Summary

In 2018, during the first Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, Human Rights Watch issued a report outlining the public safety benefits of visa programs for undocumented victims of crime.[1] The report was prepared in response to concerns expressed by advocacy groups that the visas might be vulnerable because many policymakers did not fully appreciate how important they are for the victims of crimes or how they benefit law enforcement. Seven years later, the situation for undocumented victims of crime is more precarious than ever.

Promises of mass deportation and fighting crime were pillars of US President Donald Trump’s election campaigns. “I have a message for all of you,” he said in his first campaign. “The crime and violence that today afflicts America will soon-and I mean very soon-come to an end.”[2] President Trump has repeatedly singled out people without lawful immigration status as responsible for crime, contrary to significant evidence, and interpreted his 2024 reelection as a broad mandate to forcibly remove thousands of undocumented people under the pretext of getting rid of “the worst of the worst” and “killers.”

Making communities safer through the criminal justice system requires people to cooperate with law enforcement by reporting crimes and to assist with investigations and prosecutions. Despite the purported commitment to “making America safe again,” recent immigration enforcement tactics and policies, as well as cuts in support for undocumented victims of crimes—such as the Department of Justice withholding funding for rape kits for undocumented people if states do not cooperate with immigration enforcement efforts—make it less likely that immigrant victims will feel safe reporting crimes.[3]

Twenty-five years ago, Congress enacted the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) with overwhelming bipartisan support. This landmark legislation established two critical instruments for law enforcement: the T visa, designed to assist victims of human trafficking, and the U visa, designed to assist noncitizen victims of qualifying crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, and felonious assault. In passing this legislation, Congress recognized that perpetrators of violent crime frequently target undocumented individuals because of their inherent vulnerability and fear of deportation. By creating a mechanism to insulate victims from removal in exchange for cooperation, lawmakers sought to disarm criminals of their most potent weapon, coercion, and thereby strengthen law enforcement’s ability to detect and investigate crime

Under the U visa program, survivors of rape, domestic violence, trafficking and 25 other qualifying crimes have a pathway to legal status if they cooperate with law enforcement or another certifying agency, have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse, and are otherwise admissible to the US or qualify for a waiver. Under the T visa program, survivors of human trafficking have a path to legal status if they can demonstrate that they are in the United States on account of the trafficking, comply with reasonable requests for assistance in the detention, investigation, or prosecution of human trafficking (unless an exemption or exception applies), show they would suffer extreme hardship if removed from the United States, and are otherwise admissible to the United States or qualify for a waiver. Three years after receiving a U or T visa, survivors are eligible for permanent residency status.

The program helps people like Elana C. In June 2023, after years of abuse, Elana’s boyfriend nearly killed her. He punched her, cut her hand and face with a knife, hit her with a bottle and choked her to the point of unconsciousness while threatening to kill her, saying she would be in a “body bag” and he would be deported back to the Dominican Republic. She had to be transported to the hospital emergency room to be treated for severe lacerations and a fractured shoulder. While in the hospital she worked up the courage to report to the New York Police Department, a decision that likely saved her life. The police are still looking for her abuser, and she is afraid but also believes she would be dead if she had not reported. Her U visa petition is pending.

While U visas were initially intended to help victims like Elana and are primarily granted in cases of domestic or sexual violence or felonious assault, the benefits stretch far beyond intimate partner violence cases and immigrant communities. EderCastillo, a prosecutor in Hennepin County, Minnesota said, “The idea that the perpetrator will only harm one community can’t be right. They will do harm to others.” Studies support that conclusion, linking perpetrators of domestic violence to a wide array of other crimes outside of the home.

Interviewees described examples of immigrant crime victims providing essential help in wage theft cases, murders, robberies, hate crimes, stranger rape or sexual assault cases, and other serious crimes. A lawyer described a case in which her immigrant client assisted in the prosecution of a case of elder abuse against his son-in-law, who physically abused him and his wife, an elderly paraplegic woman, in front of their four- and six-year-old grandchildren. One perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison after threatening and assaulting his girlfriend with his gun, a crime he had committed against other girlfriends in the past, but they had been too afraid to report.

This crucial tool for law enforcement to identify and punish perpetrators is now at risk. The Trump administration has revoked longstanding guidelines that instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to implement a victim-centered approach for those with pending victim-based immigration applications, undercutting the benefits of U and T visa programs.

Despite strong rhetoric about cracking down on crime, the administration’s aggressive enforcement actions and policies are instead likely to benefit abusers and reduce the chances that they will be apprehended and prosecuted. Changed enforcement tactics and priorities, such as ICE officials’ ability to apprehend people in previously safe places like courthouses, schools, and health centers, may also make it less likely that people will report crime to police or seek a protective order from a violent partner.

When undocumented victims of crime fear they will be deported if they come forward to assist law enforcement, more crimes go unpunished, with predictable impacts on the wider community. Many perpetrators are well aware of the added advantage increased fear of immigration enforcement gives them. They weaponize it by threatening victims with deportion and separation from their children if they report crimes against them.

Mothers are more often forced to choose between reducing their risk of deportation and protecting their children from an abusive partner by seeking help from law enforcement. Some may feel compelled to stay in an abusive situation, remain silent about rape or not report a violent robbery because the alternative is to risk separation from their children.

Many perpetrators are well aware of the added advantage increased fear of immigration enforcement gives them. They weaponize it by threatening victims with deportation and separation from their children if they report crimes against them. “A U Visa certification is like taking a gun off the street—one less tool for committing crime, sexually assaulting children, or abusing spouses,” said Hennepin County prosecutor Eder Castillo. “It is not a reward. We are trying to take the weapon of coercion out of the hands of a perpetrator and policymakers should be aware of that.”

The costs of losing cooperation from undocumented victims of crime are high. According to a recent analysis of crime data from 2017 to 2023, noncitizen victims cooperated with police on 2.5 million crimes resulting in 257,000 arrests. Law enforcement officials, advocates, and immigration lawyers told Human Rights Watch that U visas were indispensable tools for building trust between police and the local community and for prosecuting crimes.

On a human scale, and from an international human rights perspective, these visas are essential to support crime victims, many who have faced significant trauma as they rebuild their lives and their roles within their families and communities. They are also consistent with the government’s obligation to take effective steps to protect everyone from abuse and ensure access to justice for everyone, regardless of immigration status. As a victim advocate at the Portland Police Bureau in Oregon said, ‘In America, it is nice to hear these visas are available for the most vulnerable victims and that this country cares for those people. It impacts victims, families, and communities who are so often put to the side and minimized.

This report focuses primarily on the U visa because the enormous backlog of U visa petitions leaves victims particularly vulnerable to enforcement actions while their cases are pending and because U visas have no exceptions to certification requirements. The T visa backlog, however, is also growing. This report also examines safeguards already in place to prevent fraud in both programs as a few highly publicized cases of staged crimes prompted concerns among some policymakers. However, those we interviewed consistently emphasized that such cases are exceedingly rare and do not reflect widespread abuse of the visa process.

As discussed below, the U and T visa programs are far from perfect. There are far too few visas available, and it takes too long for victims to obtain one. Moreover, the programs cover too few crimes and the ability to get certification can be arbitrary since law enforcement retains a great deal of discretion on whether to provide the certification which is required for a petition to be considered. Nonetheless, it is an important component of law enforcement’s ability to keep people in the United States safer.

In a speech to a joint session of Congress on March 4, 2025, US President Donald Trump pledged to “bring back law and order to our cities and towns .... [to act] swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal and impartial justice.”[4] If the Trump administration seeks to improve public safety in the United States, the U visa program should not only be preserved, but also strengthened and expanded.

