No More U-Visas for the 2015 Fiscal Year!
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has already approved the statutory maximum of 10,000 petitions for U-1 Nonimmigrant Status (U-Visas) for the 2015 fiscal year that began on October 1, 2014. The cap was reached almost immediately due to the applicants who were on the wait list from the 2014 fiscal year. Unfortunately, this means that there will be no U-Visas available until October 1, 2016.
Each year, 10,000 U-Visas are available for victims of qualifying crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse and are willing and committed to assist law enforcement authorities to investigate and prosecute those crimes.
While the 10,000 cap for the 2015 fiscal year has already been reached, USCIS will continue to review pending U-Visa applications for eligibility. For those applicants who USCIS finds eligible, while a U-Visa will not be issued, USCIS will send a letter notifying them that they are on the wait list to receive a U-Visa when they become available again. USCIS will also inform eligible applicants of options available to them while they are on the wait list. Eligible applicants and qualifying family members must continue to meet eligibility requirements at the time the U-Visa is issued.
On October 1, 2015, the first day of the 2016 Fiscal Year, USCIS will resume issuing U-Visas.