the u-visa approval; a bittersweet victory

The U-visa is available to victims of qualifying crimes who cooperate with the authorities in the investigation of the crime. The overwhelming majority of cases I see are domestic violence victims. I see a lot of sexual assault of a minor as well. The purpose is to strengthen the relationship between law enforcement and immigrant communities, who are often afraid to report crimes for fear of being put in deportation.

The U-visa is relatively new, and regulations were only released a few years back. Only this year did the government begin to actually issue the visas. So we have had a wave of U-visa approvals coming into our office since about late July. It's amazing to watch the faces of these (often) women and children as they realize they are finally legally permitted to work, legally permitted to stay here, and given an opportunity to one day apply for residency. Sometimes, in my horrible Spanish, I say "Es el plan de Dios, de que a veces de algo malo viene algo bueno." It is God's plan, that sometimes, from something bad comes something good. The overwhelming majority of the time, the clients are overjoyed. They cry; they hug; they walk out of our doors clasping their permits as though they aren't real.

It is one of the great ironies of immigration law that from a legal perspective, a client's personal misfortune is our winning argument. Take a 601 waiver, where you are trying to prove extreme hardship to a USC or LPR. "Does your wife have any major health problems? No? Damnit." It's the awkward part of a U-visa approval as well. "See, aren't you glad now that your stepfather molested you?"

We had a family of four the other day that was approved. I asked the caseworker who saw them if they were happy. She paused and said, "No, actually. Not at all." For a moment I felt dismayed,that narcississtic part of me that loves the clients to love us feeling let down. But, the thing is, I realized, they used to be a family of five. On Christmas Day a few years ago, a drunk driver hit them and killed the baby boy. How did that mother feel, holding that approval notice that she only got because her baby was killed?

What has happened has happened. I know that them having legal permission to stay here will make their lives easier now. Maybe that's all I will ever know. It's just, like I said, bittersweet indeed.