In this time of aggressive immigration enforcement, undocumented immigrants are more vulnerable to crime and far less likely to report. Yet they are the eyes and ears of many communities, and their cooperation is essential to the successful prosecution of people engaged in criminal acts whom the government purportedly wants to root out. Undocumented victims of abuse brave enough to come forward, despite the significant risks to themselves, should be protected in a meaningful way and provided a path that enables them to participate in the justice process. The U visa is an essential law enforcement tool to disarm abusers who use threats of deportation to commit crimes with impunity and to provide protections to victims in keeping with the humanitarian interests of the United States.
 

Recommendations

To the US Congress:

• Increase the number of U visas available annually for victims of eligible crimes. Possible approaches include:

  • eliminating the 10,000 per year cap on principal U visas;

  • raising the number of U visas available each fiscal year; and/or

  • reclaiming the thousands of Congressionally authorized U visas that went unused from when the U visa was created in 2000 until the regulations were promulgated in 2007.

• Increase the number of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicators who determine eligibility for the U visas to process petitions more expeditiously.

• Include crimes such as child abuse, elder abuse, and hate crime acts, as U visa qualifying crimes and include U visa protections for civil violations resulting from the commission of qualifying criminal activity in civil or administrative investigations, proceedings, or adjudications.

• Require petitioners whose petitions have been pending for more than 180 days to receive work authorization, and permit access to critical safety net benefits.

• Require victims seeking U nonimmigrant status to be granted an automatic stay of removal while their petitions are pending.

• Designate additional resources to train law enforcement in the implementation of the program, especially for certification.

• Fund local law enforcement and community-based organizations to conduct immigrant community outreach to raise awareness of U and T visas.

• Allow U visa petitioners (like T visa applicants) to submit evidence of cooperation with law enforcement instead of requiring police to provide the certification.

• Support funding for organizations that provide services to immigrant victims of crimes.

• Limit immigration enforcement activities at safe spaces, such as victim service providers, healthcare centers, courthouses, and schools.
   

To the Department of Homeland Security:

• Implement processes to make filing and review of U petitions more efficient without compromising confidentiality.

• Reinstate the policy directive instructing ICE not to detain or deport those with pending U visa petitions while awaiting an eligibility determination.

• Ensure that victims seeking U nonimmigrant status are granted an automatic stay of removal while their petitions are pending, absent limited exceptional circumstances.

• Conduct outreach utilizing interpretation and translation services to increase awareness that victims of crime can report to law enforcement and may be eligible to apply for U visas.

• Screen immigrants arrested in enforcement actions for indicia suggesting that they are a victim of crime, domestic violence, or trafficking, and provide referrals to supportive services.

• Reinstate sensitive location guidelines prohibiting enforcement measures at locations such as schools and churches, and most relevant to this report, at courthouses, medical centers, and places that provide social services to victims.

To State Legislatures:

• For states that do not yet have laws, enact legislation requiring more standardized consideration of U visa certification requests to ensure equal access to U visas across all jurisdictions.

Methodology

This report is based on 43 in-person or video interviews conducted between May and September 2025 with law enforcement officials, immigration lawyers, advocates, and crime victims. It also draws upon material provided by interview subjects and public sources. Of the 43 interviews, we conducted 14 with current or retired law enforcement officials including a judge, prosecutors, police, and victim specialists within police departments in Oregon, Minnesota, New Mexico, Virginia, Texas, and New York; 12 with survivors of crimes; and 17 with immigration attorneys, government officials, advocates, and legal experts who work with survivors of crimes.

Most interviews were conducted individually, in private, in person or via phone or online, and in English. One group interview with seven survivors and advocates was conducted in Spanish and four individual interviews with survivors were conducted in Spanish. On one occasion we spoke with two law enforcement officials (victim specialists) from the same city at the same time and we also spoke with an immigration lawyer and their client together on one occasion. No interviewee received compensation for providing information. We identified many of our interview subjects through chain referrals, often starting with referrals from immigration attorneys.

We have assigned pseudonyms to protect the identity of all the survivors given the sensitive nature of the information provided and the uncertain protection that pending U visa petitions provide at this time of aggressive immigration enforcement. In addition, some immigration lawyers requested anonymity to preserve their relationship with local law enforcement to continue to serve their clients effectively.

A note on terminology: Many survivors’ groups, support service organizations, and others working on sexual or domestic violence strongly prefer the term “survivor” to “victim.” Survivor implies greater empowerment, agency, and resilience, and many individuals do not want to be labeled solely as victims. That said, some individuals feel “victim” better conveys their experience of having been the target of violent crime and it is typically used in the legal, law enforcement and policy contexts. It refers to an individual who has experienced a crime such as domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or trafficking. The term is important in statutes, administrative processes, and court proceedings, because rights, eligibility for services, and certain protections are tied to a person’s status as a victim of a qualifying crime. In recognition of those differing views and contexts, this report uses both terms. We use the term “undocumented immigrant” as a neutral respectful term for those without legal immigration status. This terminology focuses on lack of documentation rather than the person’s actions, recognizing that some undocumented people may have come to the country legally.
 

Background

History and Rationale for U Visas

Millions of people without legal immigration status in the United States are acutely vulnerable to crime because they fear deportation and family separation—including from their US citizen children—if they go to the police. Perpetrators often exploit this fear by threatening survivors with these consequences. To address this threat and to help law enforcement better detect and investigate crimes in their communities, Congress created special categories of visas that allow immigrant victims to report certain crimes without fear of deportation if they cooperate with the investigation or prosecution of such crimes.

Since its inception in 1994, the bipartisan Violence Against Women Act has provided critical protections to immigrant survivors who are experiencing domestic violence. In 1994, Congress created the self-petitioning process to alleviate the barriers immigrant survivors often face, noting that victims should not have to choose to stay with their abusers to remain in the United States.[5] Congress continued to support, improve, and strengthen protections for immigrant survivors, notably with the creation of the U and T visas. Continued support of these provisions from Congress reflects the bipartisan recognition that domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking are serious crimes and a public safety issue that cannot be fully addressed if victims are not provided a pathway to safety and justice and perpetrators are not held accountable.[6]  

In creating the new categories of visas, Congress recognized immigrant women and children can, and are, targeted for many crimes apart from domestic violence, and:

All women and children who are victims of crime committed against them in the United States must be able to report these crimes to law enforcement and fully participate in the investigation of the crimes committed against them.[7]

In other words, Congress intended the law to be a tool to help strengthen relations between police and immigrant communities and allow law enforcement to provide a path to safety and justice for victims.

Congress’ actions recognize barriers to reporting crimes in undocumented communities are extremely high. The inherent risks undocumented immigrants face when reporting crimes are exacerbated by the environment of aggressive enforcement under the current Trump administration, where immigration enforcement arrests, detentions, and deportations are on the rise.

For any immigrant, removal from the country can entail arrest and detention in harsh conditions, separation from families—including children who may be US citizens—potential exposure of other undocumented family members, loss of livelihood, and a return to dangerous conditions or extreme hardship in their country of origin or, increasingly, to a third country with which they have no connection. Moreover, victims who are immigrants may face additional vulnerabilities because of language barriers, an unfamiliar legal system, and a distrust of law enforcement based on their experiences in their countries of origin.[8] Often victims do not come forward until they are afraid for their own lives or their children’s lives. As one survivor said, “better to be deported than in a body bag.”[9]

Congress’ decision to establish the U visa program was welcomed by many law enforcement officials. However, Congress provided wide discretion to law enforcement and judicial officials whether to provide certification for U visas, even for those who clearly meet the qualifications under the program. As a result, the ability to get a U visa may vary widely depending on where the crime took place and the approach taken by the local law enforcement agency. To promote consistent practices and to ensure more equitable access to the visa, 20 states have in recent years enacted laws that provide guidelines to help standardize certification requirements across agencies.[10] Although state laws vary in terms of specifics—for example, the amount of time the certifying agency has to respond to the request for a certification—all are consistent with federal law requirements for U visa certifications. In passing these laws, states explicitly recognized the need for the U visa to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute serious crimes.

