Hawaii Standardized Visa Certifications for Crime Victims. Courts Can Now Override an Agency Denial.

Who should decide whether a crime victim was helpful enough to receive a federal visa certification?

HB1838 gives Hawaii agencies a common process and gives courts the final word.

U visas serve noncitizen victims of qualifying crimes. T visas serve trafficking victims. In both systems, a victim generally needs a police agency, prosecutor, judge, or other authorized official to certify cooperation with law enforcement.

Act 142 requires certifying agencies to publish a policy, designate an official, respond within 45 days, and act within 14 days in urgent cases. Denials must include reasons. Victim information must remain confidential, and agencies must provide language access.

Those rules can reduce arbitrary treatment and help genuine victims navigate a complicated process.

Imagine Maria, an undocumented hotel worker in Honolulu. Her supervisor assaults her and threatens to report her immigration status if she speaks to police.

Maria reports the assault, provides text messages, identifies the supervisor, and answers investigators' questions. Prosecutors later decide they do not have enough evidence to file charges.

Maria asks the police department to sign a U visa certification confirming that she was a victim of qualifying criminal activity and helped the investigation. The department denies her request because her assistance did not lead to an arrest or prosecution.

Under HB1838, that reason may not be enough. The law does not require an arrest, charge, prosecution, or conviction. Maria is presumed helpful unless she unreasonably refused to cooperate.

Maria petitions the circuit court. The judge reviews the matter from the beginning. If the judge finds that Maria was helpful, the judge may order the department to sign the certification or sign it directly. If Maria prevails, the department must pay her attorney's fees and costs.

The certification does not grant Maria a visa. Federal immigration officials make that decision. It gives her one of the documents needed to apply.

The law creates a rebuttable presumption that a victim was helpful unless the victim unreasonably refused to cooperate. It bars agencies from imposing requirements beyond federal law and places no time limit on when the underlying crime occurred.

If an agency denies or ignores a request, a circuit court reviews the matter anew. The court may order the agency to sign or execute the certification itself. A prevailing petitioner receives attorney's fees and costs.

That combination can turn a law-enforcement attestation into a court-compelled result. Agencies may feel pressure to certify rather than absorb litigation and fee exposure.

Act 142 makes U and T visa certification faster and more consistent for crime and trafficking victims. It also lets a judge replace an agency's decision, sign the certification, and require the agency to pay the petitioner's attorney's fees. Keep the deadlines, confidentiality, and language access. Return the final certification judgment to the authorized law-enforcement agency.

This is our read of the law. We encourage you to read it yourself and reach your own conclusions.