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U and T Visa program
Serving and protecting immigrant communities in Washington
Washington State has protections for immigrant communities including RCW 7.98: Safety and Access for Immigrant Victims Act, King County Code 2.15: Immigrant, Refugee, and Language Access Ordinance, and the Keep Washington Working Act.
Local law enforcement is not required to enforce federal immigration law and is prohibited from detaining or arresting someone solely based on their immigration status. The Sheriff’s Office is committed to protecting and serving all who live in King County regardless of their immigration status or language ability. All are welcome here.
U Visas and T Visas
The U Visa and T Visa are two temporary visas that were created to offer protection to immigrant victims of serious crimes and strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal activities by:
- Focusing on the needs and concerns of victims.
- Increasing community safety and building trust between immigrant communities and law enforcement.
- Encouraging victims to report crimes committed against them and promoting cooperation between law enforcement and victims.
The T Visa offers protection and immigration relief to victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, such as sex or labor trafficking, while the U Visa offers protection and immigration relief to victims of serious crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, hate crimes, and felonious assault.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is the federal agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that is responsible for determining whether a person is eligible for a U Visa or T Visa. King County Sheriff’s Office’s role in the U and T Visa process is to help immigrant victims of serious crimes by:
- Detecting and investigating qualifying crimes.
- Processing U Visa and T Visa certification requests and determining whether the individual was a victim of a qualifying crime and cooperated with reasonable requests for assistance.
Qualifying criminal activities
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*Includes any similar activity where the elements of the crime are substantially similar. †Also includes attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the above and other related crimes. |
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Under federal law, the term “severe forms of trafficking in persons” can be broken into 2 categories:
- Sex trafficking: recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or the person being induced to perform such act is under 18 years of age.
- Labor trafficking: recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Submitting a Certification Request
The head of certifying agency is Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall, and our certifying official is Undersheriff Jesse Anderson.
King County Sheriff's Office will process and respond to all certification requests within ninety days. We will process your request within fourteen days if the victim is in removal proceedings or the victim or their child is about to turn twenty-one years old. You must notify our program if you have an expedited request.
Immigration attorneys:
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Complete the U Visa or T Visa intake sheet
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Download and fill out the appropriate certification form to the best of your ability
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Provide a cover letter
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Include case reports if available
Victims and advocates:
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Call or email the U Visa / T Visa Program to request assistance with submitting you or your client's certification request
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Our program will work with you or your client to complete an intake and help you submit the certification request
Requests are accepted via mail or email. If these options are not accessible to you or you need further assistance, contact the program for further assistance. Supplemental documentation will be requested if needed. Once the certification request is processed by the U Visa and T Visa Program it is forwarded to the certifying official for final review and determination.