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Pathway

U.S. T Visa for Trafficking Survivors

United States Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

T status may protect survivors of severe human trafficking who are in the United States or another covered location because of that trafficking. It can include sex trafficking or forced labor involving force, fraud, or coercion. For a child under 18 induced into commercial sex, force, fraud, or coercion does not have to be shown.

Trafficking
Severe human trafficking and presence in the U.S. because of it
Cooperation
Assistance to law enforcement unless an exception applies
Application
Form I-914 with the required trafficking and eligibility evidence

Summary

The T visa protects certain trafficking survivors and can provide work authorization and a possible later green card path. These cases are sensitive and should be handled with trauma-informed legal support.

The application must connect the person's presence to the trafficking and meet the other protection requirements. A lawyer and victim-services provider experienced in trafficking can help the person apply safely.

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Eligibility

The main applicant generally must show:

A law-enforcement declaration can be useful, but unlike a U visa certification, it is not an absolute filing requirement. Other credible evidence may establish cooperation or an exception.

Prepare the trafficking protection application safely
  1. Find experienced support safely Use a safe contact method for qualified legal or victim-services help.
  2. Explain the trafficking and location connection Document the severe trafficking and why the person is in a covered location because of it.
  3. Check the remaining requirements Review cooperation or exceptions, harm if removed, and any needed immigration exceptions.

Keep records safely. Age and trauma exceptions can affect the requirement to cooperate with law enforcement.

What This Route Allows

T-1 status is generally granted for up to four years, with limited extensions. The person granted T-1 status is allowed to work because of that status. Certain qualifying family members may receive their own T status; the available relatives depend partly on the main applicant's age and retaliation risks.

A T-1 holder may later apply for permanent residence after the required continuous physical presence—generally three years after admission as a T nonimmigrant or the period until the trafficking investigation or prosecution is complete, whichever is shorter—and after meeting cooperation, character, admissibility, and other requirements.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a general hardship or crime-victim route. Exploitative work alone does not automatically satisfy the legal definition of trafficking. Approval is also subject to an annual legal limit on grants to main T-1 applicants, although qualifying family members do not count against it.

No one should contact a trafficker or unsafe person simply to collect evidence.

Next Steps

  1. Contact a trafficking-experienced immigration lawyer, representative accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice, or victim-services provider using a safe device and address.
  2. Preserve identity, travel, recruitment, work, payment, threat, medical, counseling, and law-enforcement records safely.
  3. Explain how the trafficking led to the person's presence in a covered location.
  4. Review cooperation with law enforcement, any exceptions based on trauma or age, the harm the person would face if removed, and any needed immigration exceptions.
  5. Use the current Form I-914 instructions; USCIS substantially revised T rules effective August 28, 2024.

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Sources