Questions and Answers: Victims of Human Trafficking, T Nonimmigrant Status
T nonimmigrant status, also called a T visa, is available to aliens who are or were victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons and help law enforcement in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of acts of trafficking. Below are questions and answers about T nonimmigrant status.
Background
In October 2000, Congress created T nonimmigrant status by passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. The TVPA strengthens the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute human trafficking, and also offers immigration protection to alien victims.
Questions and Answers
Q. What is human trafficking?
A. Human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a crime in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to compel forced labor or a commercial sex act, or when a victim induced to perform commercial sex is under age 18. The T visa allows victims to remain in the United States to heal, stabilize, and assist law enforcement agencies in the detection, investigation, and prosecution of human trafficking cases.
Under federal law, the term “severe forms of trafficking in persons” can be broken into 2 categories:
- Sex trafficking: recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act where the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or the person being induced to perform such act is under 18 years of age.
- Labor trafficking: recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Q. Do federal laws prohibit trafficking in persons?
A. Yes. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution outlaws slavery and involuntary servitude (holding another in service through force or threats of force.) The TVPA supplements existing laws that apply to human trafficking, including those passed to enforce the 13th Amendment. The TVPA also established tools and resources to combat trafficking in persons, and provides an array of services and protections for victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons.
Q. What should I do if I believe I am a victim of trafficking?
A. If you believe you are or have been a victim of trafficking, you should try to contact law enforcement when it is safe to do so. To report suspected human trafficking and receive support and services to get help and information on how to stay safe, call 888-373-7888. This is a national, toll-free hotline, available to answer calls from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in more than 200 languages. The hotline is operated by Polaris, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization.
Call the Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) Tip Line at 866-347-2423 or submit a tip online at ice.gov/tips to contact the ICE HSI special agent and victim assistance specialist in your area or to report tips. Highly trained law enforcement specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to receive human trafficking tips and to quickly disseminate leads to on-duty human trafficking investigators throughout the nation and around the world. You can report an anonymous tips on the online form or via the toll-free Tip Line.
Many social service groups and nongovernmental organizations may also be able to help victims. Explore immigration options available to trafficking victims with a legal services provider or nongovernmental organization.
Q. What forms of immigration relief are available to victims of trafficking?
A. Victims of trafficking who meet certain requirements are eligible for a T visa. The T visa provides immigration status to alien victims and allows them to remain in the United States to assist in the detection, investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking. After receiving a T visa, victims may be eligible for permanent residence if they have been continuously physically present in the United States for 3 years after they were first lawfully admitted as a T nonimmigrant, or if they have been continuously physically present in the United States during the investigation or prosecution of the trafficking and that investigation or prosecution is complete, whichever occurs earlier. They must meet other eligibility requirements. For more information about T visas, see the Victims of Human Trafficking: T Nonimmigrant Status page.
Another form of immigration relief available to victims of human trafficking is a U visa. U visas are granted to people who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of being a victim of certain qualifying criminal activity, including human trafficking, and who meet other eligibility requirements. For more information about U nonimmigrant status, see the Victims of Criminal Activity, U Nonimmigrant Status page.
Victims of trafficking may also qualify for a temporary immigration designation, Continued Presence. For more information about Continued Presence (PDF), see the Continued Presence Resource Guide.
Q. What are the requirements for T nonimmigrant status?
A. To qualify for T nonimmigrant status, you must show that you:
- Are or were a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons;
- Are physically present in the United States, American Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry, because you were trafficked;
- Have complied with any reasonable request from a law enforcement agency for assistance in the detection, investigation, or prosecution of human trafficking or qualify for an exemption or exception; and
- Would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if you were removed from the United States.
If you were under the age of 18 when at least 1 of the acts of trafficking occurred, or if you cannot cooperate with a law enforcement request due to physical or psychological trauma, you may qualify for T nonimmigrant status without complying with a request to assist law enforcement.
You must also be admissible to the United States or obtain a waiver of all relevant grounds of inadmissibility.