Qualifying for a Visa and Steps to Obtain One

To obtain a U visa, the petitioner must meet certain requirements, namely they:

• Are the victim of a qualifying criminal activity.

• Possess credible and reliable information about the crime.

• Suffered substantial mental or physical harm as result of the crime.

• Show the crime occurred in the United States or violated U.S. law.

• Demonstrate helpfulness to the investigation or prosecution of the crime.

• Are admissible to the United States or otherwise qualify for a waiver.

Both direct and indirect victims may petition for a U visa. The direct victim is the person against whom the crime was perpetrated. An immediate relative of an incapacitated or “incompetent” victim, a victim under the age of 16, or a murder or manslaughter victim would be eligible to apply as an indirect victim if they meet the other criteria. According to a 2020 USCIS report, the most frequently certified crimes were felonious assault (46 percent), domestic violence (41 percent) and sexual assault (15 percent), though 28 crimes in total qualify for the visa including murder, torture, kidnapping, and extortion.[11] Certifications can include more than one crime, which is why the total exceeds 100 percent.

U visa petitioners must submit a U visa certification form from an authorized official at a certifying agency (usually local police or a prosecutors’ office, judge, or other agencies with criminal investigative jurisdiction) confirming that the qualifying crime occurred; the victim has information about the criminal activity; and that they were, are, or are likely to be helpful in the detection, investigation, prosecution, conviction, or sentencing of criminal activities.[12] This certifying form is a required piece of evidence, without which a victim may not be eligible for the U visa.[13] The petition must also contain a personal affidavit and proof of all the other requirements for the visa and must be submitted within six months of the date the certification form was signed.[14]

Once the petition and supporting documents have been submitted to USCIS, it may take years to be considered due to the cap of 10,000 principal U visas that can be issued annually and the current backlog of over 249,000 petitions. A victim who submits a U visa petition now can expect to wait 15 years or more before a final decision on their case.[15] Three years after receiving a U visa, which may be decades after the crime occurred, the recipient will be eligible to apply for permanent legal status in the US.

To provide victims in the US with stability while their petitions are pending and to support their cooperation with law enforcement, U visa regulations established the U waiting list. This list grants eligible petitioners and their family members deferred action and work authorization while their cases await adjudication.[16] In 2021, USCIS also created a “bona fide determination” review process which confirms the petition for the U visa has been completed correctly, with proper certification, and that the petitioner does not pose a risk to national security or public safety and otherwise merits a favorable exercise of discretion.[17]

Petitioners currently wait an average of 30 months for a bona fide review.[18] A bona fide determination gives the victim the ability to work in the US legally while they wait for their petition to be adjudicated for cap review.[19] Although the bona fide determination was also intended to protect victims from deportation while their U visa case is pending, current administration policy has undermined that protection.

Addressing Fraud

A small number of highly publicized incidents involving staged crimes have given rise to concerns among some observers that U visas could be used fraudulently to obtain legal status. Although every government process carries some risk of abuse, the evidence does not indicate widespread fraud in the U visa progam. Moreover, the risks associated with filing a fraudulent claim, including permanent inadmissibility and potential criminal prosecution, are extremely high, particularly given the 15-year wait time for a visa. Because this issue has become politicized recently, we examined the extensive safeguards built into the U visa process to prevent and detect false claims. This discussion is not meant to normalize, or downplay, the serious harm victims face when their accounts are dismissed. Rather, it is intended to demonstrate that the current system includes multiple layers of protection that substantially mitigate the risk of fraudulent claims. Protections against fraud include:

• At the certification level, the certifier attests that a crime has occurred and that the victim has been, is being, or will be helpful to the investigation or prosecution of the qualifying criminal activity. The certification process offers certifiers the opportunity to determine if any information appears fraudulent and gives certifiers discretion in determining the victim’s helpfulness, even in states that have laws setting forth requirements for certification. Certifiers provide a gatekeeping function and can offer additional supporting information, if available.

• USCIS recommends that the U visa certification is placed in a signed, sealed envelope to protect it from tampering.[20] Electronic filing by certifiers would also make it more difficult to falsify or tamper with certification documents.

• If fraud is suspected, fraud detection units at USCIS conduct a thorough review of the entire petition, including the certification form, victim’s affidavit, police reports, medical records, court documents, photographs and witness affidavits. They can, and often do, request supplemental information from petitioners. In 2024, USCIS denied 3,646 petitions.[21]

• USCIS may contact the certifying agency to confirm that the victim has continued to provide assistance and confirm information in the petition.[22]

• USCIS conducts biometric checks on all petitioners and their qualifying family members to determine whether the petitioner has a criminal history, immigration violations, or raises any security concerns that would make them inadmissible.

• The certifying official and their signature are checked for a match against an internal database of all qualifying certifiers to ensure there is no forgery.

• Certifying officials can withdraw certification if concerns about its legitimacy arise while the petition is pending.[23] In fact, they are obligated to do so, as certifiers swear an oath to inform USCIS if they later discover a claim is fraudulent.

• Additional fraud checks are conducted by USCIS at later stages when the victim applies for lawful permanent residency and citizenship.

If fraud is identified, the petition is denied, and the applicant is permanently barred from ever obtaining legal status in the United States. Furthermore, fraudulent cases are referred to federal investigators for criminal prosecution, leading to potential imprisonment and deportation.

Certifying officers generally take their oversight role seriously. Law enforcement officials reported that they often take multiple steps before agreeing to provide a U visa certification, starting with police assessment of a witness’ credibility. As one New York prosecutor’s office said, “The job of police and prosecutors every day is to assess the credibility of witnesses.”[24] Prosecutors in Minnesota rely on police credibility assessments but say that if there “is a hint it is not true, we investigate further.”[25]

All law enforcement officials interviewed for this report stressed that there are multiple safeguards within the system to help ensure that any false claims are caught. Officer Natasha Haunsperger, who is responsible for community outreach in Portland, Oregon, says in her “ten years I have never had a false victim,” noting they are careful to investigate fraud and weed out cases presented by attorneys that do not meet the visa criteria.[26] A certifying official who is a senior judge in Texas said, “I’m generally skeptical [of fraud] and I don’t think people were putting themselves in that position. [Fraud] was not evident in my experience.”[27] Likewise the Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty in Minneapolis, Minnesota said “We have not seen people take advantage of the U visa program. We take steps to ensure they were actual victims of a crime, and it has not been an issue.”[28] An immigration attorney told Human Rights Watch that police “flush out the fraud” that people are worried about because one of their jobs is to determine the validity of an accusation. [29]

Furthermore, some jurisdictions have internal processes in place as integrity-building measures. For example, one prosecutor reported, “Most cases have medical evidence and photos and a ‘heft’ to them,” and even that is double-checked.[30] Victim specialists with the Portland police say that they and investigators are questioned by the certifier prior to certification to check the claims and that “we do our part to investigate fraud.”[31] In Albuquerque, police carefully review U certification requests to ensure they fit the certification requirements, including by reviewing files and any available videotape to confirm the victim’s identity.[32] In Fairfax County, Virginia, a police certifier explained that:

