April 10, 2015: “Assessing Helpfulness for Immigrant Crime Victims Battered Women’s Justice Project (BWJP)” (Webinar)

The U visa is a form of legal immigration status that offers protection from deportation, work authorization, and a potential path to lawful permanent residency for immigrant victims of certain crimes who have been and are currently being helpful to police, sheriffs, prosecutors, or other state or federal agencies. To meet the helpfulness requirement victims must have been helpful, currently helpful or be willing to be helpful in the detection, investigation, prosecution, conviction or sentencing of a criminal activity listed in the U visa statute. Domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking make up approximately 75% of U visa cases filed.

The discussion will cover the wide range or ways in which immigrant crime victims can offer “helpfulness” qualifying them to receive U visa certifications from police, prosecutors and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This webinar will cover in detail frequently asked questions and common myths and facts about what qualifies as “helpfulness” by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the purposes of U visa certification.  Attendees will be provided with tools, examples, best practices, and information on helpfulness that DHS issued to promote U visa certification. View the entire webinar page on BWJP’s website here.