In recent years, the public security situation in New York State has been declining, with cases of Chinese takeout vendors or restaurant owners being robbed occurring from time to time. For example, three weeks ago, a restaurant owner in Syracuse was robbed at knifepoint while delivering takeout. Victims of such incidents can apply for a U visa (Victim of Crime visa) at the U.S. Immigration Office.
According to the law firm of attorney Wang Junyu, the current waiting period for U visas is until 2016, which means that such visas require a waiting time of over 8 years.
Recently, a Chinese restaurant owner named Chen Qiping in Syracuse revealed that he was robbed by a knife-wielding thief on the 21st of last month and has applied for a victim U visa. Zhu Jinhui, an assistant at the law firm handling his case, said that victims of robbery cases are eligible to apply for a U visa.
Assistant Zhu explained that to apply for a U visa, there are three main conditions that need to be met, not all victims of crimes meet these conditions.
According to the U.S. Immigration Office, qualifying criminal cases include kidnapping, hostage-taking, extortion, witness tampering, murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, and other cases that occur in the U.S. and violate U.S. laws.
“The second condition is to cooperate with the police, you cannot fail to report to the police,” Assistant Zhu said, meaning that victims must be willing to assist the U.S. government in investigating or reporting the suspects. “The third point is to have injuries.”
Regarding the third point, the assistant lawyer emphasized that Chinese people often think only physical injuries count as injuries, “but that’s not true, psychological injuries are also very important.”
There is no time limit for applying for a U visa, and regardless of the time or immigration status, any crime victim can apply.
Assistant Zhu explained that the processing of this type of visa is done in two steps. The first step is “preliminary approval,” which may take about 3 to 4 years. After receiving this preliminary approval, the applicant can obtain a work permit and work legally. The second step is to obtain the actual U visa, and currently, the Immigration Office’s approval queue is until 2016.
The United States can issue only ten thousand U visas per fiscal year; and after obtaining a U visa, one can apply for a green card after three years.