For every application we do a deep dive, and we check the databases on the case. The case could be ten years old or ten months old, but we make sure everything matches up with the police report. I have never had a concern that I was signing a fictitious visa application, but if I did, I would do a deeper dive and consult with my colleagues. I’m signing under penalty of perjury at the end of the day, so I have to make sure all the requirements are met.[33]

A retired police commander in Minnesota said, “We have gone through training and know what questions to ask and to look for red flags. We have the tools to check inconsistencies. If I see anything suspicious, I will ask attorneys and if there is conflicting information, I will pull the video to see if it is consistent and check the 911 calls and medical records.”[34]

A prosecutor at the Hennepin County District Attorney’s Office in Minneapolis noted that law enforcement did identify one case of U Visa fraud a few years ago. The fraud was prosecuted, which “shows that the system is working in identifying and prosecuting these cases.”[35] To further deter possible fraud, at community workshops, the Minneapolis Police Department “explain[s] it is a crime to say you are a victim if you are not and you could be prosecuted for that.”[36]

A senior certifying judge from Texas who works in family court told Human Rights Watch that before providing a U visa certification in a case over which she did not preside, she reviewed transcripts, judges’ notes, exhibits and filings in the case.[37] In her own cases, she also evaluated the credibility of the witnesses who testified. She felt fraudulent cases were unlikely. She explained it is hard to falsify crimes because police investigate the cases and review the evidence. In her experience most people seeking U visas are not sophisticated or members of a criminal enterprise-she primarily met women who were in relationships that became abusive and were looking for help.[38]

Similarly, an experienced victim specialist said:

In my opinion, working as an advocate for 17 years I don’t know how someone could invent a narrative of severe crimes. I haven’t seen it and there are numerous checks and balances, multiple interviews and it is a lengthy and detailed investigative process. There are video cameras everywhere to be potentially collected as evidence. I doubt it could happen that easily.[39]

Fraud is even less likely in places where prosecutors wait until a case concludes to certify due to concerns that a U visa application could give defense attorneys grounds to challenge a victim’s motives for reporting. As a U visa expert said, “Most certifiers in New York City won’t certify until the case is over (unless it is an emergency case) so fraud is extremely rare.”[40]

Most immigration lawyers work diligently to ensure the facts are correct and everything in the paperwork is accurate and complete to meet USCIS’s exacting standards. One lawyer said, “Certification itself helps avoid fraud because law enforcement has to answer questions about how the person cooperated. It is hard for lawyers to make something up.”[41] Lawyers also rely on medical records, or diagnoses from a credentialed social worker or counselor, to show harm to the survivor.

Between 2018 and 2024 nearly a quarter of all petitions were denied by USCIS, affirming the close level of scrutiny to which these cases are subjected.[42] Moreover, the extraordinary delays in obtaining U visas, and the limited benefits they confer while waiting, may actually make the U visa a less attractive target for fraudulent claims.[43]

ICE Arrests and Crime Victims

The second Trump administration has weakened the shield that U visas provided to crime survivors by revoking long-standing federal guidance that instructed ICE agents to exercise prosecutorial discretion when taking civil immigration enforcement action against people who have victim-based immigration status.[44]

Prior guidelines discouraged taking enforcement actions against individuals known to be victims, or witnesses to crimes, because “it is common for perpetrators to report immigrant crime victims and witnesses to immigration enforcement officials to gain an advantage in a civil or family law case and/or to avoid prosecution in a criminal case.” This prior guidance, which had endured in various forms for more than 15 years, urged ICE officials to pay particular attention to victims of domestic violence, human trafficking, and sexual assault, and to witnesses involved in pending criminal investigations or prosecutions when making enforcement decisions.[45]

The new guidance on enforcement actions involving victims of crime issued in late January 2025 “rescinded and superseded” previous policies discouraging detention and deportation of crime victims.[46] Indeed, some law enforcement officials have gone so far as to encourage people to report ex-partners who may be undocumented immigrants on social media, exacerbating the risk of abuse.[47]

While the new guidelines do require ICE to verify whether deportation will interfere with an ongoing criminal case prior to deportation, there are reports of victims being subhect to immigration enforcement.[48] In the many jurisdictions that refuse to provide a U visa certification until a case is completed, victims would have no protection from deportation no matter how much they risked to help law enforcement. Criminal cases may take years to reach a conclusion. In the meantime, victims are stuck in an extremely precarious situation.

Deporting those with pending U visa petitions not only undermines the ability of law enforcement to apprehend people suspected or accused of crimes but also sends a message that the benefit of reporting a crime may be outweighed by the significant risk of bringing yourself to the attention of government officials.

The Trump administration’s current policies undermine the purpose of the visa program: to improve public safety by encouraging people to come forward and assist law enforcement without fear of deportation. In June, Houston police reportedly contacted ICE after a domestic violence victim called to report a violation of a protective order by her ex-husband, who had abused her and threatened her life repeatedly.[49] The appearance of ICE with police, even in places where police are not cooperating on immigration enforcement matters, may further undermine efforts to encourage victim’s cooperation with police and have dire consequences. County Attorney Moriarty expressed concern about Minneapolis police being seen with ICE: “Getting people to come forward is based on trust and that trust can be taken away if there is a perception that law enforcement is cooperating with ICE. As a result, we need to think about how actions will be perceived in the community because that perception may impact trust.”[50]

As one New York City prosecutor’s office said, “Immediate deportation of [suspected perpetrators] can frustrate public safety strategy because we can’t prosecute the case if they are not here. And if the perpetrator reenters the country, the prosecution may no longer be viable.”[51] 
 

An Essential Public Safety Tool

The whole point of the U visa was to advance public safety. It was founded on the principle that we can make people safer if we can encourage them to report crimes.[52]

— Representative from a New York City Prosecutor’s Office, June 18, 2025

Victims of domestic and sexual violence and other forms of gender-based violence face many barriers that prevent them from accessing justice. U visas are an essential component of rectifying that problem by helping to ensure that victims can access justice and are treated with dignity while doing so. The program is not only consistent with US human rights obligations but also has benefits that extend beyond the needs of survivors and address bipartisan goals of making communities safer.

Broad Public Safety Benefits

Despite the administration’s strong rhetoric about cracking down on crime, diluting the protections built into the U visa process will help create an environment that benefits abusers and makes it less likely they will be apprehended and prosecuted.

The U visa program is an essential tool for improving public safety because it helps ensure crimes are reported to police and enables victims to participate in criminal justice processes. According to a recent analysis of crime data, from 2017 to 2023, noncitizen victims cooperated with police on 2.5 million crimes resulting in 257,000 arrests.[53] The more people who engage in criminal justice processes, the safer it is for communities. One advocate put it simply, “U visas help make our communities safe. It is better for everyone because it enables victims to report without fear of being deported.”[54] Law enforcement officials interviewed by Human Rights Watch detailed several ways in which the U and T visa programs assist their work by encouraging participation in criminal justice processes, strengthening relations with their communities, and building trust with vulnerable populations.

