The T visa, an underutilized lifeline for immigrant survivors of human trafficking, is experiencing a pointy rise in purposes, regardless of rising processing occasions and deportation dangers.
Also called T nonimmigrant standing, the visa permits individuals who have skilled extreme types of human trafficking to stay within the nation for as much as 4 years if they’re useful to legislation enforcement within the investigation and prosecution of their trafficker. Accredited candidates can work within the U.S., are eligible for sure state and federal advantages, and may apply for a inexperienced card after three years on the visa (or earlier if the felony case is closed).
Julie Dahlstrom, founder and director of the Human Trafficking Clinic at Boston College, mentioned elevated consciousness of the visa and the courts’ increasing definitions of trafficking could have contributed to the rise, together with mounting limitations to different pathways for immigrant aid.
Congress created the T visa in 2000 as a part of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Safety Act, desiring to bolster legislation enforcement businesses’ capabilities to prosecute human trafficking crimes whereas providing protections to survivors. The identical legislation additionally established the U visa, which gives authorized standing for victims who’ve suffered substantial abuse because of severe crimes together with trafficking, home violence and sexual assault. U visa candidates should even be prepared to help legislation enforcement of their investigation of those crimes.
“Many [applicants] are eligible for the U visa as effectively, however they’re taking now over 20 years for a person to get entry … so I feel that has influenced legal professionals and survivors, if they’re eligible for the T visa … to go forward and in addition file T visa purposes,” Dahlstrom mentioned. “Particularly beneath the Trump administration, we’ve seen extra limitations to asylum entry, particular immigrant juvenile standing entry, so I anticipate we’ll proceed to see that transfer.”
USCIS up to date the T visa guidelines in August 2024 with a course of known as known as bona fide dedication that gave survivors earlier entry to advantages whereas their software is pending approval. It additionally granted them deferred motion, which locations people on a decrease precedence for elimination proceedings.
Erika Gonzalez, coaching and technical help managing legal professional from the Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, defined that though early entry to advantages had existed within the federal statute, it was by no means applied as a result of purposes had been processing quick sufficient to not want it.
“They’ve up to date the [bona fide determination] course of to now have a proper course of to interact with, and it does parallel with the sharp will increase in submitting,” Gonzalez mentioned.
As T visa purposes rose, so too did approvals. Final 12 months, the variety of approvals broke 3,000 for the primary time although it nonetheless fell wanting the 5,000 cap.
Processing occasions for T visas have additionally elevated, leaping from a median of 5.9 months in 2014 to 19.9 months this fiscal 12 months.
Denial charges for T visas, in the meantime, have fluctuated.
“We had been seeing elevated denial charges beneath the prior Trump administration after which improved charges beneath Biden,” Dahlstrom mentioned.
Denials can go away T visa candidates susceptible to deportation. In 2018, USCIS started permitting elimination proceedings if an software was rejected with a discover to seem (NTA).
In line with a 2022 report co-written by Dahlstrom, which obtained USCIS information by means of Freedom of Data Act litigation, USCIS issued a complete of 236 NTAs to denied T visa candidates from 2019 to 2021. President Biden rescinded this coverage with a January 2021 govt order, however final February, USCIS printed new steering as soon as extra increasing the circumstances the place the company may challenge NTAs.
These insurance policies, alongside escalated coordination between legislation enforcement and different businesses, have heightened concern amongst survivors making use of for the T visa, Dahlstrom defined.
“We’re seeing in actual time the outcomes of together with necessities round legislation enforcement engagement, particularly when there’s better cooperation with ICE and better issues about deportation,” Dahlstrom mentioned. “These applications are being politicized and, in some methods, weaponized in the event you’re denied and also you’re positioned in proceedings.”
Since February’s coverage replace, a minimum of one individual has self-deported after Immigration and Customs Enforcement denied her keep regardless of her pending T visa software.
To this point within the fiscal 12 months 2025, USCIS has permitted 1,035 T-visas and rejected 693, which surpasses the quantity rejected in every of the final 4 years.
“It’s too early to inform what we’re going to see, but when we proceed to see these numbers, it’s each going to imply an increase in denials and only a few circumstances adjudicated amidst increasingly more purposes being filed, which is admittedly troubling,” Dahlstrom mentioned. “These are statutorily protected applications, however what they’ll do is admittedly sluggish them down, make them ineffective simply in the best way that they’re processing purposes.”
