Immigration

[NOTE TO STUDENTS: This is envisioning a situation where the person reports to the police, there is an arrest, and then the victim says that she doesn’t want to press charges. It discusses the idea that even if a victim doesn’t want to press charges, the fact that s/he reported the situation to the police could still be enough to say that she was “helpful.” IF THE VICTIM NEVER REPORTED TO POLICE, SEE THE OTHER SL CALLED “CAN I GET A U VISA IF I NEVER REPORTED THE ABUSE TO THE POLICE?”]

As you may know, one of the key elements of a U visa is getting the U visa status certification from law enforcement. The certification is a form that that states that the victim “has been helpful, is being helpful, or is likely to be helpful to the authorities investigating or prosecuting the criminal activity.” The law says that from the moment the victim starts to cooperate with the authorities, s/he will have to continue that cooperation without refusing or failing to provide information and assistance that has been requested in a reasonable way - you can read more about this on our website, here: http://www.womenslaw.org/laws/federal/immigration/u-visa-crime-victims/b… However, just because a person chooses to not press charges, it may not necessarily mean that all police would refuse to sign a certification saying that the person was helpful in the investigation of the crime - I cannot say. To get a legal opinion about your situation, I suggest that you talk to an attorney who specializes in U visas and who can evaluate your situation and perhaps the attorney may even be able to talk to the officers who handled your case to see if they’d sign it or not. Here are links for lawyers in STATE and some that are national organizations that you may want to contact to find one that specializes in U Visas: https://www.womenslaw.org/find-help/federal/immigration

And here is more information about U visas from our website that I hope is useful to you: https://www.womenslaw.org/laws/federal/immigration/u-visa-crime-victims