A T visa can provide immigration protection to certain survivors of human trafficking who are in the United States because of the trafficking they experienced. For someone who has lived through force, fraud, coercion, threats, or exploitation, understanding whether this protection applies can be difficult.
At Lorenzo Law Group, our T visa lawyer can review what happened, explain the T visa requirements in clear terms, and help you determine whether T nonimmigrant status may be an option. Our bilingual immigration team approaches these cases with special care and respect while helping clients prepare the evidence USCIS requires.
Table of Contents
Talk To an Immigration Attorney Who Understands Your Story.
What Is a T Visa?
A T visa, formally known as T nonimmigrant status, is a humanitarian immigration benefit for certain noncitizens who have been victims of a severe form of human trafficking.
Human trafficking can involve sexual exploitation or forced labor. Traffickers may use force, fraud, coercion, threats, debt, manipulation, or other forms of control to exploit another person.
T status can allow an eligible survivor to remain legally in the United States for up to 4 years. A person granted T status can also be authorized to work and may eventually qualify to apply for lawful permanent residence if additional requirements are met.
Importantly, someone who entered the United States without lawful status may still be able to seek T nonimmigrant status if the T visa requirements are satisfied.
What Are the T Visa Requirements?
The T visa requirements focus on both what happened to you and your current circumstances. If you are the principal applicant (the victim of human trafficking), you must generally establish that:
You are or were a victim of a severe form of human trafficking.
You are physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry because of trafficking or certain related circumstances.
You complied with reasonable requests from qualifying law enforcement authorities with investigating or prosecuting trafficking, unless an exception applies.
You would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if you were removed from the United States.
You are admissible to the United States or qualify for an available waiver of inadmissibility.
The cooperation part of the T visa requirements has important exceptions. For example, USCIS does not require the same cooperation from a person who was under 18 when at least one trafficking act occurred. An exception may also apply when a survivor cannot cooperate because of physical or psychological trauma.
Because the T visa requirements depend heavily on the facts of the individual case, determining eligibility often requires more than checking items off a list. Our T visa lawyer can review how the trafficking occurred, why you are currently in the United States, any interaction with law enforcement, your immigration history, and other circumstances that may affect your application.
Do You Need a Police Report or Law Enforcement Certification?
Evidence from law enforcement can be valuable, but a T visa application is not necessarily limited to cases in which a survivor has a police report or certification.
USCIS considers the evidence submitted with the application when determining whether the applicant has met the T visa requirements. The legal question is broader than whether one particular document exists.
This distinction can be important for trafficking survivors who are concerned that they cannot move forward because they do not have every document they expected. Rather than assuming you do or do not meet the T visa requirements, it may be useful to have your available evidence reviewed by our T visa lawyer in the context of the complete case.
Speak With an Immigration Attorney Today
How Do You Apply for a T Visa?
A principal applicant generally requests T nonimmigrant status by filing Form I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status, with USCIS.
The application must explain how the applicant meets the T visa requirements and include supporting evidence. USCIS also requires a signed personal statement describing the trafficking experience and the facts supporting eligibility.
Depending on the case, supporting documentation may include records or statements related to:
- The trafficking or exploitation you experienced or are experiencing.
- Threats, force, fraud, coercion, or control.
- Your physical presence in the United States because of trafficking.
- Communication or cooperation with law enforcement.
- Physical or psychological effects of the trafficking.
- The hardship you could experience if removed from the United States.
- Your immigration history and any possible grounds of inadmissibility.
Not every survivor will have the same type of evidence. Our T visa lawyer can help identify which records are relevant, organize the evidence around the T visa requirements, and explain how the different parts of your history fit together.
Can Family Members Receive T Status?
Some qualifying family members may also be eligible for derivative T nonimmigrant status.
The relatives who may qualify depend partly on the principal applicant’s age. For example:
- A principal applicant under 21 may generally seek derivative status for a spouse, unmarried children under 21, parents, and unmarried siblings under 18.
- A principal applicant who is 21 or older may generally seek derivative status for a spouse and unmarried children under 21.
Additional family members may qualify in certain circumstances involving a present danger of retaliation because of the principal applicant’s escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement.
USCIS has different T classifications to distinguish the principal applicant from qualifying derivative family members:
Classification | Who It Covers |
T-1 | Principal victim of a severe form of human trafficking |
T-2 | Spouse of the T-1 principal |
T-3 | Unmarried child under 21 of the T-1 principal |
T-4 | Parent of a T-1 principal who is under 21, or a parent who faces a present danger of retaliation because of the principal’s escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement |
T-5 | Unmarried sibling under 18 of a T-1 principal who is under 21, or an unmarried sibling under 18 who faces a present danger of retaliation |
T-6 | Adult or minor child of a qualifying T-2 through T-5 family member, if that person faces a present danger of retaliation |
Applications for qualifying relatives are generally made using Form I-914, Supplement A. We can evaluate which relatives may qualify for derivative T status and how their applications interact with the principal T visa case.
