Are you looking for a U visa lawyer in Gurnee, IL?

At Dworsky Law Firm, we are Gurnee U visa lawyers committed to thorough preparation in every matter we handle.

If you were the victim of a serious crime and you helped the police investigate it, you may qualify for a U visa. The petition requires a law enforcement agency to sign a certification confirming that you assisted. The case cannot be filed without that signature. Dworsky Law Firm has handled U visa petitions since 2002. Our Gurnee, IL U visa lawyer obtains the certification and prepares the petition that follows. Schedule a consultation to review the crime, your cooperation, and the harm you suffered.

U Visa Lawyer Gurnee, IL

A U visa is a temporary status for victims of qualifying crimes who were helpful to the authorities investigating or prosecuting them. It is one of the humanitarian routes among the green card categories, because a U visa holder can apply for permanent residence after three years in the status. The petition rests on four elements: a qualifying crime, substantial physical or mental harm, helpfulness to law enforcement, and a signed certification from the agency that handled the case.

The U visa process is challenging. In 2025, the USCIS reported hitting the U visa issuance maximum on September 9, 2025, leaving a backlog of over 400,000 applications. 

Types of U Visa Cases We Handle in Gurnee

A U visa case has two halves: the certification obtained from an agency, and the petition filed with the government. We handle both, and we handle what follows them. These are the U visa cases in Gurnee our firm takes on.

• U visa petitions. We prepare Form I-918 with the certification, the personal statement, and the evidence of harm. The petition is filed for the victim rather than by any employer or relative.
• Law enforcement certifications. We approach the police department, sheriff’s office, or prosecutor that handled the case and request the signature on Form I-918 Supplement B. No agency is required to sign, which makes how the request is presented a substantive part of the work.
• Family members. Spouses, children, parents, and in some cases siblings can be included as derivatives. We file their petitions alongside the principal’s rather than waiting for the principal’s approval.
• Waiting list and work permits. The annual limit on principal U visas means approved petitions often wait years. Petitions found to be filed in good faith can receive employment authorization while they wait, which is separate from a work visa obtained through an employer.
• Asylum. Some victims fear returning to a country where the perpetrator or their associates remain. We assess both routes, because the evidence that supports one frequently supports the other.
• Deportation. A U visa petition can be raised while removal proceedings are pending, and an immigration judge may continue the case while it is decided. We appear in court and pursue the petition at the same time.
• Green cards. After three years in U visa status, the holder may apply for permanent residence. Continuous presence during those three years is part of what that application has to show.
• Naturalization. The residence period for citizenship begins when permanent residence is granted, not when the U visa was approved. We calculate that date from the approval notice.
• Citizenship. Children who obtained status as derivatives may acquire citizenship through a parent rather than by applying on their own. We check that before preparing a separate application.
• Denied petitions. We respond to requests for evidence and refile after a denial. A denial based on the harm element is answered differently from one based on helpfulness, and a denial can now be followed by a charging document because the agency has expanded NTA issuance.

Why Choose Dworsky Law Firm as my U Visa Lawyer in Gurnee, IL?

Two Cases at Once, Handled Together

A U visa applicant has already been through a crime and an investigation before the immigration case begins. The certification depends on how the criminal matter was handled, and the petition depends on the certification. Ashley Dworsky has handled humanitarian petitions since 2002 and takes the firm’s U visa matters. He received his law degrees from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, is admitted in Illinois and New York and before the Northern District of Illinois, and has been selected to Super Lawyers every year from 2019 through 2026.

The Certification Comes Before Everything Else

No agency has to sign a certification, and a refusal is not appealable. That makes the request itself the part of the case most worth getting right, and it has to be assembled from the police reports, the charging decision, and the record of what the victim actually did. Victims in this position are represented by an immigration lawyer in Gurnee, IL who can read the criminal file and the immigration consequences together. Our firm handles the request, the petition, and the permanent residence application that follows years later.

Understanding U Visa Cases

U Visa Requirements and Qualifying Crimes

Four elements decide a U visa petition, and the list of qualifying crimes is defined.

• A qualifying crime. The list includes domestic violence, sexual assault, felonious assault, kidnapping, witness tampering, trafficking, and a number of others.
• Substantial harm. The victim must have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse, documented through records rather than asserted.
• Helpfulness. The victim must have been, be, or be likely to be helpful to the investigation or prosecution. A conviction is not required, and neither is an arrest.
• The certification. A law enforcement agency, prosecutor, or judge must sign Form I-918 Supplement B confirming the helpfulness.
• Admissibility. Grounds that would otherwise bar the applicant can be waived in this category more broadly than in most others.

What Are Important Aspects of a U Visa Case?

The petition is built from records that other people created. The legal work is in locating them and reading them correctly.

• The certification deadline. A signed certification carries an expiration, and a petition filed after it lapses requires a new signature.
• The police record. What the reports say about the victim’s cooperation matters more than what the victim remembers about it.
• Documentation of harm. Medical records, counseling records, and statements establish the harm element, and a bare description does not.
• Timing against other options. A victim in removal proceedings has a different sequence than one who is not, and the Chicago Immigration Court controls the calendar in the first case.
• The long wait. Because of the annual limit, the practical question is often what protects the applicant during the years before a decision.

What Is The U Visa Case Timeline?

A U visa case is measured in years, and the sequence matters more than any single date.

• Case review. We read the criminal file and determine whether the crime and the cooperation qualify.
• Certification request. The agency is approached and asked to sign. This step has no fixed timeline and no appeal.
• Petition filing. Form I-918 is filed with the certification, the statement, and the evidence, and current processing times are published by form and office.
• Good faith determination. Petitions that appear filed in good faith can receive work authorization while on the waiting list.
• Approval and status. Once a visa number is available, the status is granted for four years.
• Permanent residence. After three years in status, the holder may file for adjustment of status.

What Should You Bring to Your U Visa Consultation?

The criminal case file drives the analysis, so we start by reading that report. Bring the following:

1. Any police report, incident number, case number, or officer’s card you received.
2. Court papers from the criminal case, including charging documents and any outcome.
3. Medical, counseling, or therapy records relating to the harm, and any photographs you kept.
4. Your passport, entry documents, and I-94 record if you have one.
5. Every immigration application you or a family member has filed, with the notices received in response.

Gurnee Victim Services and Immigration Resources

The agency that certifies a U visa is the one that handles the criminal case, which for Gurnee residents is usually a local police department or the county. The immigration petition itself is decided by a federal service center. These resources serve victims and immigrants in the area.

• Resources for immigrants. Waukegan publishes a list of legal aid and community organizations serving immigrant families across this part of Lake County.
• Lake County asylum services. The county’s 211 directory lists the nonprofit immigration programs that take humanitarian cases, including for crime victims.
• Going to immigration court. Illinois Legal Aid Online explains what happens at a hearing, which matters for victims whose petitions are pending while a case is in court.

Reach Out to Dworsky Law Firm to Schedule a Consultation

Dworsky Law Firm reviews U visa cases from the criminal file forward. The first question we answer is whether an agency is likely to certify, because nothing else in the case can proceed without that signature. We meet clients by phone, by video, or at our Northbrook office. Contact us to have your case reviewed.