3 USCIS-PM B.1
Human trafficking (also known as trafficking in persons) involves the exploitation of persons in order to compel labor, services, or commercial sex acts.[1] The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, was enacted to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute trafficking in persons, while offering protections to victims of such trafficking, including temporary protections from removal, access to certain federal and state public benefits and services, and the ability to apply for T nonimmigrant status (commonly referred to as the T visa).
T nonimmigrant status allows eligible victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons[2] to remain in the United States on a temporary basis, receive employment authorization, and qualify for benefits and services to the same extent as a refugee.[3] It also allows victims to apply for T nonimmigrant status for certain family members.
USCIS has sole jurisdiction over the adjudication of the Application for T Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-914).[4] T nonimmigrant status provides:
Applications are adjudicated by officers who receive trauma-informed and victim-centered training. There are protections in place to safeguard the confidentiality of any information relating to the applicant.[6] In addition, in recognition of the unique challenges trafficking victims may face in providing evidentiary proof of their victimization, USCIS must consider “any credible evidence” in determining whether the applicant has established eligibility for T nonimmigrant status.[7]
Since the initial creation of the T nonimmigrant classification in 2000, Congress has amended the program requirements several times. In addition to creating a nonimmigrant classification for victims of human trafficking, the TVPA and subsequent reauthorizing legislation provide various means to combat trafficking in persons, including tools to effectively prosecute and punish perpetrators of trafficking in persons and prevent incidents of human trafficking.
| Acts and Amendments | Key Changes |
|---|---|
| Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000[8] | Established T nonimmigrant classification as a temporary immigration benefit available to eligible victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons.Created a pathway to lawful permanent residence (a green card) for eligible T nonimmigrants. |
| Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2003[9] | Extended derivative T nonimmigrant status to certain family members of the principal trafficking victim. |
| Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act (VAWA) of 2005[10] | Authorized the duration of T nonimmigrant status for up to 4 years, with the option to extend status in yearly increments when the T nonimmigrant’s presence is necessary to assist in the criminal investigation or prosecution of human trafficking.Defined law enforcement requests where the trafficking victims were unable to cooperate due to physical or psychological trauma suffered as unreasonable.Eliminated the requirement that relatives of the principal trafficking victim demonstrate extreme hardship to obtain derivative T nonimmigrant status.Created an additional avenue for trafficking victims to adjust status before accruing 3 years of continuous physical presence in cases where the Attorney General certifies that the investigation or prosecution is complete.Permitted some trafficking victims earlier access to permanent residence by allowing period(s) of continuous physical presence during the investigation or prosecution into acts of trafficking to count towards the physical presence requirement for adjustment of status under INA 245(l).Extended 8 U.S.C. 1367 confidentiality protections to applicants for T nonimmigrant status.Created a waiver for the unlawful presence ground of inadmissibility where the trafficking was at least one central reason for the applicant’s unlawful presence in the United States.Permitted aliens who entered the United States in certain nonimmigrant statuses to later change status to T nonimmigrant status, if eligible. |
| William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA 2008)[11] | Provided that an applicant can establish the physical presence requirement if the applicant was allowed entry into the United States to participate in investigative or judicial processes associated with an act or a perpetrator of trafficking.Provided an exception to the requirement to comply with reasonable requests for assistance from law enforcement due to physical or psychological trauma.Extended eligibility for derivative status to parents or unmarried siblings under the age of 18 who face a present danger of retaliation as a result of the principal’s escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement.Expanded ability to extend T nonimmigrant status by allowing DHS to consider exceptional circumstances.Extended the validity period of T nonimmigrant status to include the period the application for adjustment of status is pending.Authorized DHS to waive good moral character disqualifications at the adjustment of status stage if the disqualification was caused by or incident to the trafficking. |
| Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013)[12] | Created a new classification of derivative relatives for the adult or minor child of the principal’s derivative relative, if the adult or minor child faces a present danger of retaliation as a result of the principal’s escape from trafficking or cooperation with law enforcement.Clarified that presence in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands constitutes presence in the United States.Exempted from the public charge ground of inadmissibility T nonimmigrants and applicants setting forth a prima facie (“at first look”) case for eligibility for T nonimmigrant status.[13] |
| Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (JVTA)[14] | Added “patronizing” and “soliciting” to the definition of sex trafficking at 22 U.S.C. 7102(12).Added “patronized or solicited” to the crime of sex trafficking at 18 U.S.C. 1591.Mandated human trafficking awareness training for relevant DHS personnel with law enforcement and public facing roles. |
[^ 1] See Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, Pub. L. 106-386 (PDF), 114 Stat. 1464, 1470 (October 28, 2000), codified at 22 U.S.C. 7101.
[^ 2] The term “severe form of trafficking in persons” is a legal term defined in the TVPA. The term is often referred to as “trafficking,” “human trafficking,” or “acts of trafficking.”
[^ 3] See TVPA, Pub. L. 106–386 (PDF), 114 Stat. 1464, 1475 (October 28, 2000) (stating that such persons “shall be eligible for benefits and services…to the same extent as an alien who is admitted to the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the [INA]”). See INA 101(i)(2) (mandating employment authorization for principal T nonimmigrants).
[^ 4] USCIS also has sole jurisdiction over the adjudication of the Application for Derivative T Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-914, Supplement A).
[^ 5] Congress provided a specific basis for T nonimmigrants to adjust under INA 245(l), with eligibility criteria distinct from the criteria that apply to family-based, employment-based, and diversity visa adjustment under INA 245(a). For more information, see Volume 7, Adjustment of Status, Part J, Trafficking Victim-Based Adjustment [7 USCIS-PM J].
[^ 6] See 8 U.S.C. 1367. See8 CFR 214.216. See Volume 1, General Policies and Procedures, Part A, Public Services, Chapter 7, Privacy and Confidentiality, Section E, VAWA, T and U Cases [1 USCIS-PM A.7(E)].
[^ 7] See 8 CFR 214.204(l). USCIS also determines the evidentiary value of submitted evidence in its sole discretion.
[^ 8] See Pub. L. 106–386 (PDF) (October 28, 2000). See 22 U.S.C. 7101–7110. See 22 U.S.C. 2151n. See 22 U.S.C. 2152d.
[^ 9] See Pub. L. 108-193 (PDF) (December 19, 2003).
[^ 10] See Pub. L. 109-162 (PDF) (January 5, 2006). See Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization Act of 2005 Technical Amendments, Pub. L. 109-271 (PDF) (August 12, 2006).
[^ 11] See Pub. L. 110-457 (PDF) (December 23, 2008).
[^ 12] See Pub. L. 113-4 (PDF) (March 7, 2013).
[^ 13] See 8 U.S.C. 1641(c)(4). See INA 212(a)(4)(E)(iii).
[^ 14] See Pub. L. 114-22 (PDF) (May 29, 2015).