Q. Do I have to pay to apply for the T visa?
A. No. All T nonimmigrant status applications are fee-exempt, including all associated forms, until you adjust your status (get a Green Card). After you get a Green Card, you may submit a Request for Fee Waiver, Form I-912, or include your own written request for a fee waiver with your application or petition, for all other forms, such as Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.
You can find additional filing fee information by visiting our Fee Schedule, Form G-1055, page.
Q. Can my family members also obtain T nonimmigrant status?
A. Yes. Certain family members are eligible for derivative T nonimmigrant status. Regardless of your age, you may apply for the following family members if they are in present danger of retaliation as a result of your escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement:
- Your parents;
- Your unmarried siblings under 18 years of age; and
- The children of any age or marital status of your eligible family members who have been granted derivative T nonimmigrant status.
If your family members are not in present danger of retaliation, then follow the guidelines in the chart below.
| If you are… | Then you may apply for your... |
|---|---|
| Under 21 years old |
|
| 21 years old or older |
|
Q. How many T visas can be granted each year?
A. Congress has limited the number of T nonimmigrant visas available to principal victims of trafficking to 5,000 visas each fiscal year. Derivative family members do not count toward this annual limit.
Q. Can I legally work in the United States if I have T nonimmigrant status?
A. Yes, if we approve your application as a principal T-1 nonimmigrant, you are authorized to work. You may need to file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, to get an Employment Authorization Document (EAD), depending on whether you are a principal applicant or eligible family member.
If you are a principal applicant, when we grant your T-1 nonimmigrant status, we will issue you an EAD at the same time. We get the information for your EAD from your Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status. You do not need to file Form I-765 with your application for T-1 nonimmigrant status if you are a principal applicant. However, if you would like to receive a bona fide determination for deferred action and employment authorization, you must submit Form I-765, and we recommend you submit it concurrently with your Form I-914.
If you are an eligible family member of the principal T-1 nonimmigrant residing in the United States, you must file Form I-765 to apply for employment authorization and obtain an EAD before you are eligible to work. You may file Form I-765 with your Form I-914, Supplement A, or separately later. If you live outside the United States, you cannot get employment authorization until you are lawfully admitted to the United States. Do not file Form I-765 if you are living outside the United States.
Q. How long am I allowed to stay in the United States with T nonimmigrant status?
A. T nonimmigrant status is valid for up to 4 years. Extensions are available in certain limited circumstances. After 3 years, you may be eligible for permanent resident status (a Green Card) after you have been continuously physically present in the United States for 3 years after being lawfully admitted as a T nonimmigrant. In certain circumstances, you may be eligible for a Green Card earlier, if you meet additional requirements for adjustment of status to lawful permanent resident.
Q. How can I apply for permanent resident status (a Green Card)?
A. You may apply for permanent resident status by submitting Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status. You must have been lawfully admitted to the United States as a T nonimmigrant and still have that status when you apply.
To qualify for permanent resident status, you must:
- Be physically present in the United States for either a continuous period of at least 3 years in T nonimmigrant status or a continuous period during the investigation or prosecution of the acts of trafficking (if the U.S. Attorney General certifies that the investigation or prosecution is complete), whichever is less;
- Establish good moral character during the requisite period;
- Have complied with any reasonable request for help in the investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking or show extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm upon removal from the United States or have been under 18 years old at the time of one of the acts of trafficking; and
- Be admissible to the United States or obtain a waiver of inadmissibility.
For more information on Green Cards, see the Green Card for a Victim of Trafficking (T Nonimmigrant) page.
Q. Is a victim of trafficking eligible for any services or benefits?
A. Victims of trafficking may be eligible for many federally and state funded benefits and services regardless of immigration status if they have been certified by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. After a victim has been certified, they are eligible for benefits and services to the same extent as a refugee. If the victim is under the age of 18, they are eligible for certain benefits without needing certification.
Additional Information
To report trafficking in persons, contact law enforcement or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.