Signed U Visa Certifications in Washington State Counties: Identifying Patterns Using Latinx Population

Abstract

Congress created the U visa in 2000 as a form of immigration relief to help government agencies investigate crimes committed against undocumented immigrants and keep the overall community safe. U visa applicants are required to submit a certification signed by the government agency investigating the crime to qualify. While the U visa is a federal program, state and local government agencies process U visa certifications (Form I-918B). Without the signed certification, undocumented immigrants are not eligible to receive a U visa. In 2018, Washington state passed House Bill 1022, Enhancing Crime Victim Participation in the Criminal Justice System Process (HB-1022) to create consistency on how U visa certifications are processed in Washington state. This capstone explores county patterns between signed U visa certifications in Washington State between July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019 and Latinx county population. The data analysis suggests that the higher Latinx population in a county, the less signed U visa certifications. In addition, the data shows that 35.9% of Washington State counties signed zero U visa certifications between July 2018 and June 2019. That is over a third of all Washington state counties. This capstone is considered a cross sectional quantitative research design. Further research is advised on this important matter.