{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/9.1-1500.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/9.1-1500.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/9.1-1500.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/9.1-1500.html"}],"law_id":69859,"edition_id":1,"section_id":69859,"structure_id":13530,"section_number":"9.1-1500","catch_line":"Definitions","history":"2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 468.","full_text":"As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Certification form” means a certification form or declaration completed by a certifying agency that is required by federal immigration law certifying that a person is a victim of qualifying criminal activity. Such form or declaration may include any information required (i) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(p), including the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-918, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a U visa, or (ii) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(o), including the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-914, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a T visa.\n\t\t“Certifying agency” means a state or local law-enforcement agency, an attorney for the Commonwealth, the Attorney General, or any other agency or department employing law-enforcement officers as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101 that has responsibility for the investigation or prosecution of a qualifying criminal activity.\n\t\t“Certifying official” means the head of the certifying agency, a law-enforcement officer as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101, or any person employed by a certifying agency in a supervisory role who has been specifically designated by the head of the certifying agency to issue U nonimmigrant status certifications on behalf of that agency. A certifying official may act on behalf of his employing certifying agency or on behalf of another certifying agency through an agreement with the other certifying agency. Each certifying agency shall designate at least one certifying official for its agency.\n\t\t“Qualifying criminal activity” means any activity, regardless of the stage of detection, investigation, or prosecution, designated in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and instructions.\n\t\t“Victim of qualifying criminal activity” means a person described in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(i)(III), in the definition of “victim of a severe form of trafficking” in 22 U.S.C. \u00a7 7102(11), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and instructions.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":252432,"text":"As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Certification form” means a certification form or declaration completed by a certifying agency that is required by federal immigration law certifying that a person is a victim of qualifying criminal activity. Such form or declaration may include any information required (i) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(p), including the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-918, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a U visa, or (ii) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(o), including the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-914, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a T visa.\n\t\t“Certifying agency” means a state or local law-enforcement agency, an attorney for the Commonwealth, the Attorney General, or any other agency or department employing law-enforcement officers as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101 that has responsibility for the investigation or prosecution of a qualifying criminal activity.\n\t\t“Certifying official” means the head of the certifying agency, a law-enforcement officer as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101, or any person employed by a certifying agency in a supervisory role who has been specifically designated by the head of the certifying agency to issue U nonimmigrant status certifications on behalf of that agency. A certifying official may act on behalf of his employing certifying agency or on behalf of another certifying agency through an agreement with the other certifying agency. Each certifying agency shall designate at least one certifying official for its agency.\n\t\t“Qualifying criminal activity” means any activity, regardless of the stage of detection, investigation, or prosecution, designated in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and instructions.\n\t\t“Victim of qualifying criminal activity” means a person described in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(i)(III), in the definition of “victim of a severe form of trafficking” in 22 U.S.C. \u00a7 7102(11), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and instructions.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13530,"edition_id":1,"name":"Certifications for Victims of Qualifying Criminal Activity","identifier":"15","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12896,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:08","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:08","permalink":{"id":285199,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13530,"identifier":"15","token":"9.1\/15","url":"\/9.1\/15\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12896,"edition_id":1,"name":"Commonwealth Public Safety","identifier":"9.1","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:59","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:59","permalink":{"id":284487,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12896,"identifier":"9.1","token":"9.1","url":"\/9.