While Congress created the U visa to help victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking and other crimes, its benefits stretch far beyond intimate partner violence cases and immigrant communities. Minnesota’s Hennepin County prosecutor Castillo said, “The idea that the perpetrator will only harm one community can’t be right. They will do harm to others.”[55] Studies support that conclusion, linking perpetrators of domestic violence to a wide array of other crimes outside of the home.[56] For example, independent studies have shown that most mass shootings (defined as cases with four or more victims) are linked to domestic violence cases.[57]

Tara Patet, a prosecutor specializing in domestic violence cases in St. Paul, Minnesota emphasized why these cases are so important:

If we can intervene successfully in domestic violence cases, we can get guns away from offenders which is important for everyone’s safety. The collateral consequences of these cases help the entire community, and the U visa is a key part of getting victims not to see us as the enemy.[58]

Apart from the benefits of intervening in intimate partner violence cases, interviewees described cases of immigrant victims providing essential help in wage theft cases, murders, robberies, hate crimes, stranger rape, or sexual assault cases. Once trust has been established, victims have provided assistance in other cases beyond the scope of the qualifying U visa crime, such as drug and gun cases.[59] One lawyer described a case in which her immigrant client assisted in the prosecution of his son-in-law who abused him and his wife, an elderly paraplegic woman and her husband in front of their four- and six-year-old grandchildren.[60] Another perpetrator was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison after threatening and assaulting his girlfriend with his gun, a crime he had committed against other girlfriends in the past; they had been too afraid to report the abuses.[61] The director of the Fairfax County, Virginia, police department victims services unit said undocumented immigrant victims have provided important evidence in crimes ranging from gang homicide cases to stranger rapes.[62]

In August 2024, an immigrant man visiting his family in Brooklyn was the victim of a random hate crime: a stranger shouted anti-semitic remarks and stabbed him inches from his heart following a Shabbat event.[63] The immigrant victim came lawfully to the US but while he was hospitalized for treatment to his wounds, his visa expired. He cooperated with the police, and the perpetrator was charged with second degree attempted murder, assault, and multiple hate crimes.[64] Applying for the U visa allowed the victim to assist prosecutors in apprehending the alleged perpetrator. Moreover, his testimony will be important at the sentencing hearing, which might not have been practicable if the victim did not have a pathway to remain in the United States legally.[65]

As Judge Lora Livingston said:

The U visa definitely keeps the wider community safer. On a micro level, it is helping one person, but prosecuting the abuser makes the overall community safer. It is critical that we help these [immigrant] folks to improve the whole community.[66]

Strengthening Victims’ Resolve

Immigration Related Barriers to Reporting

The complexities of sexual and domestic violence cases make ensuring victim cooperation throughout a criminal process challenging, a problem the U and T visa programs were intended to address. It requires courage for victims of abuse to come forward, particularly if they are undocumented.

Abusers often use threats—of deportation, of taking away children, or of more violence or even murder—to prevent victims from reporting. Even when they themselves are undocumented, abusers may threaten to call the anonymous tip line to report their victim’s undocumented status. An immigration lawyer explained to Human Rights Watch that some of her clients are told by their abuser, “If you report this, we will both be deported,” or “I am going to come and seek revenge when I get out.”[74] Another veteran attorney said:

Quite often clients who come to us have endured abuse for many years but don’t report to police because their abuser threatens them that if they go to police, “I’ll kill you, take away your children, you’ll get deported.” Finally, a last straw happens-victims usually don’t call after the first incident. And even more so now in the current landscape of immigration.[75]

A victim specialist in Portland said: “All the time victims are told if they come forward they will be deported. They shut down because they don’t want to put a target on their back or on the back of their family. Abusers know this and know they can abuse them because they aren’t going to come forward.”[76]

Another victim specialist said, “Victims are commonly told ‘Who is going to believe you? You don’t read or write well, you don’t even speak the language.... The police won’t believe you because you are here without legal status.’ That is enough to keep someone silent.”[77] A retired police commander said, “Perpetrators use victims’ [immigration] status explicitly. It is used as a weapon by criminals to coerce people who are vulnerable. Police at a crime scene have been asked, ‘Are you really going to believe that person? They’re an illegal.’”[78]

Language barriers, distrust of police, and a lack of awareness of victims’ rights also are obstacles to reporting. As a result, lawyers told Human Rights Watch, victims often only come forward when they fear for their lives more than they fear deportation.[79] Another lawyer said she has never had a case in which the reported incident was the first instance of domestic abuse—most victims of domestic violence have been abused for years before mustering the courage to report to law enforcement.[80]

Impact of Aggressive Enforcement Tactics

The aggressive enforcement tactics being used by ICE under the Trump administration make survivors more reluctant than ever to access the help they need. New guidelines mean that ICE can arrest and detain people in locations that were previously considered safe, including schools, courthouses, and places where people seek services. Staff from community groups told prosecutors in Minnesota, "Victims are not reporting. A lot of victims are afraid to come forward and have really deep fears. They turn on the news, and it makes people fearful.”[81] The Director of Victims Services in Fairfax County, Virginia, said, ”In this environment, victims are more fearful of coming forward. Many victims of domestic violence are told by their abusers ‘If you leave, ICE is going to pick you up and they will take you, not me, because you are undocumented.’ People fear if they go to police, they will be deported.”[82] Immigration lawyers report that their clients are afraid to appear in public spaces and might only leave home when absolutely necessary for work or to take their children to school.

Even with a U visa petition pending, “victims don’t want to go outside because they think that at any moment [ICE] officers will be there,”[83] one lawyer told us.

An immigration attorney in New Mexico told Human Rights Watch their client’s adolescent daughter was sexually abused, but the client is afraid to accompany her daughter to court due to fears of deportation.[84]

“Immigrants are very fearful about going into government buildings to seek services now. It is difficult to get people to come forward,” said a representative of the mayor’s office in New York.[85] Hennepin County prosecutor, Eder Castillo, said that with ICE in courthouses victims have been afraid to come to courthouses in his county in Minnesota. He recalled a murder witness who was afraid to come to the county government center and said they are seeing victims afraid to go to the office’s Domestic Abuse Service Center or court. Castillo said, “U and T Visas can help with that, but trying to build trust while trust is eroding is like a tug of war.”[86]

In one report, ICE has even shown up at shelters for domestic violence victims.[87] Advocates in California say survivors’ fears make it hard to create effective safety plans for them.[88]

Victims’ advocates in police departments say that even victims who are strong candidates for a U visa do not want to pursue it because “they are afraid of being on ICE’s radar screen at all.”[89] Lawyers say they must speak with victims multiple times now to convince them to report. Many come forward only after being threatened with death. One victim who reported after nearly being killed said her abuser told her, “You’ll end up in a body bag and I don’t care if I get deported afterwards.”[90]

A small survey of advocates indicates these anecdotal observations are not an anomaly and the Trump administration’s current enforcement practices have given abusers a powerful tool for controlling their victims. The Alliance for Immigrant Survivors conducted a survey of 170 advocates and attorneys nationwide in the spring of 2025 and found that over 75 percent of advocates say their clients are fearful of contacting the police, and over 70 percent of their clients have concerns about going to court for a matter related to their abuser/offender.[91]

Advocates in that report indicated victims are now afraid to get their protective orders renewed—or to apply for a protective order at all—because of fear ICE will be at the courthouse.[92] Victims with serious injuries, including those with broken bones, feared going to the hospital.[93]

Promoting Victim Cooperation

I can’t imagine living in NYC without a U visa as an option. Immigrant survivors are told over and over if they call police they will be deported and their children taken away. It is life-changing to be able to tell them there is a remedy.[94]

—Jennifer DeCarli, New York City Mayor’s Office, August 15, 2025

We have offenders out there we are not aware of preying on people ... and we have a lot of undocumented witnesses we need to prosecute our cases, which is why we have ambassadors out there talking to communities to encourage reporting. The U visa is incredibly important because we are protecting victims and information needs to be out there about it.[95]

—Lt. Jennifer Garcia, Albuquerque Police Department, June 24, 2025

U visas are intended to provide crucial assistance for law enforcement both by encouraging people to come forward who might otherwise not feel safe doing so, and by providing stability, enabling survivors to stay in the country and work while their case is being investigated and prosecuted, which takes time.

