9-72.100
S Visa Program
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The
Violent Crime Control Act of 1994 amended the Immigration and
Nationality Act to establish a new "S" nonimmigrant visa
classification. See 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15)(S).
This classification is available to a limited number of aliens
who supply critical reliable information necessary to the
successful investigation and/or prosecution of a criminal
organization, or who supply or critical reliable information
concerning a terrorist organization, if the alien is eligible to
receive a State Department reward under the Rewards for Justice
Program. Id.; see also 22 U.S.C. § 2708.
The statute permits the aliens selected for the program, and
eligible family members, to be admitted to the United States in a
temporary nonimmigrant status for up to three years, see 8 U.S.C.
§ 1184(k)(3), and authorizes the Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security to waive most grounds of
inadmissibility.
Applications for S nonimmigrant visa classification must be
certified by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal
Division and approved by the Department of Homeland Security. See
the below-listed sections of the Criminal Resource Manual for more
information on the S Visa Program and the procedures to be followed
in seeking an S Visa for an alien. Further information concerning
the S Visa program may also be obtained by contacting the Policy and
Statutory Enforcement Unit in the Office of Enforcement Operations, Criminal
Division. | | |