4]
4. Final decision
High confidence When U visas become available for your place in line, USCIS makes the final decision; you do not have to take any additional step to request it. If you are in the United States and approved, USCIS grants U-1 status at the same time and sends Form I-797 with an I-94 record showing U-1 status; if you are abroad, it forwards the approval to the State Department. If the petition is denied, you can appeal to the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO).[1,3]
Family members: U-2 to U-5
High confidence If you were under 21 when you filed Form I-918, you can petition for your spouse, unmarried children under 21, parents and unmarried siblings under 18; if you were 21 or older, for your spouse and unmarried children under 21. File one Form I-918 Supplement A for each person, either with your I-918 or later (if you have already been granted U-1 status, you must still hold it). USCIS cannot approve a Supplement A before it approves your I-918, and a family member who committed the qualifying crime in a family violence or trafficking context cannot receive U-2 to U-5 status.[2,3]
High confidence Under the regulation, the relationship must exist when you file Form I-918 and continue until the Supplement A is decided and the family member is admitted; a child born after you filed can still accompany or follow you. The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual adds that a principal who marries while the U-1 petition is pending may file Supplement A for that spouse, and may file for a stepchild or stepparent if the relationship arose after filing but before approval.[2,3]
High confidence Age rules: a U-3 child who turns 21 while your Form I-918 is still pending continues to count as a child if unmarried, but a child who turns 21 after the I-918 is approved does not. Your parents and siblings still qualify if you turn 21 while your I-918 is pending; and if you were under 21 when you filed Form I-918 and filed Supplement A for an unmarried sibling under 18, the sibling stays eligible even if they are 18 or older by the time USCIS decides. A family member who keeps eligibility past an 18th or 21st birthday this way must stay unmarried.[2,3]
If you or your family are abroad
High confidence After USCIS approves a petition for someone outside the United States, that person applies for the U visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate: complete Form DS-160 choosing the U classification, schedule an interview as the embassy or consulate instructs, and pay the State Department's machine-readable visa (MRV) application fee and any reciprocity fee. You do not have to show a home abroad that you plan to return to, and consular officers are instructed not to re-decide the approved petition or ask about the details of the crime or your cooperation with law enforcement. They do confirm identity and family relationships, and if they find a ground of ineligibility that USCIS has not waived on Form I-192, the application is refused pending a waiver, if one is available.[1,2]
If USCIS granted you U status inside the United States, you do not need advance parole to travel abroad, but you need a U visa from a consulate to return. If you had more than 180 days of unlawful presence before getting U status, leaving can trigger the unlawful presence bar (there are exceptions); you can then ask for a waiver on Form I-192, which USCIS accepts only after you have left and are seeking to return.[2]
How long U status lasts
High confidence U status is approved for no more than 4 years in total, and extensions are available only in limited circumstances: when law enforcement needs you (the certifying official attests that your presence is still necessary, and you file Form I-539 with a newly signed Supplement B); exceptional circumstances; delays in consular processing (for example, a family member who could not enter in time and needs the extension to reach 3 years in U status for a green card); and an automatic extension while your green card application (Form I-485) is filed and pending.[1,3]
Green card after 3 years (INA 245(m))
As a U-1, you can be granted a green card on Form I-485 if:
- High confidence You were lawfully admitted in U-1 status, are still in U-1 status when you file Form I-485, and have been physically present in the United States for a continuous period of at least 3 years since that admission, staying present until USCIS decides. A single absence over 90 days, or absences adding up to more than 180 days, needs a certification from the agency that signed your Supplement B that the absences were necessary for the investigation or prosecution or were otherwise justified.[8,9]
- High confidence You have not unreasonably refused to help with the investigation or prosecution, from your first admission as a U-1 until USCIS decides. You can show this with a newly signed Supplement B or, if you do not have one, an affidavit describing your efforts to get one, any requests for help and how you responded.[8,9]
- You are not inadmissible under INA 212(a)(3)(E), which covers participation in Nazi persecution, genocide, torture or extrajudicial killing; USCIS cannot waive it. Otherwise you are not generally required to be admissible, but USCIS considers acts that would make you inadmissible when it uses its discretion.[9]
- High confidence Your presence is justified on humanitarian grounds, to ensure family unity, or is in the public interest, and you merit a favorable exercise of discretion; the burden is on you. USCIS says favorable factors such as family ties, hardship and length of residence may generally be enough, and you can offset adverse factors with documents; depending on the adverse factors, you may have to clearly show that a denial would cause exceptional and extremely unusual hardship. USCIS will generally not use its discretion favorably where the applicant committed or was convicted of a serious violent crime, a crime involving sexual abuse of a child, or multiple drug-related crimes, or where there are security- or terrorism-related concerns.[8,9]
U-2 to U-5 family members file their own Form I-485 if they are in the United States when they file, were admitted in derivative U status before the U-1 got a green card, are still in that status, and have at least 3 years of continuous physical presence since that admission, staying present until USCIS decides. They must also meet the same INA 212(a)(3)(E), humanitarian and discretion requirements, and they can file before or after the U-1, even if the U-1 never files.[9]
