U VISA CERTIFICATION ACT

SB0031

SENATE BILL 31

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Antoinette Sedillo Lopez

AN ACT

RELATING TO VICTIMS OF CRIME; ENACTING THE U VISA CERTIFICATION
ACT; DEFINING TERMS; PROVIDING FOR ELIGIBILITY FOR U VISA
CERTIFICATION; PROVIDING FOR PROCEDURES FOR U VISA
CERTIFICATION REQUESTS, APPROVALS, DENIALS AND APPEALS;
PROVIDING FOR NOTICE REQUIREMENTS, RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING;
GIVING THE DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION TO MAKE FINDINGS OF FACT
AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND TO GRANT RELIEF IN ACCORDANCE WITH
THE U VISA CERTIFICATION ACT.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the
"U Visa Certification Act"."

SECTION 2.
A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the U Visa
Certification Act:

A. "certification form" means a form approved by
the United States department of homeland security to certify
that a person petitioning for a U visa is a victim of a
qualifying crime and includes United States citizenship and
immigration services form I-918 supplement B;

B. "certifying agency" means:

(1) a state or local law enforcement agency;

(2) a district attorney's office;

(3) a district court, children's court, family
court, metropolitan court, magistrate court or municipal court;

(4) an agency of the state with jurisdiction
to detect, investigate or prosecute qualifying criminal
activity, including the state department of justice, the
children, youth and families department, the workforce
solutions department and the health care authority; or

(5) a tribal or pueblo law enforcement agency
whose officers are commissioned as peace officers by the chief
of the New Mexico state police or a county sheriff;

C. "certifying official" means the head of a
certifying agency or a person in a supervisory role who has
been specifically designated by the head of the certifying
agency to issue U visa certifications and includes a judge;

D. "qualifying criminal activity" means a federal,
state, local or tribal criminal offense for which the nature
and elements of the offense is substantially similar to an
offense and similar activity enumerated in 8 U.S.C. Section
1101(a)(15)(U)(iii) or activity involving: abduction;
blackmail; domestic violence; criminal sexual contact;
extortion; false imprisonment; felonious assault; female
genital mutilation; fraud in foreign labor contracting; hostage
taking; incest; involuntary servitude; kidnapping;
manslaughter; murder; obstruction of justice; peonage; perjury;
prostitution; rape; sexual assault or exploitation; slavery;
stalking; torture; trafficking of persons, controlled
substances or other contraband; unlawful criminal restraint;
witness tampering; or attempt, solicitation or conspiracy to
commit a criminal offense or engage in activity involving the
conduct enumerated in this subsection;

E. "U visa" means the federal classification for a
person eligible for a visa in accordance with 8 U.S.C. Section
1101(a)(15)(U); and

F. "victim" means a person directly and proximately
harmed as a result of qualifying criminal activity and includes
a spouse, a child under age twenty-one, a parent or a sibling
under age eighteen of a person who is deceased due to murder or
manslaughter or a person directly and proximately harmed as a
result of qualifying criminal activity who is incompetent or
incapacitated."

SECTION 3.
A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] ELIGIBILITY FOR U VISA CERTIFICATION.--

A. A victim or a person on behalf of a victim may
request U visa certification from a certifying agency or
certifying official. If a victim is subject to removal
proceedings pursuant to federal immigration law, the victim may
request expedited U visa certification from a district
attorney's office or the state department of justice.

B. A victim is eligible for U visa certification if
the victim:

(1) possesses credible and reliable
information about qualifying criminal activity and has assisted
or is likely to assist in the detection, investigation or
prosecution of that qualifying criminal activity; and

(2) continues to provide information and
assistance if information and assistance are requested.

C. A request for U visa certification may include
more than one victim, depending on the circumstances of the
qualifying criminal activity.

D. A certifying official may deny or withdraw U
visa certification only if a victim refuses to provide
information or assistance after reasonable requests. The
following circumstances shall not be grounds to deny or
withdraw U visa certification:

(1) an investigation has concluded;

(2) a case has been prosecuted or is otherwise
closed;

(3) the time for commencing a criminal case
has expired;

(4) criminal charges were not filed; or

(5) the offender of alleged qualifying
criminal activity was acquitted or not convicted."

