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07/26/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Perusing police files

Yesterday one of my clients delivered a flash drive from a local police department. Since it arrived mid-morning and I still had a lot to do, I thought I would bring it home and look at it over the weekend. Besides, I knew I could depend on my MacBook to accept the drive and show me its contents.

My client is a victim of a crime and who has cooperated with the police. This entitles her to apply for what is known as a “U NonImmigrant Visa”. She was severely injured when her partner shot her in the back. The track of the bullet injured her spine, her esophagus and her trachea. She was hospitalized for a long time with a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. The perpetrator is in jail, as he should be.

Last week I talked with her for a long time about this case, and about what she could expect when applying for a U Visa. This is a generous program through USCIS that eventually results in a work permit, approval of the U Visa, and then a few years later, a green card. The downside is that it takes years to get approval. There are only 50,000 U visas distributed each year. The backlog is such that USCIS is now working on cases that were filed in 2018. That means it will be at least 7 years before she can expect a decision.

She has a watertight case. USCIS has now acknowledged that U Visa applicants who are determined to have a “Bona Fide” case will receive a work permit about 12 to 18 months after the case is filed. Before 47 came into office, being in the process of a U Visa gave immigrants a little protection from deportation. I don’t know where that “rule” stands now, with the new policies governing the work of ICE agents. 

My client is from a Southeast Asian country. She’s actually here on a work visa, which will expire in the next year or so. In order to stay in the USA, she will need a different immigration status, and, as she hopes to permanently live here, a U Visa is the only benefit available to her. But like I said, hers is a “perfect” U Visa case. I have everything I need at my disposal: a detailed police report, and a Victim Advocate who will walk my paperwork through the system and get the necessary official signature from law enforcement. It is a requirement to submit a police-approved document stating that she is a victim of a crime and has cooperated with the police to apprehend the perpetrator.

My client has bravely written a detailed statement about the crime and its effects on every part of her being – physical, emotional, and mental. She is suffering from PTSD. One of the first things I did was to connect her with a counseling agency for victims of domestic violence. She called them right away, recognizing that she is at risk for ongoing psychological problems. 

So this morning I spent a couple of hours reviewing the contents of the flash drive. I printed off a comprehensive police report. I looked at hundreds of crime scene photos, ones that included pictures of a spent cartridge, and blood stains on the concrete floor where she tried to escape from the shooter. There are pictures of her with tubes from her trachea and stomach. She is still suffering after-effects of the shooting’s damage to her internal organs.

She is a slight young woman, but strong in every aspect of her personality. She is organized and cooperative, and has gotten great support from the Victim Advocate. 

This is one U Visa case that will come together smoothly. By the time I gather all evidence and documentation, the file will likely be 2 inches thick. I will meet with her and go over the USCIS forms that I need to fill out. I am assured that I will get the law enforcement documents signed by the head of the police department. This is usually the most challenging part of a U Visa case, because not all police departments are friendly to immigrants. In her case, there is no doubt that she is a victim of a crime of violence and she has done everything the law requires of her. 

I have never spent a Saturday morning looking at crime scene photos. Not that this has been on my bucket list, but I do admit that I felt like a real detective for a couple of hours.