On June 14, 2021, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced new guidelines for certain U Visa Petitioners. USCIS used this announcement to introduce the new Bona Fide Determination (BFD) process for adjudicating Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status.
If USCIS determines that a case is “bona fide” and grants BFD, USCIS will grant the petitioner an Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and deferred action for 4 years. The deferred action allows nonimmigrants to remain lawfully in the United States, while the EAD grants nonimmigrants the right to legally work in the United States.
USCIS will employ the following criteria to determine if BFD should be granted. The case should include the following:
- Petitioner properly filed the correct forms: Form I-918, Petition for U Nonimmigrant Status and Form I-918B U Nonimmigrant Status Certification;
- Petitioner included a statement of facts describing the crime and resulting victimization;
- Petitioner’s biometric data
BFD allows U Visa petitioners to obtain EADs and deferred action while bypassing the “conditional approval” USCIS grants in adjudicating U Visa petitions. Congress allows USCIS to grant no more than 10,000 U Visas per year. However, USCIS receives more than 10,000 U Visa petitions annually. Since USCIS receives more petitions than it is able to approve, petitioners must now wait approximately five years to receive approval for their petition.
Despite only being allowed to issue 10,000 U Visas, USCIS processes all the U Visa petitions as it receives them. If USCIS determines that a petition is approvable, USCIS has the option of granting conditional approval by placing the petition on a waiting list. Conditional approval grants petitioners deferred action and allows them the opportunity to apply for an EAD, while they wait until they can obtain one of the 10,000 visas.
Petitioners that do not obtain deferred action and an EAD through BFD could still obtain deferred action but would have to apply for the EAD separately.
If you have any questions regarding this wonderful announcement, please do not hesitate to contact our Sacramento immigration law firm, Kyung Immigration Law Office (KILO Immigration).