Prosecutors and victim advocates in police departments described the importance of U visas in encouraging reporting and their efforts to make sure people are aware that it exists. Eder Castillo, a Hennepin County prosecutor, said:

Any crime involving a noncitizen victim is harder to prosecute because they have to trust officials enough to come in and they may want to protect their undocumented family members. U and T visas make people feel comfortable talking to law enforcement.[96]

Tara Patet, a St. Paul prosecutor specializing in domestic violence cases, also notes:

Lack of immigration status is a powerful tool for batterers to prevent people from reporting. If we give victims these tools, a letter that says they [have VAWA confidentiality], the victim is less worried about the batterer turning them in.[97]

In Albuquerque, a police lieutenant told us, “We don’t want people to be victims because of their immigrant status. There is always concern about reporting—we have town halls, the mayor put out a video, we have put out videos in multiple languages, and we are trying to send a message [that people can come forward safely].”[98]

Slavica Jovanovic, a victim advocate assigned to Portland Police Bureau’s Sex Crimes Unit, emphasized that “U visas are very helpful in getting people to come forward by telling them they can report a crime regardless of their documentation status. We try to share the visa information with the community as much as possible as one of the federal remedies after a trauma related to a severe crime.”[99] To that end, the Portland Police Bureau works closely with community groups and consular offices to educate them about visas available for undocumented victims, with the hope that they will spread the word and encourage people to come forward with reports of crime.

Their approach has borne fruit: recently the victim of a violent LGBTQ hate crime in Portland, Oregon who was hospitalized after being severely beaten and left unconscious, cooperated with police after a community group told him about the U visa. Officer Natasha Haunsperger said, "Had it not been for that, this victim would not have participated in the investigation.”[100] She also cited a sexual assault case in which community groups encouraged an immigrant survivor to report despite her undocumented status, resulting in a conviction and long sentence for a sex offender. “Had it not been for community knowledge about U visas, we would not have had a prosecuting witness.”[101]

Even for cases that do not result in a conviction, reporting is important. The act of reporting has a chilling effect for some, even when it does not result in a successful prosecution. Being put through the process of arrest and detention can make perpetrators less likely to repeat the same pattern. Even when arrests do not occur, there is evidence that police investigations may reduce crime by increasing the offenders’ perceived risk of arrest and prosecution.[102]

For cases that go forward, the U visa is an important tool. Several law enforcement officers stressed the importance of providing stability for victims who are essential witnesses in their cases. Access to work authorization provides stability and security for survivors, enabling them to successfully participate in investigations and prosecutions, and be less financially dependent on an abusive partner—especially important in long complex cases.[103]

Haunsperger said these visas “give dignity and respect to victims, enabling them to stay and participate in the process all the way through.... It is a phenomenal tool because victims stay engaged and are respected.”[104]

Building Trust

The U visa program confers significant additional benefits by helping to “bridge the gap of trust,” as one police advocate put it, between the community and police. Its utility was described simply by a St. Paul prosecutor who said, “The U visa is a tool for us to build trust and show that the justice system is interested in their safety regardless of their immigration status.”[105] Because immigrants may be coming from places where law enforcement is not trusted or is corrupt, the U visa “sends a strong message that law enforcement is good. If you see something or need help, law enforcement is something you can reach out to.”[106] Word of mouth of a positive experience also travels far and can unlock investigations in other cases, help police and communities stay safer and ensure victims have access to justice.  

Haunsperger explained, “Our investigative process is enhanced in a way it would not have been otherwise. The U visa is a fantastic crime fighting tool ... It opens magic doors to police officers.” She said that victims have provided information about other unrelated crimes after being certified for their U visa, including a homicide in Los Angeles. She hopes that victims spread the word about their experience so that others feel emboldened to come forward: “In terms of trust building and crime fighting, this is the best tool we have.”[107] Victim Services Specialists with the Portland Police Bureau Detective Division said they find the U visa beneficial because people talk, “if you help one person they tell their family, people at school and their friends. Word of mouth is huge—it is very beneficial and important to have.”[108]

The sentiment is echoed by retired Minneapolis police commander Giovanni Veliz. “How do you build cases?” he asked. “Build trust, listen, and then wonderful things happen. If the community doesn’t believe in you, then no matter the resources you have, people are not going to come forward.”[109]

He has made a concerted effort to reach out to community members and has confirmed when a U visa recipient tells others about the U visa and their positive experience with police, it has helped in a wide array of criminal cases, including narcotics and gun cases, organized crime, and forged documents:

I’ve seen it hundreds of times. Building trust with the community results in safer communities overall. The relationships help all the time and U visa recipients help directly and indirectly with other crimes.[110]

He recounted an instance when he went to speak in a church about U visas and left his card. Four hours later, he said, he got a tip about the location of hundreds of kilos of drugs.

Prosecutors and police department staff described individual cases in which one victim with a positive experience was able to convince others to come forward, leading to successful prosecutions of serious crimes. In Oregon, an Uber driver came across a 15-year-old girl who was running away from her attacker and tried to help her. The girl had been sexually assaulted by her sister’s partner. She reported it to law enforcement but her older sister, who was also abused, was afraid to leave the abuser and report it to police. Once the sister saw the 15-year-old was able to report safely, she eventually felt confident enough to come forward to report. Both victims are now safe: the younger sister can go to school, and the older sister has become independent and is not dependent on an abusive relationship for her survival.[111] In addition, the abuser is now in prison making “the community safer.”[112]

Another former prosecutor described the successful prosecution of a trafficking case that started when one victim came forward. In large part because of the T visa program, law enforcement was able to build trust with six other victims who initially did not identify as victims or want to cooperate. The investigation ultimately found the perpetrator was smuggling victims in from Mexico with promises of a better life, requiring them to put up their homes as collateral and then forcing them into servitude for his landscaping company to pay off their debts. He was convicted of 21 felonies relating to forced labor and human trafficking and sentenced to 20 years in prison and forfeiture of $1.5 million in assets.[113]

Tara Patet, a domestic violence prosecutor with over 30 years of experience, said the U visa’s value goes beyond convictions:

Success is measured by the impression we are leaving on the victim-that the system is looking out for their interest, that they can trust prosecutors and that we care about their safety. That is success even if there is no prosecution because they will reach out for help again.[114]

She says U visa recipients have reached out to report firearms cases and help get guns off the streets, which is good for public safety. She also found that victims she has talked to about U visas are more likely to call for help when they need it. She recognizes the complexity of these cases and says it is “not always reasonable to expect people to testify against the father of their children.”[115] However, evidence shows that reporting alone is associated with fewer repeat domestic violence victimizations.[116]

Increased trust from the community may also help keep officers safe. Retired Minneapolis police commander Gio Veliz notes that “police are not in communities 24/7” so victims and community members “are our eyes and ears.”[117] He says policing does not work if witnesses and victims do not share the full extent of their victimization because police do not and cannot see everything. Veliz said in the wake of the killing of George Floyd there was an exodus of police and the department was short-staffed, making it “even more important to have extra sets of eyes in the community to supplement police officers.”[118] Additionally, Eder Castillo repeats this sentiment, stating “we have more eyes in the community which improves our safety.”[119]

On a more personal level, building trust may help better the community in other ways. A senior family court judge in Texas, Lora Livingston, recognized that many people fundamentally do not trust law enforcement and saw the U visa as a way to help build trust and allow people to get the help they need. “The more people that become aware of resources the better... It is a lifesaver and creates a pathway to self-sufficiency and economic stability and ultimately to becoming a better citizen, community member, and taxpayer.”[120]

