Cap On ‘U’ Visas For Immigrant Crime Victims Reached In Record Time; Should The Federal Government Lift The Maximum Number Granted?

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has reported that a cap on "U" visas, which give legal status to immigrant crime victims who are not in the country legally, was reached on Wednesday in record time, just two-and-a-half months into the fiscal year. Established by legislation passed in 2000, the visas have been granted to over 89,600 victims and victims' family members since 2008, and this year marks the fifth straight year in which the maximum of 10,000 visas granted has been reached. Some advocates take the marker as a positive sign of the program's functionality, and add that the quickness the cap has been reached may mean it should be lifted.

The visas are meant to encourage immigrants who may be in the country without status and who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse to report crimes to law enforcement when they occur. USCIS says about 75 percent of them go to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. If victims cooperate with authorities in the investigation or prosecution of crimes, they can become eligible to remain in the US for four years and apply for a work permit, and after three years, they can apply to become permanent residents. First, though, victims must receive a "certification of helpfulness" from a local, state or federal law-enforcement agency, prosecutor or judge.

The early reaching of this year's cap means that those who are deemed eligible by USCIS - which will continue accepting and reviewing requests - will begin forming a backlog until next Oct. 1^st, when the agency will start granting them to those on the waiting list. In the meantime, they'll have a "deferred" legal status, though they won't be permitted to work, according to Lauren Joyner, an attorney who works with Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, which provides legal advice to victims. "Victims already face incredibly long wait times for a decision on their application for a visa and work permit - currently well over a year," she told the Associated Press. "These are individuals who are focused on trying to move on from really awful situations and who are working to create financial and emotional security for themselves and their families."