By Joe Barrett and Michelle Hackman
Federal officials have started prosecutions of two sprawling cases of alleged fraud in a program that provides foreign nationals with a document called a U visa. It gives a path to citizenship to victims of some crimes.
Here are five things to know about the program:
What is a U visa?
The U visa is a nonimmigrant status granted to victims of some crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and who cooperate with the government in the prosecution of their cases. People who are granted a U visa can qualify for lawful permanent resident status, known as a green card, after three years. That puts them on an eventual path to citizenship.
Who created U visas and why?
Congress created the program in 2000 under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act. The legislation aimed to help law-enforcement agencies investigate and prosecute domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of aliens and other crimes. It also protects victims who are willing to aid in prosecution.
How many are available?
Only 10,000 U visas become available each year, and many more applicants qualify. Immigrants who apply for the program can expect to wait several years. They don't have legal status in the meantime, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.
Have there been concerns about the program?
The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General raised alarms about the program in a 2022 memorandum, saying the department wasn't properly tracking complaints about potential fraud. The internal watchdog said a lack of tracking could leave the program susceptible to fraud and make people less likely to report it. In December, the Trump administration announced changes to tighten vetting of U visa applicants.
What's happening in Louisiana?
In Louisiana, federal authorities in July announced the indictment of top local law enforcement officers and a businessman for allegedly faking reports of armed robberies to help foreign nationals secure U visas. Authorities say the fraud spanned from 2015 to 2025 in three small communities.
Prosecutors say the businessman, himself a U visa recipient, acted as the go-between. He would connect people seeking a U visa with two then-police chiefs, a former police chief and an elected marshal, authorities say. As part of what the businessman collected from the foreign nationals, the officers would receive $5,000 per victim named in the report, according to the indictment.
The officers would generate false crime reports and attest to a person's status as a victim, authorities say. Foreign nationals could then submit that to DHS. Prosecutors say hundreds of people got U visas through this alleged scheme.
A trial that was set to start in late March has been put on hold with no new trial date set. Two of the five defendants, all of whom had entered not-guilty pleas, recently scheduled plea-change hearings.
In Boston, 10 Indian nationals were indicted by a grand jury this month and charged with staging robberies at convenience stores to secure U visas.
Write to Joe Barrett at Joseph.Barrett@wsj.com and Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 22, 2026 05:30 ET (09:30 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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