Parole for Eligible U Visa Principal and Derivative Petitioners Residing Abroad [pdf]

Report by the Department of Homeland Security’s Ombudsman recommending The Ombudsman that:
1. Consistent with its regulations, USCIS should afford parole to eligible U petitioners and family members on the waiting list who reside abroad by creating a policy to facilitate entry into the United States while waiting for a visa to become available.
2. The parole policy created by USCIS should allow for concurrent filings of the U visa petitions and requests for parole.
3. Cases should be adjudicated at the Vermont Service Center, where U petitions currently are processed, to ensure consistent and effective adjudication, and where Congress expressly authorized the placement of the adjudication of vulnerable populations.

USCIS agreed on September 7, 2016 to that it will allow Waitlist approved U visa victims and the family members they included in their applications are eligible to apply for humanitarian parole into the United States.