T-Visas

Those victims of a severe form of human trafficking as defined by federal law. This is divided into two categories:

1. Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or
2. Labor Trafficking in which someone recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains a person for labor or services, using force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjecting them to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

• Applicants must be in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a U.S. port of entry because of trafficking.
• Applicants must comply with any reasonable requests from law enforcement to provide information and testimony about the human trafficking crime. Some exceptions to this provision include if the applicant is under 18 years of age, and/or if the applicant has experienced severe psychological and/or physical trauma that would make them unable to cooperate with law enforcement.
• Individuals who are at risk of severe harm or danger if they were to leave the United States.
• Individuals who are admissible to the United States. If the individual does not meet the criteria for admissibility, they may still qualify under certain grounds of inadmissibility.
• Family members who are in immediate danger of retaliation because of the principal applicant’s escape from human trafficking and/or their compliance with law enforcement officials.
  • This includes the T visa petitioner’s parents, unmarried siblings under age 18, and the children of any family members who have obtained a derivative T visa.
• Family members who are not in immediate danger. In this case, the same rules as the U visa are applied:
  • For principal petitioners under the age of 21, eligible family members include their spouse, children, parents, and any siblings who are unmarried and are under 18 years of age.For principal petitioners over the age of 21, only their spouse and children are eligible for derivative U visas.

• Form I-914, Application for T Non immigrant Status This must include a personal statement describing the human trafficking crime.
• Evidence of compliance with any reasonable request for information or assistance from law enforcement officials. This may include a Form I-914, Supplement B, Declaration of Law Enforcement Officer for Victim of Trafficking. This must be filled out and signed by an authorized official in a certifying law enforcement agency. Unlike in the case of U visa applications, this is not a required document if the applicant can provide other evidence of compliance.
• Other evidence of compliance if the applicant chooses not to submit a Form I-914, Supplement B. This may include court documents, police reports, affidavits, etc.
• Any other evidence that shows the petitioner meets the requirements for eligibility. If the applicant is not admissible to the United States, then a waiver may also be filed. To apply for this waiver, a Form I-912, Application for Advance Permission to Enter as a Non immigrant must also be completed.

Like the U visa, T visas are valid for a period of 4 years but it may be extended under certain circumstances. Reasons for extension may include law enforcement officials requesting an extension, exceptional circumstances requiring a longer stay, or the T non immigrant has a pending adjustment of status (green card).

Once a person has been approved for the T visa, they will also automatically receive an Employment Authorization Card (EAD) allowing them to seek employment. Family members who have received a derivative T visa must submit a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization to apply for an EAD card.

After 3 years, T non immigrants may be eligible for a Green Card. To do this, they must have remained in the United States for a period of three continuous years after being lawfully admitted as T non immigrants, or they must have remained in the United States for a continuous time during the investigation or prosecution of the human trafficking that has been determined is complete.

For more information about obtaining lawful permanent residency after obtaining a T visa, contact an experienced immigration attorney. Click on the link for more details: Shoreline Immigration Lawyers

There are some advantages to the T visa that may not be applicable to other visa categories.

For example, the cap for the number of T visas to be authorized per year is 5,000. Unlike the U visa, which has a long waiting list, this cap for T visas has never been reached. Because of this, applicants who are eligible for other types of non immigrant statuses, like the U visa, may be able to obtain a T visa faster if they are eligible.

Also, unlike many other non immigrant visas, prior criminal convictions or immigration violations may be waived if the crimes and violations are in connection to the human trafficking incident.

T non immigrants may also be eligible for federal benefits, such as food stamps, mental health services, health care, employment assistance, housing assistance, and cash assistance programs and relief. In California, T visa applicants can receive benefits as soon as they initiate the steps to applying for a T visa.