A New York City government official told Human Rights Watch:

Policymakers should know this is an option that saves lives and allows people to have faith or trust in government systems. It is not easy. It takes a lot of courage to come forward and share trauma, but the U visa allows the government to provide support and [create] trust.[121]

Doing Right by Victims

Several prosecutors and police department personnel see the U visa as an important component of their job promoting public safety and as a moral imperative to protect the most vulnerable. They stressed how important the U visa is to them as a matter of humanity. A police victim advocate explained, “Justice is more than investigation and prosecution. If victims of severe crimes don’t have a chance at healing and recovery, we are failing them as a community, as humans.” Another victim specialist said, “Our goal is to tell the community there are options and they can report safely. What would we stand for if we remove that? What does it say about our humanity?“[122] An Albuquerque police Lieutenant also stated, “Diversity is the beautiful part of our city, and we can’t have people living in fear.”[123]

Victim advocates in police departments recognized the additional trauma and difficulties undocumented victims often face, making it more difficult to come forward and seek the justice they are entitled to receive. As prosecutor Eder Castillo said, “The U visa levels the playing field—a noncitizen victim has all the trauma from being a victim, plus the threat of not being with family, losing their job and home as they know it. The visa puts them on the same playing field as a citizen victim.”[124] A police victim advocate pointed out that the U visa provides a way to provide justice to people who may need additional support

People who endure these crimes shouldn’t have to worry about their status. They endure enough and why wouldn’t we offer them relief of this kind? What can we do to minimize the impact of trauma on survivors who are away from their support systems? Some have been assaulted for years by family members or others and are isolated or rejected from their families and also manipulated. They have no voice and may not be able to get basic needs met and only come forward when they can’t take it anymore.[125]

Victim specialists also see U visas as one way of making things more just for both victims and for the community:

Taking away these visas would be detrimental. The visas have a positive domino effect and benefit the country in a positive way-it ends abuse for the individual and helps them work and be a contributing member of society and also helps the community be safer. Without it, people are so vulnerable.[126]

Immigration lawyers and victims told Human Rights Watch they believe the U visa has saved their clients’ lives because they were in life-threatening situations.

The “bona fide determination” review process, which allows petitioners and eligible family members to receive deferred action and access to work authorization while their petitions are pending, has an enormous impact on single mothers who may rely on their abuser for financial support. As one survivor told us, “We have to work as single mothers. The U visa is a great relief and changed everything.”[127]

Another survivor, Rosa, said her partner and the father of her daughter verbally abused her and threatened to kidnap her child. After he attempted to suffocate her and kidnap the baby, she finally sought help from the police in 2021. Her abuser was sentenced to probation and alcohol treatment. She received a favorable bona fide determination which has allowed her to work legally in the US while her petition is pending and says it has changed her life.[128]

A city official in New York told Human Rights Watch of another such case:

A client got a work visa after four years and her demeanor changed completely—she was scared and depressed before—she has a 10-year-old boy and did not want to work illegally. She wanted to do everything right but was surviving on gift cards and food banks. She is so excited to become a contributing member of society. I have hundreds of stories like that.[129]

An experienced immigration lawyer whose clients have received U visas has seen their long-term benefits:

I see a lot of change in the lives of our clients—when they come to our office they are often more afraid of being injured or killed than of being deported. A U visa allows them to become self-sufficient because they can get work authorization and it changes their lives in unbelievable ways. They do not have to depend on their abuser. It is huge—it changes lives dramatically, they start working, can go to school, feel like they are lawfully in the country. It is a game changer.[130]

Although the work permit provides “a large sense of relief,” enabling victims to get driver’s licenses, jobs, and social security numbers, it is still not the same sense of safety as having legal status.[131]

An experienced immigration lawyer described how far some of her clients have come after getting a U visa. She said one was in a shelter before her U visa was approved but studied for her general equivalency diploma (GED), trained to be a home health aide, and became a role model for her children. She was able to help her daughter finish high school and obtain a full scholarship to college.[132] The lawyer described how another U visa recipient’s daughter went to college and volunteered to help asylum seekers with the immigration legal services group that helped her mother and is now their paralegal.[133]

A victim advocate also told Human Rights Watch about three sisters who came forward to report abuse by a family member—the suspect was prosecuted and the victims were able to heal, continue their education and help care for their younger sibling.[134] As the lawyer concluded, “No one wants to suffer the kinds of abuse that these people have, but at least with the U visa something positive can come out of a horrible experience.”[135]

Room for Improvement: U Visa Backlogs, Delays and Related Policy, and Implementation Concerns

Several interviewees said the most significant shortcoming of the U visa program is that there are too few visas available. With a congressionally set cap of 10,000 visas for principal petitioners, demand far outstrips availability. In 2024 alone, USCIS received 41,558 certified petitions from victims of crimes for U visa status.[142] In the first half of fiscal year 2025, USCIS received 18,561 petitions. The backlog of cases continues to grow and currently over 249,000 filings are awaiting adjudication.[143] Under the current system, it takes over 15 years for a crime victim to be approved for a U visa.

The delay may undercut the overall effectiveness of the program. Delay makes it harder for victims to see the benefits of cooperating with police and may mean they will no longer be willing to come forward, particularly at a time when immigration raids, arrests, and deportations may heighten their fears of drawing attention to themselves. The explicit lack of protection from deportation under the Trump administration’s ICE guidelines further weakens the program's appeal and strengthens the position of abusers.

The Victims Services Director in Fairfax County told Human Rights Watch the U visa program needs to be improved so that it can do what it was meant to do, which is to ensure the safety and cooperation of victims.[144] An immigration lawyer in Georgia said she agrees the lengthy delays undermine the initial purpose of the U visa—to provide victims security so they can go without fear to court and police departments. The delays in the processing of the U visa risk “throw[ing] that initial goal out the window.”[145]

She is also working with U visa petitioners whose children were victims of school shootings. What they went through was so horrible, she said, that giving the family some security would be “the tiniest of silver linings.” The value of the visa is diminished, however, when she tells them how long they will have to wait, and they will not be protected from deportation in the meantime.[146]

A law enforcement official told Human Rights Watch they would prefer this tool to be more well-known and easier to access. A prosecutor said she was “concerned about more victims not coming out of the shadows because they don’t know the remedy is available,” adding, “I am grateful this relief exists and continues to exist and wish it were not so hard to achieve.”[147] Another prosecutor said if he could speak to policymakers, “I would ask to remove the cap to supercharge the tool so victims are more willing to participate in what we do.” [148]

Inconsistent Availability

One of the persistent problems with the U visa program is the wide discrepancy in U visa certification practices. Because different jurisdictions use different standards for issuing U visa certifications, a victim’s ability to file for a U visa seems arbitrary. The passage of laws in 20 states regarding U visa certification processes was intended to address this problem to some extent, but whether a victim of a crime is eligible for a U visa still depends on where they were victimized. Immigration lawyers told Human Rights Watch in some jurisdictions, police will not provide certification at all.[149] In others, law enforcement have their own conditions for certifying which go beyond what the statute requires.

Two lawyers in New York City said district attorney offices in each of the five boroughs have different practices. Some will not provide a U visa certification until a case is over because they want to ensure the victim continues to cooperate. Also, some are reluctant to certify prior to a trial for fear the defense counsel will use it to impeach the victim’s testimony and imply they are lying about the crime in order to gain legal status in the US.[150] In those cases, victims may have to wait additional years for their case to resolve before they can obtain certification and get in the long U visa queue. Other immigrant victims living in New York, perhaps just a subway stop away, receive certification after reporting a crime and can get in line for the visa immediately.

