Report: Flawed Design: How the U Visa is Revictimizing the People It Was Created to Help

October 7, 2020

The Human Rights Initiative of North Texas and SMU Judge Elmo B. Hunter Legal Center released a Report documenting the challenges faced by U visa applicants as they wait nearly a decade for USCIS to adjudicate their petitions.

To uncover the realities of living and working in the shadow of the backlog, students conducted long-form, semi-structured interviews with U visa petitioners and holders, collected stories from immigration practitioners from 9 states, and surveyed nearly 150 immigration practitioners nationwide. The Report documents their findings that the delay in adjudication has a devastating impact on survivors, causing them to experience job and housing insecurity, medical and mental health struggles, and separation from family members and loved ones.

The Report further critiques the U visa’s mandate that survivors engage with the criminal justice system, shining a light on the ways that the visa reinforces an unequal system and harms survivors – particularly Black and LGBTQIA survivors – who may never be able to access the U visa because interacting with law enforcement is not a safe option for them.

The conclusion of the report:

“The U visa is a critical protection for victims of crime that, when working effectively, could help survivors achieve safety and stability as they heal from trauma and rebuild their lives. Unfortunately, because of mandated law enforcement interactions, the USCIS backlog, and the backlog’s far-reaching effects, it has failed to achieve its promise.

It is important to remember that, like other humanitarian programs, the U visa exists in the context of the broader U.S. immigration system—one that is in desperate need of comprehensive reform. In its current form, the immigration system is divorced from the realities that push people to the United States, relegating people to second-class status and placing them at higher risk of violence and exploitation. As Luis explains, `I think that the U visa in itself is the only existing way and hope that there is right now for a lot of immigrants. But I know that there’s thousands of people that don’t have that opportunity that are crying—hoping and crying—for a change.’

In short: it is time for transformation. For too long, the U visa program has been unable to fulfill its promise, and for too long, too many have been forced to live in the shadows. Lawmakers and policymakers must ensure that the U visa is not a false hope for the survivors who need it, while putting in place a new system that provides pathways to status for all who need them.”

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