Are you eligible for a T visa?

T visas are a special benefit for certain victims of human trafficking, including in many instances of forced labor, indentured servitude, or commercial sex exploitation, by means of force, fraud, or coercion.

Eligibility: You may be eligible to apply for a T visa if:

• • You are a survivor of “severe trafficking” (use of force, fraud, or coercion for sex trafficking and/or involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery); and

• • You are physically present in the U.S. on account of trafficking; and

• • You have complied with any reasonable request by federal, state, or local law enforcement to assist in the investigation or prosecution of such trafficking; and

• • You would suffer extreme hardship involving severe and unusual harm upon removal.

 What do “force, fraud, or coercion” mean according to the law?

Human trafficking includes the recruiting, harboring, transporting, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

The elements of force, fraud, or coercion are met in situations where a person is not free to leave. Force, fraud, or coercion can also be found when a victim is forced to act in a harmful way, which he or she would not normally choose.

People might be acting under threats of force, fraud, or coercion if they are doing something because they are afraid, threatened, or pressured by the trafficker. For example, a human trafficker could threaten violence against a trafficking victim (or his or her family) or could threaten to report an undocumented victim to the police or immigration officials.

What does it mean to “cooperate or be excused from cooperating with reasonable requests” from legal authorities?

Applicants for T visas only need to show that they made reasonable efforts to report a crime to law enforcement and that they complied with law enforcement’s reasonable requests for investigation. There are exceptions to this rule based on age and mental and physical competency. For more information, it’s best to talk to an immigration attorney.

Is a T visa a path to citizenship?

Yes, a T visa grants legal status for four years. After having lived in the United States continuously for three of those four years, T visa holders become eligible to apply for a green card or Legal Permanent Resident status. Then, five years after receiving their green card, the applicant may be eligible to apply for naturalization to become a United States citizen.

Can my family also get a T visa?

It depends. Generally, a T visa applicant who is under age 21 may apply on behalf of her spouse, children, parents, and unmarried siblings who are under age 18. If a principal T visa applicant is over 21 years old, then he or she may apply on behalf of a spouse and children.  

Regardless of applicant’s age, if there is present danger of retaliation to family members due to the trafficking or the survivor’s cooperation with law enforcement, a T visa applicant can include parents, unmarried siblings under 18 years old, and adult or minor children of derivatives.

Will my information be shared with the human trafficker? 

If you apply for T nonimmigrant status, any information about you or your application for T nonimmigrant status is strictly confidential and is protected by law. The government can only share this information in extremely limited circumstances and may not deny your application based on evidence provided solely by your trafficker. Individuals are also protected against traffickers attempting to provide adverse evidence against them in relation to their application.

Are T visas always available?

Yes, but Congress is only authorized to issue 5,000 T visas each fiscal year. Applicants who are approved for T visa status after those 5,000 T visas have been issued go on a waitlist. Those on the waitlist get priority for the T visas issued the next fiscal year.  

The cap of 5,000 T Visas has never been met. For this reason, T Visas may be more widely available than other forms of immigration relief such as the U Visa and VAWA.  

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