A T Visa is for victims of human trafficking. You may be eligible if any of the following are true:
- You feel obligated or indebted to work for or provide services to someone else, even if it is to pay for a smuggling fee, rent, food, or other expenses, or the person you owe money to keeps adding additional expenses so that you can’t pay your debt down.
- You have been sexually exploited in exchange for something of value (like money, food, clothing, shelter).
- You feel pressured to work because someone is threatening to hurt you, your family, has your papers, and/or is threatening to call the authorities or immigration on you or tells you that you owe a debt.
- You felt obligated, pressured, or forced to do things by your smugglers or other people that you did not want to do, such as work (like restaurant, cleaning houses, taking care of other children, harvesting in fields, sell or carry drugs) or participate in sexual acts.
A T Visa is a way to slow down or stop deportation, and live and work legally in the U.S. If you receive a T Visa, after a few years you can apply for a green card (permanent residency). A victim’s parents, siblings, and children can qualify for a T visa too.
Who can give the T Visa?
ONLY U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) can approve your T visa. If you are going to apply for a T visa, ask the judge presiding over your immigration case for more time to turn in your application to USCIS. Then talk to an attorney about applying for a T Visa.
