When you came to Nebraska to escape violence and poverty in your country of origin, you never expected to become a victim of a crime in the United States. Quite the opposite, you likely dreamed that this nation held all the opportunities you needed to make all your hopes and dreams come true of providing a safe and healthy atmosphere for your family to thrive.
When someone assaulted you, you may have been afraid to reach out for help, knowing that at some point your undocumented legal status may be revealed. However, even though you may not possess proper documentation to live and work in the United States, it doesn’t give people license to harm you.
A U Visa may help rectify your status situation
As the victim of a crime, you may be eligible to apply for a particular visa that offers temporary protective status so that you become immune from deportation. This status will expire on a given date, however, at which time you’d have to apply for renewal or else become at risk for removal. The following information may be helpful in your particular situation:
- You must have physically been in the United States when a party or parties committed a crime against you.
- That crime must have caused you physical or mental injury. In some situations, an economic injury would also qualify, such as if an employer committed fraud against you or some other official tricked you into paying money for promised legal status or employment approval.
- The incident you believe to have been a crime must have broken a federal, state or local law in the United States.
- You must possess information regarding the crime that would aid police and other investigators in a quest to locate, prosecute and convict the person or people who committed the crime.
- You must be willing to share the information you possess and make yourself available to help police and other law enforcement officials in their investigation.
These are just some of the points that would make you eligible for a U Visa. Even though speaking to police or other officials may make you nervous because you know you entered Nebraska without approved documentation, it’s an option that may be worth pursuing because it may help you avoid removal and it may lead to putting the person who harmed you behind bars as well.
If you’re worried about acting on your own to apply for a U Visa, you can reach out for help as other non-immigrants have done in the past by speaking to an immigration advocate about your situation.