U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in late August 2012 that it had approved 10,000 U visas, the annual statutory maximum. The U visa is for victims of certain crimes who are helpful with law enforcement investigations or prosecutions. An approved visa allows the person to remain in the U.S., get a work permit, and eventually apply for legal residency. 10,000 U visas were issued throughout this fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2012. The Vermont Service Center reports that it is currently "preprocessing" U applications, and plans to send out approvals and work authorization to those pre-approved, after the first of October.

- Guidance from ASISTA on how to proceed now that USCIS has reached the 10,000 cap on principal U visas for this fiscal year, which also addresses derivatives and requests for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), at http://www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?20120.

- A practice advisory from ASISTA on the intersection of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and U visa derivatives at http://www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?20121.

- A practice advisory from the Immigrant Legal Resource Center on the U nonimmigrant status eligibility requirements for children and youth at http://www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?20122.

Podcast:

- Gail Pendleton of ASISTA discusses how to work with Local Enforcement Agencies on U Visa Certifications at http://www.immigrationadvocates.org/link.cfm?19421.

Other Resources:

ASISTA
ASISTA provides a resource page on U Visas that includes tips for filing, regulations, checklists for clients, case law, guidance for different procedural postures, and more at http://www.asistahelp.org/index.cfm?nodeID=23546&audienceID=1.

Catholic Legal Immigration Network
The Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) offers a Spanish U visa fact sheet for clients at http://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/UVisa%20Flier%20Sp.pdf.

Legal Momentum
Legal Momentum has a resource page on U visa training materials and tools at http://iwp.legalmomentum.org/immigration/u-visa/tools.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides a webpage with information on U visas, including basic requirements, questions and answers, and links to other resources at http://1.usa.gov/aqBYoi.