Not all victims of qualifying crimes will be able to obtain a U visa. The first step is to obtain a U visa Certification from the appropriate certifying agency. Certifying agencies can be Federal, State, of local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, judges, or other authority that investigates or prosecutes criminal activity.
Individual agencies may have varying policies regarding when they will sign the U via certification. If a person is unable to obtain a properly executed certification, that person will be unable to establish eligibility for the U visa with USCIS.
The certifying agency must sign form I-918B, which must then be included as part of the evidence submitted in support of the application for the U visa.