"T" Visa Procedures Established
Posted Feb 08, 2002

On January 24, 2002, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft signed an interim regulation establishing application procedures for the new "T" nonimmigrant classification. The "T" category is for individuals who were victims of severe forms of trafficking in humans. Subject to some limitations, immediate family members of these persons will also benefit from the "T" category.

The "T" classification was created under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). The interim regulations establish the elements necessary for T status as well as the INS standards in decision-making on T applications. This status is designed to assist individuals who are present in the U.S., American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as the result of trafficking.

Trafficking in persons is the transportation of persons via force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of slavery or involuntary servitude. According to a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) news release issued January 24, 2002, the U.S. Government estimates 45,000 to 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the U.S. annually. Once in the U.S., these women are trapped in situations described by the DOJ as "modern-day slavery-like situations, such as forced prostitution."

The DOJ reports this is a growing problem and that the victims "are trafficked in a variety of exploitive settings, ranging from the sex industry to domestic servitude to forced labor on farms and in factories." Additional information about law enforcement efforts in connection with human trafficking is contained on the U.S. Department of Justice WebSite. That website contains specific examples of trafficking, including Mexican farm workers forced into servitude in order to pay the "smuggling" fees to those who assisted their entering the U.S. Another example is of Russian women recruited as folk dancers who are forced to work as exotic dancers and turn their earnings over to their captors.

The T visa is limited to those victims of trafficking who are willing to cooperate with law enforcement actions against human traffickers. An applicant must establish that s/he would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm, if removed from the U.S., and that s/he has complied with any reasonable request for assistance in the investigation and prosecution of acts of trafficking in persons. INS refers to the T visa as a "powerful new tool to protect the most vulnerable victims and prevent future trafficking."

A victim files his or her own petition for T status, using Form I-914. This form is available on the INS WebSite. The interim regulation is expected to be published in the beginning of February 2002 and will be effective one month after publication.

After three years in T status, one is allowed to apply for permanent resident status. Thus, the T visa ultimately provides a long-term solution for the victims of human trafficking.

We trust that the T visa will grant much needed immigration relief to this very vulnerable group and that it will assist in the law enforcement efforts against criminals who exploit others in this manner.