수요가 미국의 학대의 피해자를 도와 비자 성장.
Paloma Esquival으로, 로스 앤젤레스 타임즈 September 27, 2011
로스 앤젤레스 – 년 동안 노마는 남편의 신체적 정신적 학대를 참아. 그러나 다섯 문서화 어머니는 결국 때 그녀가 경찰에게 전화를하기로 결정 10- 11 세의 딸이 자신의 아버지가 성적으로 그들을 학대했다고 말했죠.
“그 순간에,” 노마는 말했다, 누가 그녀의 마지막 이름이 아이를 보호하기 위해 사용하지 말라고, “나는 _ 두렵지 않아 생각, 대부분은 너무 많은 것들을 숨기기 위해 자신 화를 생각, 해줘서 그것은 그 시점에 도착.”
그녀는 당시 강제 퇴거 절차에 있었는데 얼마 전에 그녀가 나라에서 제거 보았 수있는 심리에서.
변호사는 그녀가 강제 퇴거는 U - 비자 프로그램까지 지연시켜 줬으, 경찰이 범죄를 조사하는 데 많은 도움이 학대 피해자에게 임시 법적 지위를 제공하는, 의 효과를했습니다 2008. 그 당시에는, 노마의 남편은 세 이하 어린이에 대한 강제 음란 행위에 대해 징역 6 년을 선고 받았다 14 그리고 노마와 그녀의 아이들은 국가 장기 체류에 대한 권리를 확보.
U - 비자 프로그램은 부진한 출발을 가지고, 출입국 관리는 애플 리케이션을 승인 속도가 느린 것을 불평 옹호와 함께. 그것은 빠르게 성장, 그러나, 아웃리치 노력의 도움으로, 미국과 관리로 지역 방문을 포함하여. 시민권 및 이민 서비스.
그러나 증가하는 인식과 함께 증가 수요왔다. 3 년간 그 프로그램은 장소에왔다, 이상 30,000 응용 프로그램을 작성하고 이상했습니다 25,600 승인. Soon after a visit to Los Angeles this month to promote the program, immigration officials announced that all 10,000 available U-visas had been issued for the fiscal year, which ends Friday.
“We can see the volume already. At some point it’s going to be an issue,” said Betty Song, an attorney with the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in L.A. “I don’t know what purpose the cap serves, because if people are eligible, they are eligible.”
Since last year, 미국. Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and California Democratic Reps. George Miller and Judy Chu have pushed the Power Act, which would expand U-visas to include victims of labor exploitation and increase the number of such visas to 30,000 annually. But the legislation has gained little traction in Congress. Others hope an increase will be included in separate legislation to benefit crime victims.
Proponents of immigration restriction, such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and the Center for Immigration Studies, said visas for crime victims should be further limited to the most extreme cases.
“The historic pattern with these special interest visa set-asides is that once they become popular and the use expands to the limits set by Congress, then you get a backlog,” said Bob Dane, a FAIR spokesman. “Then that pressure begins to be applied to Congress to deal with the backlog by increasing the ceiling.”
Attorneys who work with U-visa applicants said they have yet to face much trouble with the limit because applications are put on hold until the next fiscal year, which begins in October.
By contrast, a cap of 5,000 visas available to human trafficking victims has never been reached. Last year only 574 applications were received.
In part, experts said, victims of human trafficking have a difficult time coming forward because of the nature of the crime _ and when they are tracked down, it can be difficult to get them to talk about their experiences.
U-visas, on the other hand, are available to the widest group of crime victims, including victims of assault, 가정 폭력 및 기타 범죄.
For those who manage to learn about and obtain the benefit, the program has a lasting effect.
After she was granted a visa, Norma went back to school to become a dental technician. In May she became a legal permanent resident and, she said, she hopes to become a citizen as soon as she is eligible. Her daughters too were granted legal permission to stay in the country.
Elisa, an Orange County woman who received a U-visa after reporting her husband’s physical abuse, became a citizen in May. She asked that her real name not be used to protect her family.
“I feel very grateful to this country,” she said. “I’ve gone to school, I’ve taken English, I’ve learned about self-esteem. I’ve been allowed to be independent, to work and to look for a better future.”
