USCIS has approved the statutory maximum of 10,000 petitions for U
nomimmigrant status for Fiscal Year 2013, the fourth straight year the
federal agency has reached this maximum limit since the U visa program
began in 2008. USCIS will continue to accept U Visa petitions and will
process them in the order in which they are received. These visas will
again be issued starting October 1, 2013, the first day of Fiscal Year
2014.
The U visa program was created by Congress to help victims of crime who
have suffered major mental or physical abuse and are willing to help law
enforcement officials investigate or prosecute those crimes (domestic
violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, etc). Over 76,000 victims
and their family members have received this visa since the program
began.