In California, advocates said practices vary as well, with some offices being helpful with certifications and others not.[151] An immigration lawyer said one locality’s police department:

regularly refuses to provide certifications to domestic violence victims. One survivor tried for over six years to certify an incident of domestic violences.[152]

However, he said another nearby police department has made a concerted effort to reach out to the community and does help with U visa certifications.[153]

Other jurisdictions will not provide U visa certifications at all. A Texas advocate said one city “flat out refused to sign, basically telling advocates that they were not required to, so they won’t.”[154] In Georgia, a lawyer showed Human Rights Watch a rejection letter from a police department that they said regularly refuses to issue certifications.[155]

According to U visa regulations, a U visa certification must state that:

1. The person is a certifying official from a certifying agency that has responsibility for the detection, investigation, prosecution, conviction, or sentencing of the qualifying criminal activity;

2. The petitioner was a victim of a qualifying crime;

3. The petitioner had information about the crime;

4. The petitioner has been, is, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the qualifying crime; and

5. The crime occurred in the United States or otherwise violated U.S law.[156]

Police requirements for certification may be stricter than what is called for under the law. For example, police may base decisions on the age of the case and whether it is still pending (the law sets no age limit and permits visa certification even when cases are closed), or require that the victim pass a criminal record check (which they can fail solely because a domestic violence perpetrator previously falsely and vindictively accused them of abuse, even when the charges against them were subsequently dropped) or prove physical harm (under the statute, mental harm also is permissible).[157]

Victims may also be rejected if the police are unable to make an arrest. A Georgia immigration attorney told us of one case in which a victim of an armed robbery was denied certification because the perpetrator was masked and could not be identified. In other cases, the perpetrator cannot be located. This “leaves victims without any sort of route to immigration status even though they absolutely qualify.”[158]

The uneven application of the U visa laws, sometimes even in states with laws meant to standardize how they are applied, creates an arbitrariness in application which also undermines their effectiveness. Because U visa protection depends on where a person was victimized, officials are hampered in using the U visa as a consistent and predictable law-enforcement tool.

Narrow Eligibility

The U visa’s utility is not just limited by long delays caused by a shortage of visas, it is also hampered by being restricted to victims of only the 28 enumerated crimes in the statute.[159] Undocumented witnesses to crimes who themselves were not also victimized, as well as victims of a wide range of other crimes, such as elder abuse, child abuse, and hate crimes are excluded from the program even if the victim’s testimony is essential for investigating and prosecuting those crimes.

The same reasoning that Congress relied on to create visas for crime victims under VAWA apply to other types of crimes not enumerated in VAWA as well: undocumented people may be targeted for a range of crimes because the perpetrators know they are unlikely to go to the authorities because they are afraid of deportation. As Human Rights Watch discussed in a previous report on this topic, many undocumented people have been targeted for robbery on pay day but may fear going to police and risking deportation.[160]

Victims of other crimes may be reluctant to cooperate as well. A lawyer told Human Rights Watch of a client who was the victim of a hit and run, which is not a qualifying U visa crime. Without that protection, he would be at greater risk of deportation if he went to court as a witness.[161] Moreover, only direct victims of qualifying crimes—or the immediate relative of an incapacitated or incompetent victim in certain circumstances—are eligible for U visas so witnesses may still be subject to deportation even if their testimony is essential for prosecution. As one immigration lawyer put it, “if you really want to get crime off the streets, you want witnesses to come forward. They should qualify for some benefit, so they are not afraid to come forward.”[162]

The strict definitions also mean that victims with similar experiences of abuse may have different outcomes with their U visa petition based on language used in certification. For example, if stalking or threats of abuse are characterized as harassment instead of attempted assault, that victim’s visa petition may well be rejected.

ICE Arrests, Law Enforcement and Victims’ Needs

Law enforcement officials Human Rights Watch interviewed in New York, Oregon, and Minnesota recounted instances in which victims or witnesses were deported prior to a trial or a sentencing hearing.[163] The lack of protection from deportation puts victims in extremely difficult situations. One lawyer described a client who has a U visa certified based on abuse of her 8-year-old daughter. However, the client has an old removal order and fears that if she goes to her ICE check-in, they will detain her, and the client won’t be able to support the daughter when she needs her the most.[164]

News reports indicate victims of violent robberies, parents of murder victims, and people whose U Visas have been approved, have been caught up in recent immigration enforcement proceedings.[165] As a result of multiple cases of witnesses being taken into custody, the district attorney in Harris County, Texas, started giving witnesses yellow cards, identifying the person as a witness and providing a case number and a phone number to confirm cooperation with the District Attorney.[166] As of October 2025 law enforcement in 40 states had signed more than 1,000 agreements to collaborate with ICE.[167] This increased collaboration of local law enforcement and ICE on arrests and deportations—combined with delays in visa processing—increases the chances that the victim may come to law enforcement’s attention through a minor infraction, such as jaywalking or driving without a license, which could trigger their removal. For those who have suffered trauma already, the threat of deportation may add to their anxiety and be detrimental to their emotional health.

Human Rights Considerations

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) obliges the United States to protect against violent crimes which can impair or deny the enjoyment of the right to life and liberty and security of person, among others. This requires taking action to protect individuals not just from action by state agents, but also from action committed by private persons or entities. The Human Rights Committee, the expert body charged with interpreting state obligations under the ICCPR has said that states may violate their ICCPR obligations where they fail to “take appropriate measure to exercise due diligence to prevent, punish, investigate or redress the harm caused by such acts by private persons or entities.”[168]

The U visa program should be recognized as an important component of US government efforts to meet these ICCPR obligations, particularly at a time when aggressive immigration enforcement efforts have created an environment of fear driving undocumented victims of crimes further into the shadows.

Many undocumented people have deep family ties to their communities in the US.[169] Without a path to legal status, the threat of separation from their families, including from dependent children, through detention, often in substandard conditions, or deportation, potentially to a dangerous situation, presents an often insurmountable obstacle to reporting crime and cooperating with law enforcement. Local law enforcement agencies facing pressure by the Trump administration to collaborate with aggressive immigration enforcement actions[170] need whatever tools they can overcome the legitimate fears that permeate immigrant communities. The U visa program for crime victims is a crucial method to advance US efforts to protect all people in the US, citizens and non-citizens alike, from abuse. 
 

Acknowledgments

Sara Darehshori, principal at Vestry Laight, researched and wrote this report. This report was edited at Human Rights Watch by Alison Parker, Deputy Director of the US Program, Tanya Greene, US Program Director, and reviewed by Chris Albin-Lackey, senior legal advisor, and Joseph Saunders, deputy program director. Bill Frelick, Director of the Refugee and Migrants Rights Division, Michael Bochenek from the Children’s Rights Division and Skye Wheeler in the Women’s Rights Division also reviewed the report.

Freddie Salas, US Program senior associate, provided assistance with final preparation of the report, formatting and footnotes. Layout and production were coordinated by Fitzroy Hepkins, administrative manager.

Silda Palerm, principal at Vestry Laight, conducted interviews in Spanish as a researcher.

The Alliance for Immigrant Survivors reviewed the report and provided invaluable guidance and support throughout. We would especially like to thank the Violence Intervention Program, Leslye Orloff, Megan Cox, Jennifer Pacheco, Eder Castillo, Alla Kazakina, and Jennifer DeCarli, for their assistance in locating witnesses and providing support for this report. Finally, and most importantly, we would like to thank survivors for sharing their stories with us, particularly at a time when many are so fearful.