By MARC LEVY - The Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Philadelphia - While waiting to obtain a residence permit in the United States, a woman lives in fear, fearful of deportation and possible retaliation after testifying against the men who murdered her boyfriend to point-blank when they were looking for money from the sale of drugs.
The woman, who spoke to The Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity, says the fear is worth enduring.
And this is because in the United States, where he has lived for 20 years since his visitor visa expired after escaping the civil war in his native Liberia, he can work and send money to his son.
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"The opportunities here are not in my country,"
said the 55-year-old.
"Everyone depends on me ... It's what I work for, to help my family."
Their last hope of staying in the country is the U visa, granted to victims or witnesses of serious crimes who can help the authority solve them.
An immigrant from Liberia, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Friday, March 12, 2021.AP Photo / Matt Rourke
But the program is dysfunctional, immigrant advocates say, because it leaves applicants waiting years for a decision, sometimes without permission to work or protection from deportation.
After the Donald Trump administration facilitated the deportation of U visa applicants, they now await the help of President Joe Biden, who supports changes in major immigration laws and whose debate will begin this week in the House of Representatives.
Many applicants are women and children who have suffered abuse.
Created in 2000, the U visa program was included in broader legislation to combat human trafficking and violence against women
.
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Advocates have sought change for years, saying the huge backlog (more than 160,000 cases, according to federal data) and the lack of protection against deportation during the process have weakened the effectiveness of the U visa.
"These people have kept their end of the bargain and we ask the government to keep the promise they made to these victims," said David Freedman, a lawyer with the Barley Snyder firm in Pennsylvania who helps people with visa cases.
The number of migrant children and families crossing the border rose more than 100% between January and February
March 12, 202102: 30
Federal law limits U visas to 10,000 per year, and attempts to increase the limit have failed.
The Biden-Democrats bill seeks to increase the annual limit to 30,000.
"While that is a promising start, there is still more work to be done given the size of the backlog," said Amy Cheung, senior adviser for Asista, an organization that supports migrants.
When a decision is made, 85% of the applications are approved, the bad thing is that there are few U visas available.
That at least provides protection against deportation and permission to work.
Still, it
can take years to get onto the list
, leaving people vulnerable after the Trump Administration issued a 2019 memorandum facilitating the deportation of U visa applicants.
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Whitney Phelps, managing attorney for the Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center, explains the difficulties when people consider the application.
"It all comes down to what is best for the client, and for a client who literally has no other options, and is willing to wait those five years without work authorization and risk being placed in deportation proceedings or even being America, we ask for it, "Phelps explained.
Applicants worried about being deported may fear less with Biden, who has said the priority is migrants who pose a threat.
The Liberian woman who testified about her boyfriend's murder submitted her U visa application in 2017
.
While you wait, you have a benefit: permission to work.
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She has full-time jobs as a hotel housekeeper and home health aide and hopes the government will welcome her cooperation in a case where three men went to prison.
"I never asked for anything when I testified," he
said.
Her time in the country was not easy: she unsuccessfully sought asylum, overcame a drug addiction, and dodged problems with the law that led to long prison terms and detention for being an immigrant.
She is now a volunteer with those struggling with addiction and hopes that a U visa will pave the way for a college degree and allow her to visit her son - now an adult - for the first time since 2001.
It would also give you peace of mind.
"They can grab you at any time to send you back home," he recalled. "It takes a lot of courage because it is depressing to go through that every day. People think you are fine, but you are not fine, because you think: when will they catch me?"