SECTION 4.
A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] PROCEDURES FOR U VISA CERTIFICATION.--

A. A certifying official shall process a request
for U visa certification within thirty days from receipt of the
request; provided that a request to a district attorney's
office or the state department of justice for expedited U visa
certification shall be processed within fourteen days.

B. If a certifying official determines that a
victim is eligible for U visa certification, the certifying
official shall fully complete and sign the certification form
and send the completed and signed form with an unredacted copy
of the police or incident report, criminal complaint or
affidavit to the victim or a person who made the request on
behalf of the victim by certified mail and free of charge.

C. If a certifying official determines that a
victim is not eligible for U visa certification and denies the
request, the certifying official shall provide the victim with
a written explanation for the denial, notice of the certifying
agency's internal appeal process and the certifying official's
contact information. Upon denying a victim's request for U
visa certification, a certifying official shall compile all
documentation relevant to the request, including records and
other documentation relating to the underlying qualifying
criminal activity, so it is readily accessible if the victim
requests an internal appeal, if such documentation is requested
by the state department of justice or if the victim files a
petition in the district court in accordance with Section 6 of
the U Visa Certification Act.

D. A certifying agency shall establish an internal
appeal process for denials of requests for U visa certification
that provides, at minimum, for a written final decision within
thirty days from the date a victim receives the written denial
and for the final decision to be made by the head of the
certifying agency; provided that, if the head of the certifying
agency made the initial decision, the head of the agency shall
appoint a person in a supervisory role within the agency to
review the appeal and make the final decision.

E. If a certifying agency upholds a denial after an
internal appeal, a victim may seek review from the state
department of justice. Upon receiving a request for review,
the state department of justice shall notify the certifying
official who denied the victim's request, and that certifying
official shall provide the state department of justice with the
compiled documentation relevant to the victim's request within
seven days. The final decision of the state department of
justice shall be made within fourteen days from receipt of the
documentation from the certifying official who denied the
victim's request. If the state department of justice upholds
the denial, the department shall provide the victim with
certified copies of the documentation that the department
received from the certifying official who initially denied the
victim's request.

F. If a victim's request for U visa certification
was originally made to and denied by the state department of
justice, the victim may file a petition in the district court
in accordance with Section 6 of the U Visa Certification Act."

SECTION 5.
A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] NOTICE--RECORDKEEPING--REPORTING.--A
certifying agency shall:

A. publish the agency's procedures for U visa
certification on the agency's website and shall include the
name of and contact information for the agency's certifying
official;

B. create a record of:

(1) the number of requests for U visa
certification received in a calender year;

(2) the dates on which the certifying entity
received each request for U visa certification;

(3) the number of requests for U visa
certification that were approved and completed;

(4) the number of requests for U visa
certification that were denied; and

(5) the number of completed U visa
certifications that were subsequently withdrawn; and

C. at the request of the state department of
justice or the legislature, provide a report on the agency's
implementation of the U Visa Certification Act."

SECTION 6.
A new section of Chapter 31 NMSA 1978 is
enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] PRIVATE ENFORCEMENT--PETITION IN THE
DISTRICT COURT.--

A. The district court in the county where a victim
resides or the first judicial district court has jurisdiction
to make findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to the
U Visa Certification Act.

B. A victim may file a petition in the district
court for relief under the U Visa Certification Act and in
accordance with supreme court rule if:

(1) the victim's request for U visa
certification was denied by a certifying official and the
victim exhausted the internal appeal and state department of
justice review processes; or

(2) the victim's request for U visa
certification was initially made to and denied by the state
department of justice.

C. Upon review of a petition, the district court
shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law to determine
whether:

(1) the petitioner is a victim;

(2) the petitioner is a victim of qualifying
criminal activity; and

(3) the victim is eligible for U visa
certification as provided in Subsection B of Section 3 of the U
Visa Certification Act.

D. If the district court determines that the
petitioner is a victim, is a victim of qualifying criminal
activity and is eligible for U visa certification, the court
shall complete and sign the certification form for the victim
and may award reasonable costs and attorney fees and other
equitable relief that the court deems just and proper."

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