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":69859,"structure_id":13530,"section_number":"9.1-1500","catch_line":"Definitions","url":"\/9.1-1500\/","token":"9.1\/15\/9.1-1500","metadata":false},{"id":69305,"structure_id":13530,"section_number":"9.1-1501","catch_line":"Certifications for victims of qualifying criminal activity","url":"\/9.1-1501\/","token":"9.1\/15\/9.1-1501","metadata":false},{"id":54496,"structure_id":13530,"section_number":"9.1-1502","catch_line":"Proceedings for Enforcement of Chapter","url":"\/9.1-1502\/","token":"9.1\/15\/9.1-1502","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":69305,"structure_id":13530,"section_number":"9.1-1501","catch_line":"Certifications for victims of qualifying criminal activity","url":"\/9.1-1501\/","token":"9.1\/15\/9.1-1501","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/9.1-1500\/","history_text":false,"references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":73488,"section_number":"9.1-101","catch_line":"(Effective July 1, 2026) Definitions","order_by":null,"url":"\/9.1-101\/"}],"permalink":{"id":285201,"object_type":"law","relational_id":69859,"identifier":"9.1-1500","token":"9.1\/15\/9.1-1500","url":"\/9.1-1500\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/9.1-1500\/","token":"9.1\/15\/9.1-1500","dublin_core":{"Title":"Definitions","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 9.1-1500","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Certification form<\/span>” means a certification form<\/span> or declaration completed by a certifying agency<\/span> that is required by federal immigration law<\/span> certifying that a person is a victim of qualifying criminal activity<\/span><\/span>. Such form or declaration may include any information required (i) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(p), including the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-918, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a U visa, or (ii) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(o), including the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form I-914, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a T visa.\n\t\t“Certifying agency<\/span>” means a state or local law<\/span>-enforcement agency, an attorney for the Commonwealth, the Attorney General<\/span>, or any other agency or department employing law<\/span>-enforcement officers as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101<\/a> that has responsibility for the investigation or prosecution<\/span> of a qualifying criminal activity<\/span>.\n\t\t“Certifying official<\/span>” means the head of the certifying agency<\/span>, a law<\/span>-enforcement officer as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101<\/a>, or any person employed by a certifying agency<\/span> in a supervisory role who has been specifically designated by the head of the certifying agency<\/span> to issue<\/span> U nonimmigrant status certifications on behalf of that agency. A certifying official<\/span> may act on behalf of his employing certifying agency<\/span> or on behalf of another certifying agency<\/span> through an agreement with the other certifying agency<\/span>. Each certifying agency<\/span> shall designate at least one certifying official<\/span> for its agency.\n\t\t“Qualifying criminal activity<\/span>” means any activity, regardless of the stage of detection, investigation, or prosecution<\/span>, designated in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(iii), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and instructions.\n\t\t“Victim of qualifying criminal activity<\/span><\/span>” means a person described in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(i)(III), in the definition of “victim of a severe form of trafficking<\/span>” in 22 U.S.C. \u00a7 7102(11), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and instructions.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nDEFINITIONS (\u00a7 9.1-1500)\n\nAs used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:\n\t\t“Certification form” means a certification form or declaration\ncompleted by a certifying agency that is required by federal immigration law\ncertifying that a person is a victim of qualifying criminal activity. Such form\nor declaration may include any information required (i) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(p),\nincluding the current United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Form\nI-918, Supplement B, or any successor form for purposes of obtaining a U visa,\nor (ii) by 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1184(o), including the current United States Citizenship\nand Immigration Services Form I-914, Supplement B, or any successor form for\npurposes of obtaining a T visa.\n\t\t“Certifying agency” means a state or local law-enforcement agency,\nan attorney for the Commonwealth, the Attorney General, or any other agency or\ndepartment employing law-enforcement officers as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101 that has\nresponsibility for the investigation or prosecution of a qualifying criminal\nactivity.\n\t\t“Certifying official” means the head of the certifying agency, a\nlaw-enforcement officer as defined in \u00a7 9.1-101, or any person employed by a\ncertifying agency in a supervisory role who has been specifically designated by\nthe head of the certifying agency to issue U nonimmigrant status certifications\non behalf of that agency. A certifying official may act on behalf of his\nemploying certifying agency or on behalf of another certifying agency through an\nagreement with the other certifying agency. Each certifying agency shall\ndesignate at least one certifying official for its agency.\n\t\t“Qualifying criminal activity” means any activity, regardless of\nthe stage of detection, investigation, or prosecution, designated in 8 U.S.C. \u00a7\n1101(a)(15)(U)(iii), or in any implementing federal regulations, supplementary\ninformation, guidance, and instructions.\n\t\t“Victim of qualifying criminal activity” means a person described\nin 8 U.S.C. \u00a7 1101(a)(15)(U)(i)(III), in the definition of “victim of a\nsevere form of trafficking” in 22 U.S.C. \u00a7 7102(11), or in any\nimplementing federal regulations, supplementary information, guidance, and\ninstructions.\n\nHISTORY: 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 468.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}