What Is the T Visa Processing Time?
The T visa processing time can change substantially, so there is no reliable, fixed number of months that applies to every application.
USCIS processing depends on factors such as agency workload, the evidence submitted, whether USCIS requests additional information, and the particular circumstances that must be reviewed.
A Request for Evidence, commonly called an RFE, can also extend the process because USCIS pauses for additional documentation before continuing its review.
For that reason, applicants should check the current USCIS processing-time information for Form I-914 online.
Preparing a complete filing does not guarantee faster approval. However, careful preparation can reduce avoidable problems caused by missing forms, unclear evidence, unanswered eligibility questions, or incomplete responses to USCIS.
What Happens While a T Visa Application Is Pending?
USCIS reviews the application and supporting evidence to decide whether the applicant satisfies the T visa requirements.
Current T visa procedures also include a bona fide determination process. When USCIS determines that a filing meets the applicable requirements for that review and the applicant merits favorable discretion, certain applicants may receive deferred action (temporary protection from removal) and employment authorization while the T application remains pending.
A bona fide determination is not the same as final T visa approval. The Form I-914 application must still be decided.
If USCIS requests additional evidence or raises another issue during review, our T visa lawyer can help determine what the agency is asking for and prepare an appropriate response.
Speak With an Immigration Attorney Today
Does a T Visa Allow You to Work?
Yes. A principal applicant who is granted T-1 nonimmigrant status is authorized to work in the United States.
The principal applicant does not need to file a separate Form I-765 simply to obtain employment authorization after T-1 status is granted. Form I-914 allows the applicant to indicate that an Employment Authorization Document is requested, and USCIS can issue the document after approving the application.
Qualifying derivative family members may also apply for employment authorization after they are granted T status and are in the United States.
Can You Travel with a T Visa?
Domestic and international travel need to be considered separately.
Travel between states generally does not require special immigration permission simply because a person holds T status. Travelers should still carry appropriate identification and immigration documentation, particularly when traveling by air.
International travel requires more planning. A person in T nonimmigrant status should not assume that having approved T status alone guarantees the ability to leave the United States and return.
USCIS advises T nonimmigrants who intend to travel to request advance parole using Form I-131 before departing.
Travel can also affect continuous physical presence requirements that may matter if you later seek a green card. Before making international travel arrangements, it is important to review your current status, immigration history, pending applications, travel documents, and the possible effect of an absence from the United States with a T visa lawyer.
Can a T Visa Lead to a Green Card?
T nonimmigrant status can provide a pathway to a green card, but it is not automatic.
A person in T status may eventually be eligible to apply for adjustment of status after meeting statutory requirements. These include continuous physical presence requirements as well as additional conditions involving admissibility, good moral character, and continued eligibility.
The timing can depend in part on how long you have held T status and whether the investigation or prosecution connected with the trafficking has been completed.
Because international travel can affect the continuous physical presence calculation for a green card, anyone considering both travel and eventual permanent residence should understand how those decisions may interact.
How a T Visa Lawyer Can Help with Your Case
A T visa case may require you to explain highly personal experiences while also addressing specific immigration rules. Our role as your T visa lawyer is to help connect those facts to the T visa requirements and prepare a filing that clearly presents your case.
Lorenzo Law Group can help you:
- Evaluate whether the trafficking you experienced meets the legal definition.
- Review the T visa requirements that apply to your circumstances.
- Identify and organize supporting evidence.
- Prepare Form I-914 and related immigration filings.
- Address possible inadmissibility issues and determine whether a waiver may be available.
- Evaluate eligibility for qualifying family members.
- Respond to Requests for Evidence or other USCIS correspondence.
- Discuss work authorization, international travel, and future permanent residence.
- Understand how the T visa may interact with other immigration issues in your case.
Our team is fully bilingual, so clients can discuss sensitive details and ask questions in the language in which they are most comfortable.
Get Help from a T Visa Lawyer
Human trafficking can affect far more than a person’s immigration status. Concerns about safety, family, employment, and the possibility of remaining in the United States may all be connected.
Understanding whether you meet the T visa requirements gives you a clearer picture of the immigration options available to you. Lorenzo Law Group can review your circumstances, explain the T visa, and help you decide what steps make sense for your case.
Contact Lorenzo Law Group for a review of your case and T visa options.
1 Ring
Average time it takes us to answer your call.
3 Minutes
Approximate time needed to let you know if we can review your case.
