The clinic assisted O with obtaining a U Visa as the victim of severe crime in the United States. O, a man from Central America who was living in the United States unlawfully, was kidnapped, assaulted, tortured and held hostage by a criminal gang for several days on the U.S.-Mexico border. With his U Visa, he can remain in the United States with his family and eventually apply to become a U.S. permanent resident.

Jessica Spradling (’11) and Rufat Yunayev (’11) advocated on behalf of their client in filing his U Visa application, which required them to convince a certifying police officer that their client was helpful in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against him. Jessica and Rufat spent countless hours documenting their client’s experience – they worked with expert witnesses to document the effects of the abuse on their client’s psychiatric state; they obtained police and court records; and they conducted multiple interviews with their client and various expert and lay witnesses.