"There's nothing worse than knowing someone is exposed to violence, and to hear them say they don't want to live with that violence, but they're too afraid to speak out," said Nancy O'Malley, district attorney for Alameda County, which includes much of San Francisco Bay.

Keeping this in mind, government offered a special visa to encourage illegal immigrants to report violent crime.

The "U" visa program was created in 2000 but was on hold until rules for its implementation were adopted in 2007. Now the government is approving thousands of requests.

For years, Laura Teresa Leon Sanchez says, she was beaten, raped and robbed by her boyfriend. If she tried to leave, he threatened to have her deported.

"I was a ghost. I was nothing," said the Mexico City native who was living in the United States illegally. "He would say, 'I'll call immigration, and just like this, you'll be gone.'"

But eventually Sanchez got help from authorities. Under the Obama administration; the effort is consistent with the new priorities of federal immigration agencies. Records from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service show that 4,400 visas were issued this fiscal year — up from just 52 last year. About 13,000 applications are still pending.

Half of them need more information from the applicant and the other half are in backlog that immigration officials are pushing to resolve. Sometimes immigrants never apply because they fear police or worry that they might end up in deportation proceedings.

Attorneys, advocates and law enforcement agencies are also approached to spread the word about the program.

"This is a vulnerable population," said Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Services. "And if they're eligible for this protection, and they've worked with law enforcement, we're doing everything that we can to make sure they get this protection."

Immigrants benefiting from the program include hundreds of women alleging rape, female genital mutilation and sex trafficking. But government records show the overwhelming majority — upward of 4,000 cases — are domestic violence victims.

Before a U visa is approved, police, prosecutors or a judge must certify that the applicant has cooperated in arresting or prosecuting the alleged attacker. Immigrants may do so without fearing deportation.

But advocates say that the process is is easier for some immigrants than others. Therefore, the number of visas granted remains several thousand below the 10,000 allowed per year under the law. Immigrant advocates say the program is still plagued by delays — and thousands of victims are waiting. They feel isolated and in the meantime are unable to work!

"I feel ashamed each time I'm sitting at the church," Boutamba said through tears. "I can't even look people in the face because of my situation."