Family who never had U status: Form I-929 and SU visas
High confidence When you file your own Form I-485, or later, you can file Form I-929 for a spouse, an unmarried child under 21, or (if you are under 21) a parent who has never held U status. You must show that you or the family member would suffer extreme hardship if the family member could not stay in or come to the United States, and the relationship must exist when you get your green card and continue until the family member's case is decided. The decision is discretionary, and USCIS cannot approve the I-929 until it approves your I-485.[8,9]
High confidence With an approved I-929, a family member in the United States can apply for a green card right away; one abroad applies for an SU immigrant visa (SU2 spouse, SU3 child, SU5 parent) after the National Visa Center (NVC) processes the case. The SU category is not numerically limited, so there is no waiting line for it, and no Form I-864 affidavit of support is needed, though the medical exam, police certificate and other immigrant visa requirements still apply. An SU-3 child has no age-out protection: the visa must be issued, and the child must enter the United States, before the 21st birthday.[2,7,9]
Common mistakes
- High confidence Leaving the United States while your Form I-485 is pending without advance parole: that generally abandons the application. If USCIS granted advance parole (Form I-131) before you left and you were inspected and paroled on return, it is not abandoned, unless you are in removal proceedings; then leaving abandons it at once.[8,9]
- Getting your green card before a family member has a derivative U visa. A family member who does not have one when you become a permanent resident can no longer get it, though they may still be able to become a permanent resident (through Form I-929). USCIS refers to its memorandum on extending your own U status so the family member stays eligible.[1]
Recent policy changes
Recent policy changes
Official- Certain DHS Immigration-Related Fees Required by HR-1: Fiscal Year 2027 Adjustments for InflationOct 1, 2026 · Federal Register (federalregister.gov API) · Not yet reviewed
- Certain DHS Immigration-Related Fees Required by HR-1: Fiscal Year 2027 Adjustments for InflationOct 1, 2026 · Federal Register (federalregister.gov API) · Not yet reviewed
- Fiscal Year 2027 Inflation Adjustment to H.R. 1 Immigration FeesOct 1, 2026 · Federal Register (federalregister.gov API) · Not yet reviewed
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment-Based Immigrant Visa, Fifth Preference (EB-5) Fee RuleSep 30, 2026 · Federal Register (federalregister.gov API) · Status: Final rule · Not yet reviewed
- USCIS Announces FY 2027 Inflation Increase for Certain Immigration-Related FeesSep 30, 2026 · USCIS alerts RSS feed · Not yet reviewed
Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa
Ask WELIVEINUSA Visa
Answers come from our sourced database and your own timeline, sorted into fact, public data, inference and unknown. No AI model is used in this version, so questions outside what we cover get an honest "not covered".
Questions people ask
Who can sign Form I-918 Supplement B?
A certifying official at a certifying agency. The agency is a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, prosecutor, judge or other authority responsible for investigating or prosecuting the crime, including agencies with criminal investigative jurisdiction in their area of expertise, such as child protective services, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Labor. The official is the head of the agency, a supervisor the head has specifically designated to sign U certifications, or a federal, state or local judge.[3]
Does the case have to go to court, or the offender be convicted?
The U visa rules define "investigation or prosecution" to include detecting or investigating the crime as well as prosecuting, convicting or sentencing the perpetrator, and the helpfulness requirement covers help you have given, are giving, or are likely to give. Whether your help meets the standard depends on the facts; an immigration attorney can apply it to your case.[3]
Will the person who hurt me find out?
High confidence Information about you and your U petition is confidential under federal law (8 U.S.C. 1367): the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can share it only in the limited circumstances the law lists, and may not deny your petition based on evidence provided solely by your abuser or other prohibited sources, unless a statutory exception applies. One listed circumstance is disclosure to federal prosecutors so they can meet constitutional obligations to give defendants in pending federal criminal cases witness statements and certain other documents. If you do not feel safe receiving mail at home, you can give a safe mailing address where you do not live.[1,3,9]
Can my family member work once Form I-929 is approved?
Not automatically. An approved I-929 establishes that the family member may apply for a green card based on your status; it does not give work authorization. The family member can work once they receive the green card.[1]
How is the U visa different from the T visa?
High confidence The T visa is for victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons who are physically present in the United States on account of the trafficking. The U visa covers a list of crimes, trafficking among them, that occurred in the United States or violated U.S. law, and it requires a certification that you have been, are being, or are likely to be helpful.[2]
Related categories
Content last reviewed: Oct 18, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.
Sources
- 1.Victims of Criminal Activity: U Nonimmigrant Status - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 2.9 FAM 402.6 WITNESSES, INFORMANTS AND VICTIMS – S, T, AND U VISASU.S. Department of State (Foreign Affairs Manual) · USCIS Policy Manual · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 3.8 CFR 214.14eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 4.I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 5.Fee Schedule (Form G-1055) - USCISUSCIS · Form / instructions · Checked Oct 12, 2026
- 6.22 CFR 41.12eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 7.22 CFR 42.11eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 8.8 CFR 245.24eCFR (Office of the Federal Register) · Regulation · Checked Oct 18, 2026
- 9.Green Card for a Victim of a Crime (U Nonimmigrant) - USCISUSCIS · Agency page · Checked Oct 18, 2026