New U Visa Bill Passes in Colorado | Joseph & Hall P.C.

On March 17^th, 2021, the Colorado Home of Representatives handed HB21-1060, a invoice which revised the necessities for the U Visa certification course of and made it simpler for U Visa petitioners to maneuver ahead with the method.

U Visas have been created in October 2000 as a part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Safety Act with the aim of offering victims of crimes in america a pathway to lawful everlasting residency. When a person, no matter their immigration standing, was the sufferer of a qualifying crime and assisted legislation enforcement or authorities officers within the investigation or prosecution, USCIS would have the ability to grant them a U Visa. This course of required the petitioner to achieve certification from legislation enforcement concerning the crime and testifying to the petitioner’s helpfulness and cooperation. Nonetheless, this certification had no commonplace processing tips which meant that some petitioners might be ready for years earlier than receiving their certification.

HB21-1060 resolved this problem by requiring a statewide commonplace of approving or rejecting U Visa certification requests inside 90 days. If a petitioner is in removing proceedings, the certification have to be accredited or rejected inside 30 days. If the certification request is rejected, the petitioner have to be notified of the the reason why. These new necessities vastly reduce down on the wait instances for petitioners throughout the state.

Along with the processing deadlines, HB21-1060 incorporates a number of extra additions to the Colorado U Visa course of. One requires legislation enforcement officers to tell victims of crimes concerning the availability of U Visas, as many eligible victims are fully unaware of this attainable profit. Moreover, HB21-1060 restricts the disclosure of the petitioner’s immigration standing to immigration authorities.

With quicker processing instances for U Visas, will probably be extra attainable for the residents of Colorado to show unhealthy experiences into nice alternatives. Should you suppose you or a beloved one could also be eligible for a U Visa, please contact our workplace to schedule a session.