Ruling requires long-delayed U visa reviews for Legal Aid of North Carolina clients
After years of waiting in limbo, more than 130 immigrant survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other serious crimes are finally one step closer to the legal protections they sought.
These survivors did what the law asks of them: They came forward, cooperated with law enforcement and applied for U visas with the assistance of local law enforcement authorities. Yet for years, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, did not conduct the waiting-list reviews required by federal regulations.
Now, thanks to the efforts of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Immigration Pathways for Victims Project (IMMPAV) and pro bono attorney Brad Banias, these survivors are closer to receiving the protections they have spent years seeking.
A federal judge in Vermont has ordered USCIS to review the cases and decide whether the applicants are eligible to be placed on the U visa waiting list within 60 days. If additional evidence is needed, USCIS must request it within that 60-day period and make a final decision within 30 days of receiving a response.
U visas provide immigration protection for victims of certain crimes who have suffered abuse and helped law enforcement investigate or prosecute criminal activity. They are available to eligible survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, kidnapping and other qualifying offenses. The U visa program was created so immigrant victims of certain crimes can safely report those crimes and assist law enforcement without fear that their immigration status will be used against them. The program is intended to protect vulnerable victims while encouraging cooperation with police and prosecutors so crimes can be more effectively investigated and prosecuted.
But receiving a U visa can take years. Federal law limits the number of U visas issued to principal applicants to 10,000 each year, contributing to a significant backlog.
Federal regulations provide a waiting-list process for eligible applicants who cannot immediately receive a U visa because of the annual limit. After USCIS determines that an applicant is eligible and places them on the waiting list, the applicant receives protections while waiting for a U visa to become available, including deferred action, which protects them from deportation.
The clients in this lawsuit applied for U visas but went years without receiving the required waiting-list reviews. After the lawsuit was filed, the clients received bona fide determinations rather than the waiting-list reviews required by federal regulations. A bona fide determination does not establish that a survivor is eligible to receive a U visa when one becomes available and does not provide the same protection from deportation that comes with placement on the waiting list.
For people who have been victimized, years of uncertainty about their immigration protections can affect nearly every part of their lives. That uncertainty can make it harder to find work, provide for their families and begin rebuilding their lives. It can also leave survivors living with the fear that they could be separated from their families and the communities they call home.
“After more than three years of litigation, this decision is an important step toward ensuring that crime survivors and the law enforcement agencies that rely on their cooperation are treated fairly under the U visa program,” said Brad Banias, lead pro bono counsel in the case. “But there is still work to do to fulfill the promise of the U visa program and ensure that survivors who come forward to report crimes are not left waiting indefinitely for the protections the law provides.”
“For many survivors, these delays were not just paperwork problems,” said Rona Karacaova, managing attorney of IMMPAV. “They created years of uncertainty, fear and instability for people who had already endured some of the most difficult experiences imaginable.”
The ruling does not mean the clients will immediately receive U visas. It does, however, require USCIS to make the waiting-list decisions they have spent years seeking. For clients who receive favorable decisions, placement on the waiting list provides greater certainty that they will receive a U visa when one becomes available, along with protection from deportation while they continue to wait.
“These survivors showed extraordinary courage by reporting crimes and helping law enforcement,” Karacaova said. “They did what the law asked of them. They deserve better than years of delay. They deserve the opportunity to move forward.”
The ruling also reflects a yearslong pro bono partnership between Legal Aid of North Carolina and Banias. Since 2020, Banias has represented Legal Aid clients in three federal cases involving delays in the U visa process. In the first two cases, 81 clients and approximately 15 clients, respectively, received work permits while their cases were pending, and the cases were subsequently dismissed. In this case, more than 130 clients received work permits, but the court went further by ordering USCIS to conduct the waiting-list reviews required by federal regulations.
The case was brought and sustained by Legal Aid of North Carolina’s IMMPAV Project alongside partners at the North Carolina Justice Center, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and Pisgah Legal Services. Legal Aid also recognizes former IMMPAV attorney Anna Cushman, now in private practice, whose vision and determination helped launch the case.