Severe Form Of Trafficking
The facts must fit the federal definition of a severe form of trafficking in persons, including qualifying sex trafficking or labor trafficking.
Dallas–Fort Worth T Visa Lawyer
Trafficking can take away control.
T Visa relief may help you rebuild it.
T nonimmigrant status can provide immigration protection to certain survivors of severe forms of human trafficking who meet the federal requirements.
The legal analysis can involve the trafficking conduct, physical presence, law-enforcement cooperation requirements, hardship if removed, admissibility issues, and qualifying derivative family members.
ProtectionT nonimmigrant status
WorkEmployment authorization
FamilyDerivative eligibility review
FuturePossible green-card path
TexasDallas–Fort Worth counsel
At a Glance
What is a T Visa?
A T Visa is a temporary immigration status for certain victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons. Eligibility depends on the specific trafficking facts and the federal statutory requirements, not simply on whether someone has experienced exploitation or abuse.
The Core Eligibility Questions
The case begins by identifying the trafficking conduct precisely.
A T Visa filing should connect the facts to the statutory elements and explain why each eligibility requirement is satisfied.
Physical Presence
The applicant must satisfy the applicable physical-presence requirement tied to the trafficking or qualifying participation in an investigation or prosecution.
Law-Enforcement Requests
Many adult applicants must comply with reasonable requests for assistance unless a statutory exception applies.
Hardship If Removed
The case may need to establish extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm if the applicant were removed from the United States.
Admissibility
Prior entries, immigration history, criminal issues, or other inadmissibility grounds should be reviewed before filing.
Derivative Family
Some qualifying relatives may be eligible for derivative T status depending on the principal applicant's age and circumstances.
Trauma-Informed Preparation
The evidence should be thorough without forcing the survivor to relive the story unnecessarily.
T Visa preparation can involve declarations, immigration records, law-enforcement materials, medical or counseling records, employment evidence, communications, financial documents, witness statements, and other proof.
01What facts establish the trafficking?
02How is physical presence connected to the trafficking?
03What law-enforcement cooperation requirement applies?
04Which records document hardship and eligibility?
Before Filing
Four categories of records to preserve.
Immigration records.
Entries, visas, I-94 records, USCIS notices, prior applications, removal documents, and current immigration-court filings.
Trafficking evidence.
Messages, photographs, work records, financial records, travel records, threats, contracts, advertisements, or other evidence tied to force, fraud, coercion, or exploitation.
Law-enforcement records.
Police reports, investigative records, prosecutor communications, court records, or documentation showing requests for assistance and cooperation.
Harm and hardship evidence.
Medical, psychological, counseling, family, financial, safety, and country-condition evidence may be important.
The T Visa Process
Identify. Document. File. Protect.
The filing should be built around the complete legal record rather than a form-first approach.
Evaluate The Trafficking
Compare the facts to the federal trafficking definitions and identify the strongest legal theory.
Review Immigration History
Analyze entries, prior applications, court history, removals, and any inadmissibility issues that could affect the case.
Develop The Evidence
Prepare the declaration and supporting records needed to document trafficking, presence, cooperation, hardship, and eligibility.
File & Plan Forward
Prepare Form I-914 and related filings, address derivative family issues, and plan for work authorization and possible future adjustment.
T Visa Strategy
A trafficking case can overlap with removal defense, inadmissibility, and family protection.
The filing strategy should account for any immigration-court case, detention history, prior entries or removals, criminal record, derivative family members, and other forms of humanitarian relief that may be relevant.
Frequently Asked Questions
T Visa questions.
What is a T Visa?
T nonimmigrant status is a form of immigration protection for certain victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons who meet the statutory requirements. Depending on the case, it can provide lawful status, work authorization, and a possible later path to permanent residence.
What counts as a severe form of human trafficking?
Federal law generally addresses sex trafficking involving a commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or involving a person under 18, and labor trafficking involving recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion for involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Do I have to cooperate with law enforcement?
Many adult applicants must comply with reasonable requests for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of trafficking unless an exception applies. The requirement is fact-specific, and the record should be reviewed before filing.
Can certain family members receive T status too?
Some principal T Visa applicants may seek derivative status for qualifying family members. Which relatives can qualify depends on the principal applicant's age and circumstances.
Can a T Visa lead to a green card?
A person granted T nonimmigrant status may later be eligible to apply for adjustment of status after satisfying the required period of physical presence and the other statutory requirements.
T Visa Consultation
Were You Forced, Threatened, Defrauded, Or Coerced Into Work Or Commercial Sex?
Tell us what happened, where the trafficking occurred, whether law enforcement or another agency is involved, whether you are currently safe, and whether you have any immigration-court or detention issues.
Ready to discuss the situation?
Use the firm's secure contact page to request a consultation, or call 833-FOR-PIRI.
Request a Consultation → Call 833-FOR-PIRIContacting the firm does not create an attorney-client relationship.