U nonimmigrant status protects victims of qualifying crimes who help law enforcement. Prima.Law keeps the I-918, the certification, family supplements and waivers in one case.
Victims who suffered substantial physical or mental abuse from qualifying criminal activity, have information about it and are helpful to law enforcement.
Form I-918, Supplement B signed by an authorized certifying official, Supplement A for qualifying family, and Form I-192 if inadmissible.
Petitioners under 21 may include a spouse, children, parents and unmarried siblings under 18. Those 21 or older may include a spouse and children.
10,000 U visas for principal petitioners each year; family members are not counted. A green card generally requires 3 years in U status.
U nonimmigrant status is for victims of qualifying criminal activity who suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and have been, are or are likely to be helpful to law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the crime. The petitioner files Form I-918 with a Supplement B certification signed by an authorized official of the certifying law enforcement agency.
USCIS states that information about a U petitioner is strictly confidential and protected by law. Up to 10,000 U visas are available to principal petitioners each year. Petitioners with a pending bona fide petition may receive deferred action and employment authorization, and those waiting under the cap receive visas in the order petitions were received.
General information based on USCIS and other government guidance. Eligibility depends on each client’s facts; this is not legal advice.
Supplement B depends on a certifying agency signing, and follow-ups with detectives and prosecutors get lost between staff.
How Prima.Law helps: The U visa checklist, created and maintained by active immigration lawyers, lists Supplement B, abuse and helpfulness evidence. Clients upload in the portal and staff mark each item complete.
Many U visa clients are domestic violence survivors, and a call to a shared phone or a letter home can reveal the case to the abuser.
How Prima.Law helps: An Important Notice at Danger level shows safe contact rules atop the contact and every case. Texts go from the firm's Twilio number, never a personal phone, with history saved to the contact.
USCIS treats U petition information as strictly confidential, and firms must control who sees declarations, police reports and medical records.
How Prima.Law helps: The portal is tied to the client's own email, cases are shared one at a time, and the firm picks which files, forms and notes are visible. Data is AES-256 encrypted and stored in the U.S.
The U visa template adds Form I-918, Supplements A and B, Form I-192 and a checklist for certification and abuse evidence, built by active immigration lawyers.
Track the Supplement B request to the certifying agency as a case flow item, and store the signed certification on the document checklist.
Autofill fills each Supplement A from derivative contact profiles, so a spouse, children, parents or siblings are entered once and reused.
Form I-918 is filed on paper. Build one indexed PDF with forms, exhibits, exhibit sheets, page numbers and a custom footer, then run AI Case Review.
An authorized official of the certifying law enforcement agency signs Form I-918, Supplement B.
Submit Form I-918 with Supplement B, evidence, any Supplement A and Form I-192 if needed.
Bona fide petitioners may get deferred action and work permits; if the cap is reached, USCIS uses a waiting list.
After 3 years of continuous presence in U status, file Form I-485 if the other requirements are met.
T nonimmigrant status for trafficking survivors on Form I-914 and supplements
VAWA self-petitions on Form I-360 for abused spouses, children and parents
Form I-589 asylum applications filed with USCIS, from intake to interview
All humanitarian case types in Prima.Law.
Book a demo and see how Prima.Law handles U Visas cases.