Giant 'U visa' backlog leaves many Minnesota immigrants in limbo

INTERVIEWER: Undocumented immigrants who are victims of a crime may hesitate to report it out of fear of deportation or being separated from loved ones. All the way back to 2000, Congress created something called U visas. They grant status to survivors of some crimes who cooperate with law enforcement. Since then the list of pending applications has grown to more than 190,000 nationwide. And behind each one is someone waiting years for a decision.

Temporary work permits are also available for those waiting. But even this interim status can take years to come through. These applications make up a large chunk of the caseload for Lenore Millibergity, an attorney with the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. I am so sorry, Lenore. Could you please pronounce your last name for me?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Sure, "Milla-burg-ity."

INTERVIEWER: Millibergity. Thank you so very much. Say, I want to start by helping folks understand. Because, gosh, the. Visa system is really, really difficult what do these visas do for crime victims? Did I. Describe it fairly decently?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Oh, absolutely. You got right to the point of why it exists the U visa is meant to help law enforcement keep our communities safer. And that means helping people who don't have an immigrant status to feel safe to come forward and assist law enforcement for as long as is required, whether it's the investigation or prosecution of a crime.

And there the law covers 28 categories. And when a person is cooperating with law enforcement, and law enforcement agrees that this has happened, they can sign a certification. And we can go ahead and file the application so that the person can feel secure in the community.

INTERVIEWER: Hmm. How much discretion do police departments have when they decide which crimes qualify someone for these protections?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: They have a fair amount. The law does not mandate that law enforcement sign. We obviously hope that they will understand that this is for all of our benefit. And we will work with them, do training as necessary. But in the end, it is up to each department to decide whether one of the Minnesota crimes that were investigated fits within the 28 categories and whether they got cooperation.

INTERVIEWER: Boy, the backlog. Why is there such a big backlog for these visas?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Unfortunately, our immigration law has been essentially unchanged for decades, except where these humanitarian remedies are concerned. And so for a long time, the U visa has sort of been the only game in town for people who live here, have children, are working, or are part of our community, but they just don't have another road to citizenship.

And our immigration laws are also very strict. And so sometimes people are barred from other types of visa, whether it's employment or family, because of the way they've done something. And the U visa, because it's meant to encourage the reporting of these often very violent crimes, does have a very generous waiver or forgiveness for immigration violations.

INTERVIEWER: Hmm. So because of-- so this is-- are you saying that this is another way to get your-- if I'm an immigrant, is this another away from you to speed the process along in a sense?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Not speed it along. Sometimes it's simply the only option.

INTERVIEWER: Avenue.

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Because a person might be married to a US citizen, have US citizen children, or be working in an area where, under different circumstances, they could use those slightly faster options. But because of some often very technical issue in their past, they're simply ineligible.

And because the U is more flexible, it is an option, even though, as you mentioned, the backlogs are awful. The immigration service can only approve 10,000 of these visas a year. And they have 193,000 applications pending right now for principal applicants. That doesn't count the family members that can also be included. And when we look at those totals, we're talking over 300,000.

INTERVIEWER: So I can imagine if you're an immigration attorney, which you are, if you take a case, will you ever see the end of it?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: No.

INTERVIEWER: Wow.

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: And that is something that we wrestle with, especially in the nonprofit world. Because once we file the application, we know it's going to be years. But clients continue to need our assistance in a variety of areas. And so the concern becomes we want to continue to help new people to file the paperwork and to feel protected. But at the same time, we have these cases we will not be able to close for at least 10 years.

INTERVIEWER: Can you tell listeners about the effect that something like this, this backlog, this waiting, has on people's lives?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: It's so difficult. You had mentioned that there is a temporary work card that the Biden administration created in 2021. But they are giving this temporary work card to people who applied in the summer of 2018. So it's taking about five years to even get that temporary card, which means no Social Security Number, which means it's difficult to file taxes or to do anything.

Now, October 1, we will thankfully have driver's licenses for all. But until this time, people weren't able to have a legal ID or driver's license, which was a huge hardship on families. It also means there's no right to travel outside the US. And I've had many clients over the years call because a parent or another loved one is dying in the home country. And they really want to be there with them. And they can't.

And so it's difficult. Children who are included in these cases won't be able to get married while they're waiting for a decision because they would lose eligibility. So there are complications that range from the day to day, how to pay bills, and how to provide children with their best lives to really serious and often tragic decisions that have to be made.

INTERVIEWER: Didn't the legislature pass a new law meant to-- I used the word speed up prior to our conversation-- but to speed up this process?

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Well, you might be talking about the certification for crime victims statute that Minnesota did pass. And what it does is it mandates that every law enforcement agency in Minnesota create a certification process and then advise crime victims about the process. They also have to make a decision about whether or not they're going to sign the U visa certification within 90 days or a shorter 14-day period for people who are being detained.

And that is supposed to facilitate our being able to file these applications more quickly. Because we cannot file until local law enforcement has signed off on this immigration form that confirms that the correct crime happened and that the person who was victimized did cooperate with them for as long as they needed.

INTERVIEWER: I'm betting that the larger departments in the state probably know this. But I'm sure some of the smaller departments still need to get on board.

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: You're absolutely right. Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, if you look at their websites, their process is there for everyone to see. But we do still continue to call smaller departments to ask where we should send the application, what assistance they might need from us. And oftentimes-- and I'm talking in the past month-- they don't know what we're talking about. They don't know what the U visa is or how it's supposed to be helpful.

And we feel it's really important to train law enforcement whenever they will let us to help them understand that when they sign the certification, they're just confirming that their department got what they needed to deal with this crime and to hopefully arrest the perpetrator, that there are still multiple steps that have to happen before a person will be considered eligible for the U visa.

INTERVIEWER: Wow, there's a lot here. And you have a lot on your plate. I appreciate your time. Thanks for helping us sort this out.

LENORE MILLIBERGITY: Absolutely.

INTERVIEWER: Thanks for having me. We've been talking to Lenore Millibergity is a-- she's an attorney with the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota.