T Nonimmigrant Visa

A T visa is a special nonimmigrant status reserved for victims of human trafficking who are in the United States, or at a port of entry, as a result of trafficking. T status usually allows the victim / survivor to remain in the United States for four years and includes a work permit, allowing the individual access to a Social Security Number and eligibility for a driver’s license.

“Human trafficking” refers to a situation where a person is forced or tricked into sex or any kind of work or effort due to the fear of serious harm if they do not comply with the trafficker’s commands. Trafficking takes many forms and may occur across numerous work environments or even within families. An attorney and legal team may be able to conduct a thorough interview to determine if a person is eligible to apply for a T visa.

To qualify for T visa status, the survivor must either be in the United States or at its border, directly due to human trafficking. The survivor must be willing to cooperate with law enforcement with regard to any investigation or prosecution of their traffickers that may occur.

The main applicant, the victim of trafficking, will be the “T-1” applicant. The survivor may also apply for some family members (such as a spouse, unmarried child under 21, and sometimes others) who are inside or outside of the United States. Derivative options include T-2through T-6 status. The beneficiary applications must also demonstrate that the applicant is not “inadmissible” (ineligible) to enter the United States. If they are inadmissible, the applicant must apply for an I-192 waiver (see above). Beneficiaries can also receive permission to live and work in the United States.

The documents required by USCIS when applying for a T visa usually include the at least following:

• Proof of identity such as birth certificate or passport — Some trafficking victims won’t have these or may not even know what their real name is, so there are exceptions to this rule!
• Confirmation that the victim was trafficked — Typically, this takes the form of an honest victim statement detailing what happened. This is, in our opinion, the most important part of a case, and part of what we aim to develop through our screening and consultation process.
• Evidence that cooperation with law enforcement was offered — This does not mean there was an investigation or that law enforcement created an incident report, nor does it mean law enforcement had to understand the person was a victim of trafficking.
• Evidence demonstrating extreme hardship would occur upon return to the country of origin due to removal from the United States — We usually argue that our client needs to remain in the United States for medical or mental health care connected to the trafficking.

Can I still get a T Visa if my trafficker died? If I don’t know the names of the coyotes? If I don’t have paystubs to show my employer committed wage and hour violations against me? If I don’t have pictures of the bruises from domestic violence beatings? If I don’t have the cell phone messages from the sex trafficker?

One reason traffickers are so successful is that they make it hard for victims to keep evidence – they might hide their names or faces, pay in cash instead of paystubs, hide from the victim where they are being held, or even actively destroy phones or other evidence. In other cases, it may have been several years – even several decades – since the trafficking happened, so much of the original evidence has been lost or destroyed. Even if the trafficker has died, it may still be possible to pursue a T visa.

These evidentiary problems do not usually mean that a survivor cannot file for a T visa. Applicants should inform the attorney and legal team what they do and do not have so that the attorney can prepare the best approach for the case.

An important part of the T visa application is the Victim Statement, where the survivor is able to tell their entire story. USCIS should consider the entire statement, even if there is no proof outside of that honest account. The screening and intake process at Helen Tarokic Law is thoroughly developed and designed to help the survivor tell their story.

Trauma suffered by a survivor of trafficking may impact their memory in such a way that they do not remember names, dates, or small details of what happened to them. Speaking to an attorney may even be the first time that a survivor has told their full story.

The most important thing we ask is to be honest. If you were too scared to tell us something in a call at first, contact us again to tell us that you now have more to say. If you said something incorrectly, let us know so we can fix it.

Unlike a U visa, a T visa does not require a “T Certification” from a law enforcement or prosecutorial authority. However, the application must still show the victim’s willingness to cooperate with an investigation, and the best way to do that is often reporting the trafficking to some kind of authority. The attorney can usually choose an appropriate agency – such as the local police or the U.S. Department of Labor – in a way that satisfies the legal requirements and is respectful of the applicant’s situation.

Reporting can cause significant anxiety for survivors of trafficking, especially when their trafficker is a prominent or powerful person in their family and/or community. In some instances, victims are too afraid or traumatized to report the trafficking crimes against them. An attorney may be able to help applicants understand their options and have a “reality check” conversation about how likely it is that an investigation will take place. In instances in which a crime took place a long time ago or there is very little evidence of the crime outside of the victim’s statement, it may be that just reporting the crime to the Department of Labor, or another agency would be sufficient to fulfill the eligibility requirements without further burdening the traumatized client – essentially, just an administrative step.

On the opposite side, some survivors may be extremely hopeful of action being taken against their trafficker to potentially get criminal justice and be compensated for the crime against them. In some instances, this can be part of the T visa case. It is possible that law enforcement will take an active interest in the case and a civil or criminal prosecution of the trafficker may take place. In many situations, this is not possible (for several reasons, including an overburdened criminal justice system.) In these cases, attorneys can try to help the applicant understand that the justice may not be criminal justice, but rather “immigration justice” – meaning they can tell their story and ultimately get immigration status, even if the names of the traffickers may never become known, and even if there was no prosecution or investigation.

In many cases, law enforcement may not have the training, time, resources, or political will to investigate the trafficking. Some may invite or require the survivor to interview, while others may just accept the report without any conversation. Again, the important thing to remember is that a report and the willingness to cooperate is enough. There are no – or at least less, compared to a U visa – threshold requirements for the amount of cooperation the victim gave law enforcement.

Many people will call a law office for a U visa consultation after the crime has been already reported (such as through a 911 call). However, with T visa cases, it may be the attorney’s office that makes the initial report of the crime on behalf of the victim.

One way to show that an applicant has been injured by the crime against them is to attend therapy to deal with the continuing emotional trauma caused by the crime. Even if the crime happened many years ago, the victim may still be suffering from the effects.

For example:

• Flashbacks
• Nightmares, trouble sleeping,
• Feeling fearful again when a place, a sound, a person, or anything reminds of the crime
• Getting emotional easily (angry or sad) even when something unrelated is happening

Therapy can help process these emotions and manage the effects that the crime may still be having in daily life.

At Helen Tarokic Law, we usually require at least 12 sessions of therapy as part of the terms of our representation. Primarily, we care about our clients’ emotional well-being – we want them to have less worries and happier days! We also find that attending therapy also helps our clients work better with our team and cooperate to provide the information we need for their case.

“Human trafficking” refers to a situation where a person is forced or tricked into sex or any kind of work or effort due to the fear of serious harm if they do not comply with the trafficker’s commands. Trafficking takes many forms and may occur across numerous work environments or even within families. An attorney and their staff may be able to conduct a thorough interview to determine if what happened to a person was trafficking, and if that person is eligible to apply for a T visa.

Trafficking can occur in any kind of employment. However, we most often see labor trafficking occur in the following industries: landscaping, painting, construction, cleaning, restaurants, convenient stores/gas stations, and agricultural work. These jobs lend themselves to exploitation of workers unless the employers are careful to foster appropriate conditions and payment. In every kind of employment, we look closely at things such as sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace injuries, which can all be flags for trafficking.

Examples of common scenarios in these jobs:

• Failing to provide safety equipment to do the job, then threatening to deport someone if they complain about unsafe conditions, leading the victim to feel that they have to put up with the exploitation and keep working.
• Making false promises to pay, only paying for a partial amount of the hours worked or paying less than what was promised so that a person remains desperate and too impoverished to run away.
• Refusing to pay the employee until they complete one more job (build another home, landscape another yard, paint another building).
• Telling the employee that they have to work long hours without breaks or making them feel like they cannot take time off when they’re sick.
• Telling the employee that they have keep working no matter what until a new “replacement” comes (who never comes!).
• Threatening an independent contractor such that they feel they have no choice but to continue to do work with less pay or in inappropriate work conditions.

We often see T visa options for professional workers in the H-1B, E-2, J-1, TN, H-2, and other contexts as well. Because work visas like those are tied to employment, it creates an opportunity for distortion and misuse.

When we do a consultation and find out someone is out of status or a visa overstay, one of the first things we want to know about is why that happened – there is often exploitation involved.

Even people who are currently in status may qualify for a T visa. If you have had horrible work experiences, or someone attempted to traffic you, you may wish to speak to a qualified immigration attorney.

No! Many kinds of forced or coerced sexual encounters fall under what USCIS considers “commercial sex” that qualifies for a T visa.  Once again, the terms “trafficking” and “commercial sex” tend to be embarrassing, off-putting, and confusing for survivors. Instead, we focus on the law and the actual story of what happened to see if a “thing of value” was given in exchange for sex.

Any of these or similar scenarios could qualify as commercialized sex and make the victim eligible for a T visa:

• An open or implied threat to harm or kill the victim unless they have sex. The “thing of value” might not be money or an item, but the victim’s life has worth! It is valuable!
• Rapes or sexual assaults by a coyote or other individual involved in bringing someone across the border, especially when those assaults come with a threat to leave a victim behind or an offer to give the victim money, a more secure path to the United States, or a better job upon arriving in the United States.
• A minor being offered alcohol or drugs in exchange for sex.
• Victims who were molested by family members– such a scenario would be overtly non-consensual– in exchange for gifts or for not ruining the victim’s reputation within the family.
• Forced or coerced sex as part of domestic violence, involving spouses or unmarried partners. Even if a person is married, being forced to have sex when they do not want to may be a type of servitude – either sexual servitude, sexual slavery, or something else. The “thing of value” exchanged here can be being allowed to stay in the home, access to groceries and other needs, and/or promising the safety of children in the household.

This depends on both the legal and factual issues of the survivor’s case. If a person is eligible for a T visa, it would most likely be the better option due to the long delay in USCIS’ processing time for U visa cases. A U visa applicant can expect to wait at least 7-10 years before they receive their U visa, followed by at least 3 more years of waiting to be eligible to apply for a Green Card. However, with the faster T visa processing time, it can take just a couple of years to receive their T visa and work permit, and then become eligible for a Green Card either within the same year their T is approved, or within 3 years of obtaining T status.

An immigration attorney may be able to carefully screen the survivor of a crime and discuss the remedies and options available, along with recommendations of what will be most likely to quickly stabilize the survivor and their family.

Those with a valid T visa may temporarily stay in the United States. They may also receive certain benefits such as work authorization and healthcare coverage.

The applicant’s attorney may also be able to refer them to the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP) even before completing their T visa application. See below for more on that.

A T visa holder may be eligible to apply for Lawful Permanent Residency (a Green Card) after three years in qualifying status. Some T visa holders may even qualify to apply for Lawful Permanent Residency status within the same year that their T-1 case is approved.

Per the TVAP website: “The Trafficking Victim Assistance Program (TVAP) is a grant program that funds comprehensive case management services for foreign national victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, potential victims of trafficking seeking HHS Certification, and their qualified family members through a national network of service providers.” (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/tvap)

The TVAP program is administered and managed by different agencies around the country, usually by at least one in every state.

When a trafficking survivor has been the victim of many different kinds of abuse, they may face multiple financial, health, safety, and emotional-related difficulties. Partly because of this, a part of the process for T visa clients can be to refer the applicant to try to get some help through the Trafficking Victims Assistance Program (TVAP).

Please note that even though the referral and request for services is important – receiving such services is not guaranteed and may depend on how much funding or staffing any local TVAP agency has.

If accepted, the survivor may be able to receive limited financial assistance, therapy, and “wraparound services,” such as information on worker’s rights or help with medical bills, to provide additional support to them as they adjust to life after their trafficking.

Applicants should then continue cooperating with the TVAP agencies who may work with them to provide whatever resources or assistance are available through that agency, such as help paying bills (i.e., therapy, groceries, medical expenses), job training, and other wraparound services.

You can learn more about the TVAP program here: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/tvap

Beneficiary applications may be possible. An applicant should consult with a qualified immigration attorneys attorney and let them know which family members they would like to include on their application, even if those family members are outside of the United States. An attorney can inform you of what is possible for family applications and also what the costs of that may be.

If family members of the trafficking victim have also been threatened, it is important to tell the attorney and legal team about that.  Fear of retaliation by traffickers is one reason the government may provide an expedited means of bringing parents, siblings, or other family members to the United States.

Generally, the initial validity period of the T visa is four years. However, an applicant, with an attorney’s assistance, may extend this period if they can demonstrate necessity due to exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from being able to adjust status to Lawful Permanent Residency within that time frame.

While some T visa applicants must wait three years to apply for a Green Card, many individuals approved for T-1 status will not need to wait the full three years before being eligible to apply for Lawful Permanent Residency.

There is a process called “Early Adjustment Status” that may allow a T visa holder to get started on their green card process if their case is inactive or closed by law enforcement. An immigration attorney may be able to advise on the process for this for a T visa holder. Please see below for more information.

Yes, there can be a path to permanent residency. There are usually two different paths to a Green Card for T visa holders.

1. “Early Adjustment of Status,” may be an option for some T applicants to begin their Green Card application the same year the T visa is approved.

This is usually for people with closed cases (i.e., cases that were reported and not investigated by law enforcement, cases where the investigation is closed or inactive, or cases where law enforcement did not agree to interview or open a file). For “Early Adjustment of Status” cases, a law office can contact the agency or location where the trafficking was reported to confirm that there is no active investigation. After this, an attorney can proceed to ask the Department of Justice for an “Early Adjustment” letter.

Once that letter is issued, the T-1 holder and their T derivative family member(s) may be able to apply for the I-485 Adjustment of Status process “early” – right away instead of waiting for 3 years of T status.

2. The standard “Adjustment of Status” option may allow the applicant to apply three years after they were granted T status.

In both situations, the application must show all of the requirements for adjustment to Lawful Permanent Resident status, including good moral character and physical presence within the United States.

The legal team at Helen Tarokic Law may sometimes offer a consultation on adjustment options immediately upon approval of the survivor’s T application. This consultation and case review can be crucial, as there are certain exceptions to the rules and special considerations.

It is possible, but extremely unlikely.

We cannot make a clear prediction for any immigration matter.

However, even under the Trump administration, a person who was denied a T visa would not be placed into removal proceedings if they continued to appeal. The Biden Administration later ended the rule that a person would be placed into deportation proceedings just because their case was denied.

This means that if a T visa is denied, the applicant may still be able to or appeal to try and win their case, but it does not mean they MUST do so in order to avoid removal. There is no rule saying a person will be deported if their T visa is denied.

Discussing your fear of deportation, the costs of the T visa case, and the great benefits of applying for a T visa are a few reasons why talking to a qualified lawyer is so important.

Please consult with us!

Some of the bad denials under the Trump administration have been revoked. Our law office has collaborated on lawsuits to revoke T visa denials and reopen cases to get them approved.

Every case is unique, but if you were a victim and your case wasn’t filed properly or needs to be appealed because the government made a wrong decision, please consider getting a second opinion from a qualified immigration attorney. The 2021 revisions to the USCIS Policy Manual significantly clarified the agency’s approach to T visas and has opened a lot of doors by better directing USCIS on how to decide on T visa applications. If your denial or consultation was before mid-2021, it may help you to reach out to an attorney and get a new opinion.

At our office, in working with our team to prepare for a consultation, we often offer a release form to allow us to receive immigration filings from a potential client’s previous attorney, such that we can review those before consultation. Additionally, our team may still want a potential new client to go through a new intake and screening process with our trained staff, where we may do a “fresh” T visa screen.