Illinois: U Visa Certification Law (2017) [pdf]

The Illinois General Assembly passed the Voices of Immigrant Communities Empowering Survivors (VOICES) Act in 2017. This Illinois U visa certification law requires law enforcement, prosecutors and other state and local agencies in Illinois including child and adult protective services to sign U visa and T visa certifications and requires that agencies designate certifying officials and make information about the agency’s certification process publicly available. Certifiers are required to respond to certification requests within 90 days and in 21 days if the victim is in removal proceedings. If the applicant or their child will reach the age of 21 or their sibling wil reach the age of 18 before the 90 days the agency must respond to the certification request within 21 days and in certain instances within 5 days. The act contains provisions governing issuance and withdrawal of certifications and limits disclosure of information about the person seeking certification.