U1 visa symbol meaning.

What U1 means in 22 CFR 41.12

Section 41.12 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations is titled “Classification symbols”. It opens: “A nonimmigrant visa issued to an applicant within one of the classes described in this section shall bear an appropriate visa symbol to show its classification. The symbol shall be inserted in the space provided on the visa.” Table 1 to that section then lists each symbol with its class and the section of law. The row for U1 is:

The statute behind the symbol

The “section of law” column points to the Immigration and Nationality Act. Most rows cite INA 101(a)(15), codified at 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15), the definition of “immigrant”, which lists the classes of nonimmigrant aliens by letter and begins: “The term “immigrant” means every alien except an alien who is within one of the following classes of nonimmigrant aliens”.

The U1 row cites INA 101(a)(15)(U)(i). Clause (i) opens “subject to section 1184(p) of this title, an alien who files a petition for status under this subparagraph, if the Secretary of Homeland Security determines that” four conditions are met. The first condition, and the clause (iii) list that it points to, read:

“the alien has suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of having been a victim of criminal activity described in clause (iii)”

Source: INA 101(a)(15)(U)(i)(I)

“the criminal activity referred to in this clause is that involving one or more of the following or any similar activity in violation of Federal, State, or local criminal law: rape; torture; trafficking; incest; domestic violence; sexual assault; abusive sexual contact; prostitution; sexual exploitation; stalking; female genital mutilation; being held hostage; peonage; involuntary servitude; slave trade; kidnapping; abduction; unlawful criminal restraint; false imprisonment; blackmail; extortion; manslaughter; murder; felonious assault; witness tampering; obstruction of justice; perjury; fraud in foreign labor contracting (as defined in section 1351 of title 18); or attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit any of the above mentioned crimes”

Source: INA 101(a)(15)(U)(iii)

Reading the U1 row against its neighbours

Table 1 names U1 “Victim of Criminal Activity”. The statute’s wording is narrower than that label: the criminal activity must be “described in clause (iii)”, which is the list quoted above, and it must have violated United States law or occurred in the United States, its Indian country, military installations or territories and possessions (clause (i)(IV)).

The rest of the U rows are U2 (Spouse of U1, clause (ii)), U3 (Child of U1), U4 (Parent of U1 Under 21 Years of Age) and U5 (Unmarried Sibling Under Age 18 of U1 Under 21 Years of Age). All four cite clause (ii). Clause (ii) itself distinguishes a principal under 21 from one aged 21 or older, which is why the parent and sibling rows carry age wording.

The statute says the alien “files a petition for status”. The symbol on a visa is the result of a process that this page does not describe. Anyone who thinks they might fit the clause should speak with a licensed immigration attorney or an accredited legal aid organization.

What this page does not tell you

A visa symbol is a label. Table 1 says what each class is called and where the classification comes from in law. It says nothing about who qualifies, what evidence is needed, how long anyone may stay, whether work is allowed or what an application costs. Those answers sit in other regulations and in agency guidance and they change, so use the lookup above to read the label and then take the question to the State Department’s visa pages (travel.state.gov, which blocked automated reading on November 2, 2026, so we have not cited its contents) or a licensed immigration attorney.

For other codes seen on immigration paperwork, see the EAD category code lookup, which covers a different code set, and the I-94 number format checker.

• T1 visa symbol meaning: T1, the symbol for victims of a severe form of trafficking, which is a different clause.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 22 CFR 41.12 Classification symbols, Table 1 (current text; last amended 2023-09-12 per the eCFR version history) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR renderer API, the same section as machine-readable text (read November 2, 2026)
• Cornell Legal Information Institute: 8 U.S.C. 1101, definitions, subsection (a)(15) (read November 2, 2026)