Under federal law, certain undocumented crime victims who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and are helpful to law enforcement are eligible to apply for a "U non-immigrant status visa" (U visa). The I-918, Supplement B, U Non-immigrant Status Certification (U Visa) allows eligible victims to live and work in the United States for up to four years, with the possibility of obtaining permanent resident status.

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To qualify, a victim must obtain certification from a local, state, or federal law enforcement agency documenting his/her helpfulness in the investigation and prosecution of the qualifying crime of which he/she was a victim.

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The State's Attorney's Office will review requests where the underlying crime report was referred to the office for review for charging, regardless of whether a case was, in fact, filed. In situations where the report has not been submitted to the Office for charging review, those requests should be directed to the applicable law enforcement agency with jurisdiction. Depending upon the final decision of this office, any signed certification must be submitted to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services by the applicant or his/her representative (such as legal counsel).

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If a victim believes he/she may qualify for a U visa, the victim or his/her representative must complete the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) Form I-918, Supplement B, and submit it to the State's Attorney's Office for consideration. Forms are available on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Website.

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U Visa certification requests should be submitted to: 

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U Visa Processing Coordinator 

c/o Kankakee County State's Attorney's Office 

450 E. Court Street, 3rd Floor

Kankakee, IL 60901

 

In addition, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope with all U visa certification requests for the return of any correspondence from this office. Please include current contact information to ensure efficient communication.