Immigration Options for Victims of Criminal Activity: T Visas (For Victims of Human Trafficking)

“T Visas” are for victims of severe forms of human trafficking, which refers to sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Trafficking comes in many different forms, but is defined as follows:

- Sex trafficking: where a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion.
- Sex trafficking (of a person under 18 years of age): where a commercial sex act is induced to be performed by someone that has not yet reached the age of 18 years old.
- Labor trafficking: where a person has been recruited, harbored, transported, provided for, or obtained for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, and for the purpose of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

At the time you file your application, you must be physically present in the United States “on account of” the trafficking. It is popularly believed that this means you must have entered the United States already as a trafficking victim. That is not accurate. There may be many reasons that you entered the United States that have nothing to do with trafficking. Instead, if you are now in the United States and are currently a victim of trafficking, or you were a victim of trafficking but have managed to escape from it, you may still qualify for a “T Visa”.

In most cases, it is necessary that you demonstrate that you have been in contact with law enforcement about the trafficking. However, certain exceptions do apply. If you have been in contact with law enforcement, it will be helpful to your case if you have the law enforcement agency complete Form I-918 Supplement B. However, this is not required.

The application form and instructions can be found here on the USCIS website.

IF YOU ARE THE VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING AND NEED HELP, YOU CAN CALL THE NATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE: [phone]!

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